September 6, 2020 - The second Poduzetnik Mindset (Entrepreneurial Mindset) conference takes place online on September 10. Continuing our look at the speakers, co-organizer and Mr Positive, Ognjen Bagatin.  

There has not been a lot to smile about for most people in 2020, and that is certainly true if you are a Zagreb-based entrepreneur. The double whammy of corona affecting business and an earthquake damaging your home and business would be more than enough to wipe the smile from anyone's face, but not Croatia's Mr Positive, Ognjen Bagatin. 

(Ognjen Bagatin with his Berlin award)

A trailblazer in the global medical tourism industry (his Bagatin Clinic was named International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year 2019 in December at the International Medical Travel Awards in Berlin), and a passionate promoter of Croatia 2.0 and stronger business links with the diaspora, Bagatin is one of the co-organizers of the excellent Poduzetnik Mindset conference, which will have its second edition on September 10 in Zagreb and be broadcast online. Bagatin is also speaking at the event and offered some thoughts on the progress of the entrepreneurial scene and changing mindset in this TCN interview.

The second Entrepreneurial Mindset conference takes place on September 10, following last year's successful gathering. How has the entrepreneurial scene changed in Croatia in the last 12 months?

Although it seems like we are moving slowly, I think in the last 12 months there has been movement in having more and more entrepreneurial stories in the media. We have a new show on TV called Entrepreneurial Mindset, in partnership with EY Croatia on N1 Television. This is becoming very popular because we share great stories and amazing entrepreneurs who are changing the world for the better.

Through our media platform, we have met and talked to hundreds of amazing and successful entrepreneurs and have seen the better side of Croatia and our purpose is to share their stories to the public so they will inspire more and more young and old to go and chase their entrepreneurial dreams.

With corona coming, entrepreneurs had a tough time dealing with this issue, but they will come out of this stronger and more connected among each other...

The things are changing, I see so many examples of excellence, and the next step is to grow that community so that it can bring positive change for the Croatian economy.

Corona has obviously affected your plans considerably. Tell us about this year's conference and some of the key presentations. 

Indeed, but that didn`t ruin our plans to organize it anyway... We had planned this conference to be in Concert Hall Vatroslav Lisinski for 1800 people, but corona has ensured that even more people will listen to our speakers speak.. We have more than 3000 applications at this moment and our proud that this content is very popular and that we are helping these great speakers become new role models for others.

This year we will have great speakers and it is very hard to underline just a couple, so I will mention them all because EY Croatia and Poduzetnik team have picked them carefully just for you.

So this year, our audience will have an opportunity to hear an amazing sessions from successful and experienced entrepreneurs , and here is the list: Joe Bašić, founder and director of MPG South East Europe, organizer and promoter of Ultra Europe ; Paul Bradbury, owner and founder of Total Croatia News; Bernarda Cecelja, member of the board at Bernarda d.o.o.; Saša Cvetojević, owner of MBE Adriatic; Jan de Jong, director of Webpower Adria; Ivan Franičević, president of the board at RASCO; Ana Hanžeković, member of the board at Hanza media; Jasminka Horvat Martinović, president of the board at Wiener osiguranja VIG; Korado Korlević, croatian scientist and astronomer, head of Zvjezdarnice Višnjan; Ana Lisak, director at Catering Lisak; Orlando Lopac, director at OrlandoFit; Zoran Mamić, president of supervisory board at TOMMY; Mate Rimac, founder and CEO at Rimac automobili i Greyp bikes, Manny Stul, CEO tof Moose toys, Emil Tedeschi, president of the board at Atlantic grupe; Boris Trupčević, director at 24sata; Ana Volk, member of supervisory board at Sunce hoteli d.d.; Ksenija Vrbanić, owner of Xenia Design and others...

One of the nicest touches last year was to have the front row filled not with politicians but high school students with entrepreneurial minds. You then organized other events for the younger generation. Tell us about that, and the levels of interest from the students. 

Yes, our goal for this year is to inspire our students in 4 different cites (Osijek, Zagreb, Rijeka and Split), but due to corona, our plans were canceled, and instead, we organized Enterpreneurial mindset for students and young people with the goal of promoting entrepreneurial values among them. We had in our live event 1200 students listening to our conference from 7 different countries and 35 different Universities and schools. This was a big win for all of us, because this is proof that young people and students are considering entrepreneurship and are looking for inspiration from successful entrepreneurs.

We will definitely continue with these kinds of events and help inspire and support hundreds and thousands of new young entrepreneurs and professionals who will stay in Croatia and help us build a great economy here.

The entrepreneurial eco-system seems to be getting stronger in Croatia, and the Glas Poduzetnika association is a great focal point. Tell us about that eco-system, as well as the areas you see the biggest opportunities for change. 

I will reflect on that every crisis is an opportunity, and corona has brought us a major crisis. But in that crisis, new communities have grown such as Glas Poduzetnika, and I think this is now a turning point for Croatia to put the focus on the economy and how to grow it, how to attract more investment, have to export more, how to grow our GDP in the next 5-10 years, and find some higher purpose for all of us that will unite us (like the famous World Cup in 2018.) 

We need a powerful vision of Croatia in 2030. and a mission that will drive us forward.. I think doubling our GDP per capita in the next 5-10 years is a very powerful vision, and then we find leaders and doers who will help us achieve it.

Jan de Jong's campaign for a digital nomad visa has shown spectacular results, and this will be a great thing for Croatia. How significant is this in your opinion, and how do we take full advantage? 

I think it is amazing, and I have heard about that idea last year at an MBA Croatia conference from Andreas Gerdes. Then it was just an idea, and now, with brilliant Jan de Jong spreading the word and helping the government look at the opportunities of this niche we are getting into. This will, together with the student visa (referring to Hrvoje Balen from Algebra), be a new era of tourism in Croatia and all year round.

We need these niches to bring us more opportunities and brainpower from all over the world. I think this is just the beginning and beg our government to speed the law policy issues so we can launch it next year as only the second country in Europe..

We will take full advantage by opening up for professionals from all over the world, not just foreign, but also our diaspora, because this could motivate them as well to return home.. The good thing, everything is in our hands, and I beg our government to not „drop the ball“ this time and go from talking to realizing this idea.

The conference is called Entrepreneurial Mindset. Why is the mindset so important here in Croatia, and how do we change it? 

With this conference we are promoting new values like vision, courage, innovation, creation, growing through mistakes, never giving up, taking responsibility, cooperation, celebrating others success and so on, and this is kind of values and mindset is what we want to be mainstream in the years ahead.

We want to open the eyes of people and make them aware that opportunities are everywhere and we bring them people that have succeeded in Croatia, that are willing to share their stories and help others grow. We will succeed only when we start to appreciate others' success as our own, because the more people who succeed in Croatia, the easier it will be for the rest of us to succeed.

Our young families are moving abroad in search of happiness and we want to show them it can be here if we all have a common goal like doubling our GDP per capita in 5-10 years..

You are the pioneer in medical tourism for Croatia, an industry with huge potential. Where are things at the moment, and what needs to happen to push things forward?

This was supposed to be the best year ever for medical tourism, but... 

Things started rolling after lockdown but not in the numbers we all wanted, but this is just temporary, next year there will be new opportunities for our healing spas, clinics, hospitals, and medical wellnesses. Especially because we as a sector must have a chance to be able to apply to new EU funds 2021-2027.

If we want to grow as a country economically then this is a niche we need to be not among the best, but the best. We have great private health and dental institutions that are doing an amazing job, and now we need to bring some new investment in this sector.

The health sector needs to work together and create a whole eco-system that supports this industry, from schools, to EU funds, positioning Croatia as a hub for health tourism and taking advantage of digitalization of our processes inside of our health institution. If we work on that and have government support (not just oral support), then we can make this happen.

I personally will do everything I can to make sure Croatia is one of the leading countries for health and medical tourism in Europe.

To learn more about the virtual Poduzetnik Mindset 2020 conference on September 10 - and to register - visit the official website.  

May 30, 2020 - The biggest Croatian entrepreneurs will come together for the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Students conference, which will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at 10 am.

Poduzetnik.biz writes that when we talk about the future, it is extremely important that more and more educational institutions in our country put their focus on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial topics, but some things cannot be learned in school. Entrepreneurship, namely, is not only the ability to start a business, but also the skill of solving problems "on the go", the ability to properly communicate and delegate, as well as creative and innovative thinking. It is known that many successful entrepreneurs around the world started their companies just during their study days.

The media company Poduzetnik.biz wants to encourage young people to develop critical thinking, to rise above the problem and think outside the box, and to get to know real successful examples from the Croatian entrepreneurial scene. One in a series of projects in which words are put into action is the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Students conference, which will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, starting at 10 am.

From the studio, where the show Entrepreneurial Mindset with Saša Cvetojević is filmed, many successful Croatian entrepreneurs will be featured as speakers at the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Students conference.

On behalf of the hosts, the conference will be opened by the CEO of the Bagatin Polyclinic and the owner of the magazine Poduzetnik, Ognjen Bagatin. The main partner of the consulting and auditing company EY for Croatia, Berislav Horvat, will moderate the conversation with entrepreneur Nenad Bakić, and Saša Cvetojević with entrepreneur Urška Sršen. Bellabeat co-founder Urška Sršen will talk about her youthful beginnings, and Nenad Bakić will present the news of his project, the largest extracurricular STEM movement in Europe, the Croatian Makers League, which gathers more than 150,000 children in Croatia alone.

Filip Ljubić, founder of Q Software, will talk about his example of a successful startup in Croatia, and Nanobit CEO Alan Sumina will talk about the beginnings of his strongest Croatian gaming company in the context of the crisis that proved to be an opportunity for them in 2008.

The panel, moderated by World Bank expert advisor Stephanie E. Trpkov, will feature Matej Špoler, co-founder and CTO of Infinum, Aleksandra Dojčinović, designer and owner of the LeiLou by Alex brand, and Danijel Ackermann, co-founder of the most award-winning digital marketing company Degordian.

To follow all the news and information about this conference, as well as the live follow-up link, you can apply via the Entrepreneurial Mindset for Students website, which has so far collected more than 500 applications from all parts of Croatia.

The conference will also be broadcast via the Entrepreneur's Youtube channel. See you on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at 10 am!

To read more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 7, 2020 - In the wake of the pandemic, the Adria Business Network team has no choice but to move their event to an online platform and connect with their followers via Zoom.

Thus, at the first online event, Dejan Nemčić, Professor of Geography and the initiator of a different way of learning geography through the project "Live from All Continents", in cooperation with Croatian expats, was the guest, while the second event featured Hrvoje Bujas, President and Co-founder of UGP / Association Glas Poduzetnika, entrepreneur, co-owner of the companies Pravi Klik doo and Siguran Klik doo and better known for the brands - Crno Jaje, GoHome and Osiguraj.me.

The third online gathering will be held through Zoom on May 14, 2020, at 6 pm, organized by entrepreneurs Željka Barišić, owner of Forca Digital Agency and Kristina Krstinić, owner of MIKRIS Project Management. Everyone is invited to join in and participate in the discussion.

The theme this time will be 'Returning to the New "Normal" - Restart Business', and the guest is the famed director of Bagatin Clinic, Ognjen Bagatin.

The estimated duration of the event is 90 minutes, the guest will give a lecture of 40 minutes, and then participants will have the opportunity to engage in the discussion.

Participation in the event is free, and you can register via the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84603520081?pwd=T2R5bUNzRSt6QTdkRW9kUzhvS1N4UT09 (Meeting ID: 846 0352 0081, Password: 010576)

General sponsors of the event are the Bagatin Clinic, Kreativ info and the FORUM Zagreb Convention Center. The silver sponsor is FINA - Financial Agency.

You can follow the Adria Business Network through the official Facebook and Instagram pages, the YouTube channel of the same name, and at www.forcadigitalagency.com & www.mikris.eu

To read more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

February 3, 2020 - Croatia will be hosting the first European Patient Experience and Innovation Congress (EPIC 2020) in Dubrovnik 2020. Meet the man behind the project, Ognjen Bagatin from Bagatin Clinic in Zagreb and Split. 

He is the dynamic pioneer of Croatian medical tourism, a man determined to learn from the best and introduce the best to health tourism in Croatia. Which is how Dubrovnik came to be home to the first-ever European Patient Experience and Innovation Congress, taking place in Dubrovnik from March 19 - 21. TCN caught up with Ognjen Bagatin, the charismatic CEO of International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year 2019, Bagatin Clinic.  

EPIC is the first patient experience and innovation congress in Europe. Tell us firstly what you mean by the term 'patient experience' and why does it merit its own conference?

Thank you for a great question. The goal of the „Patient experience“ is to put the focus on the patient-first approach, and the main goal is to get better medical outcomes and to measure them. It is important that all decisions we have in healthcare are looked through the eyes of the patient, and this is something that everybody in healthcare agrees on, and understands. If you place the focus on patients and patient-first approach, we will make better decisions and bring value to patients in all our health systems.

(Ognjen Bagatin with Cleveland Clinic CEO Tom Mihaljevic)

With the digital transformation being so instrumental in healthcare, we wanted to bring all the best innovation that make patient experience better and with that better outcomes for the patients and less cost for health systems in the long run. Cleveland Clinic is a pioneer of Patient Experience, and they were one of the first who opened an office of patient experience in their clinic, even assigning a CXO (Chief Experience Officer). But this is not all, they are sharing that if you want to improve the patient experience, first you need to improve the medical staff experience. You can’t have a great patient experience without having a great medical staff experience.

This should not be just once a year congress, this should be a way of life for health in Europe. A continuous improvement in patient experience every day of the year, and we wanted to bring best of the best to help us with that.

(Ognjen Bagatin with co-organiser Irving Stackpole - read Irving's epic EPIC interview with TCN here)

Tell us how this conference came about, as it has some interesting organizers - the best hospital in the world (Cleveland Clinic), a top medical tourism consultancy (Stackpole & Associates), and a clinic in Zagreb (Bagatin Clinic). Where did the idea come from, and how did you all fall into cooperation?

At Bagatin Clinic we always think about how to provide the best service to our patients and our clients, and the idea came to me when I was in Australia a few years ago visiting few top-notch hospitals to see what they are doing in this field. It led me to HSS hospital in Sydney where they had a huge sign saying „PATIENT FIRST“ in every room, to remind the staff who is the most important VIP person in the hospital.

I consider that is a great way to make your mission short and sweet and I asked people in the hospital if they came up with this or they saw it somewhere else? They said one of their top surgeons had worked in Cleveland Clinic and he transferred the culture to their hospital. So I went to Cleveland Clinic to experience this culture and the rest is history.

(Ognjen Bagatin with Team Cleveland -  Mario Škugor and Joe Sweet)

I had a great support there from Mario Škugor, the endocrinologist from Cleveland Clinic who introduced me to the CEO of Cleveland Clinic, Tomislav Mihaljevic MD, and Joe Sweet from the international office of Patient experience. Since Cleveland Clinic is opening their first-ever European clinic in London, near Buckingham Palace, in 2021, they also wanted to spread the Cleveland way of healthcare approach in Europe, and we decided to do this amazing congress after 2 years of preparation. We have an amazing announcement of Tom Mihaljevic for this Congress that have been seen by thousands of Healthcare professionals all around Europe:

To make it more professional, and on a higher level, we approached Irving Stackpole (top-level medical tourism and healthcare consultant) and Daniel C. Shaw (a leader from  Global Rating Clinic, an amazing accreditation and reputation building organization) to join us to make a great impact on European Health systems and shift the epicenter of innovations in healthcare from US to Europe and with this to lift the medical outcomes results in our health systems. We as a team, together with Cleveland Clinic champions Mario Škugor and Joe Sweet, and Bojan Pintaric (executive director in Bagatin Clinic) and Sara Bukic (EPIC project leader) have formed a team who can really make a difference. We are very excited and can’t wait for the Congress to start.

Who should come, why, and what will they get from the conference?

Great question. The European Patient Experience and Innovation Congress will be a high energy, stimulating event for everyone, from C -Suite executives, to clinical practitioners, clinic owners, scientists and investors. EPIC brings together some of the most influential physicians, MedTech startups and health professionals from Europe & beyond to the table to improve how your patients will experience healthcare in the near future.  As technology continues to help us achieve previously unattainable results in healthcare, join us for an insiders' look at which technologies, ideas & innovations are improving the patient experience with some of the leading clinics & healthcare companies of the world so that you can stay ahead.

(Ognjen Bagatin with co-organiser Daniel Coulton Shaw. Read Daniel's TCN interview for EPIC here)

We will explore:

• • The design of systems to improve patient experience
• • The role of science, artificial intelligence and big data
• • Investment opportunities
• • Bedside and interpersonal methods to improve patient care
• • Mobile and personal care apps
• • The “future” of healthcare

And you will have an opportunity to be a part of a boutique event with some of the giants of healthcare like Cleveland and Mayo Clinic, and many, many more as well. At the moment we have attendees from 22 countries in the world (17 from Europe) and the number is increasing every day.

Just looking at the list of speakers already assembled and with more to be confirmed, it looks like a medical tourism A-list - Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Disney Institute, World Bank, the editor of IMTJ, as well as renowned Croatian experts such as Dragan Primorac from St. Catherine Specialty Hospital and Nikica Gabrić from Svjetlost. Tell us more.

I could talk all day about them, the organizational team has done a really amazing job of bringing to one event an incredible set of speakers from all over the world. The names of some of our keynote speakers are:

• Francis Papay, MD, a plastic surgeon from Cleveland Clinic, who did the first face transplantation with his team in North America – a fantastic story. 
  
• Beata Kurucz, EIT (EIT Health), and they stimulate start-ups to bring innovation to life while building a globally competitive European healthcare industry.
• Stephan Bender from Disney institute – who will share with us how a hospital would look like if it was run by Disney, a top hospitality brand in the World
• Ivan Duggan from Cisco, an innovator who will share with us how the future will look like
• Rahul Kashyap, MD, Mayo Clinic innovator and clinician, He is an award-winning public speaker. He has received awards for exemplary research, quality improvement and leadership
• Dragan Primorac, MD, St. Catherine Hospital – who will share his futuristic view of personalized medicine and St. Catherine`s cooperation with Mayo Clinic and so on.
• Nikica Gabrić, MD, Svjetlost Eye Hospital, who will share how to make your clinic/hospital so popular that American Celebrity Movie Stars visit them and refer their friends to his 9 clinics in the region
• Karin Jay from Planetree, relationship-centered model of care and international certification criteria
• Paul O'Brien, a famous London Clinic chef and many many many more.

The Congress will also have a „shark tank – start-up contest“ on Saturday (March 21^st) with teams from all over Europe.

Why Dubrovnik?

Dubrovnik is a spectacular location and a great city to host this kind of event, with lots of history and a place that is on everybody`s bucket list. A city with an amazing history.

Also, because it has a connection with healthcare and some fun TIPS:

The home of EPIC 2020 - the city of Dubrovnik, developed on the east coast of the Adriatic, becoming an EPIC trading and maritime power, especially from the 14^th century onwards. Although the city was economically developed, maritime trade with the East and the hinterland brought on a high risk of epidemics of various diseases. In order to preserve its commercial prosperity, identity and existence, Dubrovnik introduced various preventive medicine measures, the most famous of which is the invention of quarantine!  By introducing regulations relating to hygiene and medicine in order to protect the health of its population and ensure the status of a powerful trading force it had at the time, it was ranked among the most developed European cities, while maintaining the distinctiveness of its medicine.

Another EPIC fun fact is the first pharmacy in Croatia, and the 3rd in Europe was in Dubrovnik. During the Middle Ages, the city was surrounded by gardens full of aromatic herbs, hence was the idea was born of founding laboratories for making medical preparations used to heal the minds and bodies of those in need!

P.S. Anyone who is a Game of Thrones fan wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to visit King’s Landing!

(Photo by Romulic & Stojcic)

Innovation and technology are obviously playing a key role in the development of the medical tourism industry. What trends in particular excite you the most, and what are you looking forward to at EPIC?

Yes, you are right, innovation and technology are really influencing the way we communicate with our patients, but also how we follow up on them and how we create trust and relationship with them. This is where innovation and technology kick in the most, and at EPIC we will have an opportunity to hear about amazing innovations that are used by some of the world’s giants in healthcare, but also about niche innovation that can really make a difference in the future for the patients themselves and the patient experience. I`m looking forward to listening, learning and networking with great speakers and amazing attendees from all over the world.

2019 was a great year for your own Bagatin Clinic. We last saw each other in Berlin at the IMTJ Awards, where you picked up International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic 2019, as well as TEMOS accreditation. What are your plans for 2020 and how do you see things moving in the Croatian medical tourism industry in general?

We have fantastic plans for this year, including the expansion of our clinic in Zagreb the especially dental and aesthetic medicine departments. We are starting with some new services such as hair restoration in Zagreb and Split (which is very popular among medical tourists), we will be present as speakers or partners on more than 15 different conferences and summits outside of Croatia, and will probably open one more satellite outside of Zagreb and Split (this I will share soon).

(Ognjen Bagatin at the IMTJ awards in Berlin, where Bagatin Clinic was named International Cosmetic Surgery Clinic of the Year 2019)

We are continuing with our digital transformation and will open our webshop in February, continue to work on paperless clinic and use technology to save our staff's to put an even better focus on our clients, and are in the process of developing our own app for our clients that will help to increase their patient experience with Bagatin. We are going to continue our cooperation with Cleveland clinic, and try to work more closely with other Croatian clinics and service providers so we can have a bigger impact on international markets.  We have so many open projects at this moment, but let’s talk about it when we finish some of them?

To learn more about EPIC 2020, visit the official website. 

For the latest from the Croatian medical tourism industry, follow the dedicated TCN section.

Total Croatia News is an official media partner of EPIC 2020. 

October 25, 2019 - During a recent TCN interview with global medical tourism expert, Dr Prem Jagyasi, Croatia's leading Bagatin Clinic was mentioned several times. After the interview, I asked Dr Prem to tell us a little more about Bagatin and its standing on the global stage. 

It is just over two years since I became aware of Croatia's medical tourism industry. My introduction was a chap called Ognjen Bagatin, who messaged me on Facebook one evening. I had no idea who he was, but he was very polite and complimentary about my work, which has said he had been following for a number of years. 

A few days later we met at his clinic in Zagreb, a very modern and well-equipped affair, with superbly trained staff. Was I really in Croatia? He encouraged me to visit some other medical tourism facilities of excellence, which is how I came to do tours of Svjetlost Eye Clinic and St Catherine Specialty Hospital, a member of the Leading Hospitals of the World.

I was stunned. Here was a tourism industry where the very best seemingly could compete with some of the best in Europe. I got writing and Health Tourism is Coming Home: Why Zagreb is the Next Big Medical Tourism Destination was born. 

I started attending health tourism conferences, wrote a lot more and even won a medical tourism media award in Malaysia. 

And wherever I went, Bagatin Clinic was already there - at conferences, award ceremonies (such as Best Dermatology Clinic in Europe, above, for example). With my limited knowledge of the global market, it was hard to know just how good Bagatin was outside Croatia, and how the clinic compared with its European competition, but it was clearly doing an excellent job. 

At this week's 3rd Adriatic Health, Sport & Tourism Investment Forum, international keynote speaker Dr Prem Jagyasi was kind enough to find time for a TCN interview. During our chat, Dr Prem mentioned Bagatin several times when giving examples of excellence. I saw it as the perfect opportunity to satisfy my curiosity - how was Bagatin Clinic perceived within the industry outside Croatia? 

(Dr Prem with Team Bagatin - Ognjen Bagatin, Tea Hitner and Andrea Stipanic)

Bagatin is bringing the first patient experience conference to Europe in March, which will be held in Dubrovnik, with Cleveland Clinic. To me this is an amazing thing that one clinic can lead like this.

Not only that but Bagatin Clinic has put so much investment into capacity building, educating their team and also many others in the industry. This patient experience conference clearly shows that a private clinic or hospital can bring so much value to the brand of Croatia. 

They have won many awards for their marketing and treatments, and I have personally visited their centre in Zagreb. The quality, the focus, the design – it is just incredible. I think they could be a perfect case study for other private hospitals and clinics on a global scale. 

You have travelled the medical tourism world and seen many countries in action. Is there a similar example of a private clinic like Bagatin which is so far ahead and really dragging the rest of the brand along with it. 

Not one clinic like Bagatin, no. There have been some hospitals who have arranged conferences, but nothing like Bagatin. And this patient experience conference will be great. It is the Bagatin relationship with Cleveland Clinic which will also see Cleveland involved. 

One thing you will always notice about Bagatin is that they never just talk about their own clinic, but they are always talking about Croatia in general, talking about the wellbeing of patients. And they do capacity building brilliantly. I really do think that the government does need to acknowledge and support such clinics for the efforts they are making. There are perhaps some examples of larger hospitals doing similar things, but for a small clinic like Bagatin, it is unique. 

When did you first become aware of Bagatin Clinic, and tell us about the progress you have seen since that first meeting?

I met CEO Ognjen Bagatin several years ago. I have seen the clinic participating in international conferences in places like the USA for a long time now. I have listened to Ognjen speaking at many conferences all over the world. He talks about how his clinic evolved and became a leader, and how other clinics can also become leaders. 

They are creating a beautiful case study which is a combination of three things: expertise in medicine, expertise in business, and utlising talent. I remember some members of Bagatin were in one of my workshops, and it was noticeable how engaged they were, and how eager to ask questions. They were very active, wanting to learn and improve. Bagatin has created a great working culture. 

All this encouraged me to go and visit them in Zagreb. Ognjen was kind enough to show me every procedure room. The entire space was beautifully designed with open spaces and lots of natural light. Every single element was very well thought out. 

I later researched the clinic and could see the quality of service they provide and the code of ethics. They have developed a brilliant strategy, and when I listen to him speak, he not only talks about the services he offers, but how Bagatin can contribute to help other clinics, both inside Croatia and elsewhere. I am always happy to see them at conferences. 

You obviously have a more global viewpoint than me. I can see that Bagatin is at the top of Croatian medical tourism healthcare, but where would you, with your knowledge and experience, put Bagatin Clinic on a European level?

Bagatin is, in my opinion, close to the very top in Europe. I have been recently to some excellent centres in Paris and Munich, and there are many excellent clinics. However, one issue which I see with clinics in more traditional European destinations is that they rarely have a great marketing strategy. 

European medical tourism destinations build up their facilities, but they are not quite as good at getting their message out there. That is one area where I would put Bagatin at the very top – they really do have the best marketing I have come across in Europe. And of course, the quality of care and service that follows is excellent. This is where Bagatin excels where many European centres failing – reaching out. They do it brilliantly. 

In terms of quality of services, they are on the level of some of the best European clinics, but in terms of packaging of the whole product – outstanding. Their support services are very impressive, including a great international patient support desk. 

And they are setting up a great case study of excellence for other health tourism clinics to follow. The main components are quality, aesthetic design, transparency which they have, ethics and a code of conduct, international standards of customer service, an international patient desk and marketing office, and capacity building. And finally their branding and marketing, for which they have rightly won many awards. 

Such clinics are essential to build the reputation of a destination, as governments alone cannot do everything. But I really do congratulate everyone at Bagatin Clinic – they are doing a wonderful service for Croatia.

You can learn more of Dr Prem's visit to Bagatin Clinic from his blog.

To learn more about the services of Bagatin Clinic, visit the official website. 

To follow the latest from the Croatian medical tourism story, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

September 25, 2019 - Last week's ACAP diaspora conference in Cleveland was another step forward for Croatia's medical tourism industry. TCN catches up with Ognjen Bagatin, who moderated the medical tourism panel. 

The big news, of course, we have already published - an agreement of cooperation between Bagatin Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, which will result in Europe's first Patient Experience conference to be held in Dubrovnik in March - organised by Bagatin with presentation by Cleveland Clinic. You can read more about that here. 

Ognjen Bagatin, the main driving force to establish Croatia's medical tourism industry on the global stage, is just back from the ACAP conference in Cleveland, and we had time to catch up at yesterday's Croatia 365 conference at the Zagreb Sheraton, where he gave me an overview of the medical tourism panel which was a key component of the Cleveland conference. 

Bagatin stated that there were two main goals:

⦁ Show the American Croatian society in US that Croatia has a great potential in this area, but also that we have points of excellence in some area of medicine and attracting large number of international patients/clients (Kvarner, Zagreb, Split) in areas of dental, orthopedic and rehabilitation, aesthetic surgery and non invasive aesthetic treatments, ophthalmology and medical wellness.

⦁ We shared there is opportunities for ACAP members (there are 1400 of them) for investments and getting involved in market development in Croatia, and that now is the right time to invest. This is an emerging market (just like tourism was 20 years ago)  

Our panelist shared success stories from the field and in different sectors:

Mate Car, Phd, assistant minister have shared that the legal framework is done, which means safety for investors, and that Ministry of Health is working on a working group to work on EU funding for next phase of EU funding – 2021-2027.

Marcel Medak, president of HGK health tourism group (and the director of Bizovacke Toplice), shared that now is the right time to invest because there will be an opportunity to invest in public speciality hospitals that are going to be presented soon for investors. This is a big opportunity for investors. Also he mentioned that his rehabilitation clinics had a 30% increase of foreign patients this year and that they are expecting the further growth in the future.

Marinko Rade, MD, Phd, awarded scientist and director of public orthopedic and rehabilitation hospital in Rovinj, shared that every year the Austrians insurance is raisng the quantity of people who they send to their clinics and that they are planning to invest 17 mil $ into further development of their hospital and health tourism in Rovinj. He is a young leader that we need to keep in Croatia.

Vladimir Mozetic, MD, Phd, shared info about Kvarner Cluster and what did they have been doing as a cluster in the last 5 years. Kvarner has 85,000 foreign patients every year, and 80% of them are for dental services. He was sharing how you can succeed with clusterization and branding yourself as a destination of health. He also shared that if you come one week in Losinj you will extend your life for 1 year, so come and try it.

Last but not least, an ACAP member Jeana Havidich, anesthesiologist from Dartmouth Hitchcock medical center, shared that together with TUCK Dartmouth MBA students she will do a project for developing Health and medical tourism in Croatia.  Tuck Dartmouth InSight Global consulting program and Kerry Laufer (project leader) are coming to Croatian in Fall 2019.   They really have done a phenomenal job and made a solid reputation within the international business community.   This is a huge thing for Croatia because their project are featured in Delta magazine throughout of USA.

We also shared why Croatia has a great potential and it is because we already have a market:

⦁ >20 mil. tourist in last two years

⦁ 7% of them are health motivated (according to TOMAS research)

⦁ The private health sector is growing 12-15 % every year

⦁ The industry of health and medical tourism will have an annual growth of 15-20% which is amazing  

(Ognjen Bagatin, left, with Cleveland Clinic CEO and fellow Croat, Tom Mihaljevic).

To follow the latest from the Croatian medical tourism story, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

To learm more about Bagatin Clinic, click here.

September 23, 2019 - A huge boost for the profile of Croatia's medical tourism industry, as Bagatin Clinic announces the first European Patient Experience & Innovation conference, to be held in Dubrovnik. 

Last year I was invited to a press conference at St Catherine Specialty Hospital in Zagreb, one of the Leading Hospitals in the World. I was more than impressed when I learned that the reason for the conference was the announcement of a partnership between the Croatian hospital and OneOne, co-founded by Mayo Clinic, to become the first European partner to make available in Europe the revolutionary RightMed pharmacogenetic test. You can read more about that here. 

A Croatian hospital, the only place in Europe where this groundbreaking test was available. Impressive. And a partner of a project co-founded by Mayo Clinic. Prestigious. 

And just as Mayo Clinic is one of the top names in global healthcare excellence, so too is Cleveland Clinic. 

And Cleveland Clinic is also coming to Croatia with a European first... 

On March 19-20, 2020, to be exact. Croatian medical tourism pioneer Ognjen Bagatin, CEO of leading regional clinic, Bagatin Clinic, announced from Cleveland the first European Patient Experience and Innovation Conference, to be held at Valamar Lacroma Hotel in Dubrovnik, organised by Bagatin Clinic with collaborative international presenter, Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic hosts its own patient experience programme each year, and this will be the first of its kind in Europe. 

The relationship between Croatia and Cleveland Clinic is not new and is one which has been personally fostered by Bagatin, whose efforts to learn from the best are bringing international ideas and expertise to the Croatian medical tourism industry. Bagatin was responsible for bringing Joe Sweet, Cleveland Clinic's International Patient Experience Director to Zagreb earlier this year to speak at the 5th Annual Medical Tourism Conference. TCN interviewed Sweet (you can read the interview here) where he explained how why he had come to Croatia:

Firstly, our CEO Tom Mihaljevic is Croatian. But actually the reason I am here is driven by Ognjen Bagatin of Bagatin Clinic who came to see us in Cleveland to learn about the patient experience and our Patients First initiative. I met with him almost a year ago now, and we really hit it off from that first lunch we had together. I learned more about his personality, his drive and what he is trying to achieve. That was very impressive. And then this opportunity came up with Euro Events to come over and share our story, and Ognjen really connected that, making it happen.

We are interested in spreading the news of who we are and what we do and forming those connections around the world. So we see this as an opportunity to do that, to get out there and build more of those relationships.

We will bring you more details of the conference as it develops, but in the meantime, you can catch the latest from the Croatian medical tourism story in our dedicated section. 

A week has passed since the first Entrepreneurial Mindset conference in Zagreb on September 12, 2019. And preparations are being made to build on its initial success. 

I have been to many conferences in the last few years in Croatia. Many end with a feel-good factor, but as soon as the conference is over and the next day's news stories are consumed, that is often the end of the story and of the initiative. 

Last week was different. 

There is a new kid on the block in Croatian society, and it is a kid which is much more interesting than tourism and with the potential (that word which one always seems to apply to Croatia) to generate more income than tourism itself - the dedicated and driven Croatian entrepreneur. 

Last week's conference in Zagreb brought together some of the very top names in Croatian entrepreneurship, as well as heavyweights from the diplomatic world, for the start of a new initiative to share the success of Croatia's entrepreneurs and to tell their stories - and their failures - in a big to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit in the younger generation of Croats. TCN caught up with Mr. Positive himself, Ognjen Bagatin, conference co-organiser and CEO of Bagatin Clinic to find out how the conference went and what happens next. 

1. Firstly congratulations on a very successful Entrepreneurial Mindset conference, which was very inspirational for all who attended. How would you sum up the conference now that you have had time to reflect on it for a few days?

Thank you for your kind words. It was a really inspirational day with top entrepreneurs in Croatia inspiring and sharing their experiences so we all can grow. Sum of the conference is that we have successful stories in Croatia, that you can succeed in Croatia if you work hard, if you are persistent, if you have a vision, courage, if you celebrate other’s success and you are not afraid of making mistakes. I think we planted a seed of a new hope for Croatia and presented the new leaders and role models of the country that we all can be proud of, leaders like: Mate Rimac, Silvijo Kutić, Nenad Bakić, Alan Sumina, Aleksandra Dojčinović, Matija Žulj, Ivan Mrvoš and many many others. We thank them all for their commitment.

2. As an outside observer, one of the nicest aspects of the conference was seeing the special young guests in the front row of the audience. Tell us a little about them.

I appreciate your question, because the main idea of this conference was to influence the young people. This is why, together with EY Croatia and HUP (CEA - Croatian Employers Association), we made possible for the kids who won top prizes in their contest „Poduzetnici Budućnosti“ (Entrepreneurs of the Future), which involved more than 50 high schools from all over Croatia, have a chance to be a part of the conference and watch their role models from the first row as our VIP guests. 23 young, future entrepreneurs were delighted to be there and our responsibility is to make sure they succeed.

3. The conference finished with an award for Vladimir Mihajlović. Tell us a little about him and his contribution.

It was very touching and I am glad that we as the organizing committee acknowledged the work Vladimir did for the past 13 years in Slavonia where he brought more than a hundred entrepreneurs, managers and business people to give inspirational speeches to elementary school and high school pupils. He is one of true silent leaders in Croatia and an example for all of us. He is a driving force in promoting entrepreneurial mindset amongst our kids which is why we gave him this prize and awarded him with the lifetime award for promoting entrepreneurship with Magazine Poduzetnik and spreading the entrepreneurial mindset. We are really grateful to have people like Vladimir here in Croatia.

4. During the conference, you announced 4 more regional conferences over the next 12 months. Tell us a little about those and what the focus will be.

Our plan is to continue Entrepreneurial Mindset events but for students and high school pupils in Osijek, Rijeka, Split and Zagreb. We think the best investment in our future is for the students to hear future leaders like Mate Rimac, Alan Sumina, Ivan Mrvoš, Matija Žulj etc. We want to share the entrepreneurial mindset and values with them and help them succeed in Croatia. The goal is to break the paradigm that you can`t succeed in Croatia, because you can, as our speakers have proved that.

5. Two of the key themes I noticed during the day were the need to share success stories (including the failures on the way to success), and the need to improve education for the next generation. What initiatives are being taken in that regard?

Interesting question, thank you. From Nenad Bakić we have heard what is the impact of a great project he and his wife started which influences more than 100.000 Croatian kids, the „STEM revolution“ and IRIM – Croatian makers are definitely one of the top initiatives and we all support them. Stjepan Orešković (who is a Harvard Professor and entrepreneur) mentioned that we can make Croatia a student hub of Europe and bring top world teachers and a lot of foreign students if we put focus on that. Initiative for sharing success stories are many, from this conference, to Business cafe, to AmCham, AHK, HUP and other organizations that organize business talks with successful entrepreneurs and managers, but we need more media coverage for the successful stories we already have. In „Poduzetnik“Magazine we are focused on sharing these successful stories every day through video, print and web platforms and will not stop until we make entrepreneurs, the leaders of our society.

6. The conference high-level international support in the form of both the Israeli and American ambassadors as speakers. What role does the international community have to play in developing the Croatian entrepreneurial sector?

Yes, we had ambassador Kohorst from USA and ambassador Mor from Israel as key notes because we wanted them to share stories from their countries that can help our entrepreneurs and business people get more ideas and inspiration.

Ambassador Kohorst is an entrepreneur and he shared with us his big successes but also his big failure. In one business he lost 4 mil. $, but it was a huge learning opportunity for him and we appreciate him sharing that, because it just shows that failures are just bumps on the road to success.

Ambassador Mor’s role was to share how Israel became one of world’s top Start-up nations, and there is a lot to learn from them.

The international community is important for Croatian entrepreneurial sector for investments, know-how, franchising and so on and we need to keep our eyes open for these opportunities.

7. A successful working partnership with the relevant ministries will help Croatian entrepreneurs. What are the key issues you would like to see worked on to improve the entrepreneurial environment?

I think the biggest help will be with lowering taxes on salaries, but also to do more campaigns which would celebrate our entrepreneurs` success so they have a better perception in the public, because small and medium companies are those that benefit Croatian economy the most. Help entrepreneurs grow, so we all can grow. The goal for all of us together should be the growth of Croatian GDP overall and GDP per capita - this is something everyone in Croatia will sense in their salaries.

You can learn more about the first Entrepreneurial Mindset conference and meet some of its key speakers in the dedicated TCN section. 

September 7, 2019 - Continuing our look at the speakers for next week's inaugural Entrepreneurial Mindset conference in Zagreb next week Next up, conference organiser and entrepreneurial driving force, Ognjen Bagatin.

It quickly sold out and there is a waiting list of hundreds should tickets become available. Next week's Entrepreneurial Mindset conference in Zagreb is the first of its kind in Croatia, and it includes a top draw list of speakers, several of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country.  

One of the co-founders of the conference is Ognjen Bagatin, one of the most energetic proponents of change and positivity in Croatia today. In addition to running the award-winning and rapidly-expanding Bagatin Clinic in Zagreb and Split, Bagatin is at the heart of efforts to establish Croatia as a top medical tourism destination on the global map, as well as to strengthen ties between the business community in the diaspora and the homeland. His magazine, Casopis Poduzetnik is rapidly becoming a focal point for the business community in Croatia. TCN caught up with Bagatin to learn more about the conference on September 12, which will also be live-streamed.

1. As a Brit, I notice that entrepreneurs are not embraced and supported as much in Croatia as they are in countries with a longer capitalist tradition. How does it feel being an entrepreneur here?

You are right in the sense of support, but that just means there are huge opportunities for entrepreneurship in Croatia. At the moment the biggest issue is our mindset, there is a lack of an entrepreneurial mindset and understanding among the general public. If there are more successful entrepreneurs there will be more chances for everybody, but like I said it is an opportunity.

2.  How would you compare the perception of an entrepreneur in Croatia to one in Germany or the USA, for example?

The perception of an entrepreneur in the USA and Germany is much better and more motivating to get into new business opportunities. There they see failures as an opportunity and a bump on the road to success. In those countries, the entrepreneur is considered to be a driving force of the economy, which they really are.

In Croatia, we still have a long way to go to get a perception like that, and that is the reason why we need to put focus on the thousands and thousands of successful entrepreneurs who are doing an amazing job to create an environment where you can succeed, as opposed to the current "you can`t succeed" environment. Entrepreneurs are those who create jobs, create value for the economy and a better environment for new entrepreneurs.
 
3.  A conference on the entrepreneurial mindset is very innovative for this part of the world. How did it come about?

Our goal was to create an environment of success and creativity, and to give hope to all those who are thinking of leaving the country. We are doing the conference so that both new and more experienced entrepreneurs get inspiration from those who are doing an amazing job and from whom we can learn. Our goal is to celebrate others' success, to focus on future growth and to learn from the best of us. We want Croatia to be the most creative, the most innovative and most entrepreneurial country in the new Europe.
 
4. What are your hopes for the conference and what do you hope to achieve?

Our goal is to inspire entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs and encourage them to continue with their efforts to succeed in Croatia. That is why we choose EY Croatia to be program partners and together with them we gathered entrepreneurs from their project EY Entrepreneur of the Year which has been running for 5 years in Croatia. We are very grateful to have them at our conference as speakers, but also as attendees. We hope to show that the entrepreneurial community is focused on the future, and that we celebrate each other's success. The next goal for us is to do these kinds of event but focused on students, because they are our greatest strength.

5. I assume that this is not just a one-off conference, but part of a longer-term strategy. Can you tell us a little more?

You are right, this is the start of a long term platform for the promotion of entrepreneurship, and we have plans to organize this every year and to have a smaller conferences for promotion of entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurship with university students and high school students, but also to have a series of podcast, articles and videos on this topic through www.poduzetnik.biz and our Entrepreneur Magazine. Our goal is to create a new army of entrepreneurs who we all are going to be proud of.
 
6. As conference organiser, I must congratulate you on such a great list of speakers, the real cream of Croatia's entrepreneurial class. Was it easy to persuade them?

The great thing is that we all have similar goals and want to give back to society, so in that sense it was easy, but it is also easier when you have EY Croatia by your side as a Program Partner?

7. Instilling an entrepreneurial mindset into a society which has grown up with socialism will take some time and effort. What is the roadmap to achieve this?

It will take some effort to install an entrepreneurial mindset, but with the strengthening of entrepreneurial community and successful entrepreneurial role models such as Mate Rimac (Rimac Automobili), Silvije Kutic (Infobip), Nenad Bakic (Varteks and Croatian Makers) , Alan Sumina (Nanobit), Ivan Mrvos (Include), Matia Zulj (Agrivi), Aleksandra Dojcinovic (Lei lou) and many, many others, and the new generation will embrace this opportunity and find the way to succeed, and the more of them who succeed will make it easier for everybody else. That is why the culture of success is our greatest chance.

The road map is simple, feed the public with positive news from the business sector, and do it more often than with negative news. We have so many of successful Croatians in Croatia and abroad, and we need to share more of their success to the others, it is our responsibility if we want our children to grow up in a healthier environment and to make Croatia a great place to live and work. I think that is something we all want.  
 
More info at www.poduzetnickimindset.biz and FB Casopis poduzetnik

He is one of the most positive, dynamic and inspirational people I have met in my time in Croatia. When Ognjen Bagatin is not busy growing his extremely successful Bagatin Clinic - one of the leading in the region voted the best dermatology clinic in Europe last year - he can be spotted in suit and red and white Croatian chequered tie in various international cities promoting the Croatian medical tourism industry and strengthening links with the Croatian diaspora. 

Bagatin is also a very good motivational speaker, and his latest speaking experience was at the 53 Business Cafe gathering in Zagreb. I could not attend personally, and Business Cafe boss Kristina Ercegovic kindly agreed to send me this report. 

Conscious entrepreneurship and leadership as a hot topic on a summer edition of 53rd Business Cafe 

Business Cafe events gathering small entrepreneurs continue to open all topics regarding entrepreneurship. Guests not only talk about their success stories and failure along the way but about all sides of entrepreneurship in Croatia as well.  

The 53rd edition held on Thursday July 11, 2019 was committed to doing conscious Business which means to have not only profit as the only measure of success, but a higher purpose, contribution, impact and joy as well. 

Guests discussed topics such as doing fair business, honest marketing, selling and negotiating, paying the full price and on time, respecting your suppliers and competitors, developing long term win-win relationships, not having double standards one for us and our clients and other for vendors and employees etc.

Many answers came from Ognjen Bagatin, co-owner and CEO of Poliklinika Bagatin, a man who successfully runs his business, connects the diaspora and Croatia, is devoted to promoting health tourism but also a man who openly speaks about his mistakes on the way, a man who is a simple and humble guy, an example of servant leader, who is trying to develop people, help Croatia develop an entrepreneurial mindset and culture of success, and someone who always says when others are doing great we are benefitting from that. So we should not only want but also help others succeed. 

He is a great example of a new, different kind, a conscious and authentic leader, so rare not only in Croatia but all around as well. 

He invited everyone in the Business Cafe audience to talk openly about their mistakes and to take responsibility to always focus on what can we do and not whose fault is something. He stressed out that to be a conscious leader one must first lead himself, to be able to be present in the moment, to be highly emotionally intelligent and to learn all the time. He said he listens to many audiobooks, has his own mentor, is into personal development and always starts with himself, while remaining focused on his vision and goals.

He is honestly happy when someone succeeds and shares all the rewards and recognition info He is honestly happy when someone succeeds and shares all the rewards and recognition info 

He said we should all do that, share info when we succeed and share when others do. That is the way to build a culture of success we desperately need here.  

Being devoted to developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset in Croatia Ognjen's magazine and portal Poduzetnik together with EY are organizing a conference of the same name on September 12th. 

The most successful and inspiring names from the Croatian entrepreneurial world will join as speakers, and almost everyone has already featured in Business Cafe events for the past nine years. 

Empathy and authenticity as well as being human and doing good, those were the main messages of the 53 rd Business Cafe in Zagreb. 

Business Cafe continues on August 26th with its International edition sharing foreign entrepreneurs stories in Croatia, and then on September 19th sharing Croatian success stories as usual. In the meantime, Kristina Ercegović, Business Cafe owner will moderate one of the panels on September 12th at the conference Entrepreneurial mindset. 

There IS a better Croatia. Come join us all and let's all build a great place to live and do business here.

To learn more about the Entrepreneurial Mindset conference, click here. 

For more information about Business Cafe. 

To connect with Ognjen Bagatin and the services of Bagatin Clinic.