Iman Merdžanović was part of last year’s 7-week pre-incubation program at BIRD Incubator, where she won 2nd place at Demo Day. Since then, she’s been actively developing Nazeer and Zyra, turning her idea into products tackling real challenges in construction.
1. Who are you, what’s the name and age of your startup, and what problem are you solving?
My name is Iman. I studied civil engineering and I am currently specializing in project development. The startup I came to the incubator with is called Nazeer — a platform that uses digital twins, predictive analytics, and what-if scenario testing to simulate construction projects before they are built and help investors make smarter decisions earlier in the process.
The goal is not just to digitalize projects, but to allow investors and project managers to see in advance where costs increase, where risks appear, and where a project can be optimized. The long-term goal is to enable smarter decision-making in the planning phase and create significant savings — not by reducing quality, but by improving the strategy behind the project itself.
2. How did you first connect with BIRD Incubator, and what made you decide to join the program?
I joined the incubator with a very clear idea and the goal of testing it in the way serious startups do — through the market, not only through a concept.
During the pre-incubation program, I refined the idea, focused the problem, and defined a realistic first product. I also won second place at Demo Day, but more importantly, the program helped me confirm that the direction I’m building in has real market potential.
3. Every startup faces challenges — what’s been your toughest obstacle so far, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge wasn’t the idea itself, but how to test a product based on project simulation in a market that still doesn’t have enough structured data. That is exactly why Zyra was created. Zyra is a platform that helps construction companies automatically verify quantities and payment statements by comparing them with project documentation, instead of doing it manually in Excel.
Instead of starting with a complex platform, I focused on building a product that solves a very real problem the industry already has today, while at the same time creating the data foundation needed for the larger vision.
Zyra is designed to be tested first in the Croatian market and across the region, while Nazeer is built with a much larger, international market in mind.
4. What’s one resource, connection, or experience at BIRD Incubator that truly made a difference in your startup’s growth?
What helped me the most was being in an environment where ideas are not evaluated based on how good they sound, but based on how realistic they are in the market.
The mentorship helped me start thinking like a founder who is building a scalable product, not just developing an idea. I learned how to simplify a problem without losing the long-term vision, which is essential for a startup like this.
5. Investors and partners are often curious — what makes your business model stand out, who are your target customers, and how does Zyra support your long-term vision for Nazeer?
The long-term vision is a platform that allows construction projects to be simulated and optimized before they even begin. That means the focus is not on tracking projects, but on improving decisions in the planning phase.
What makes the model different is the way it is being built. Instead of starting with a complex system, I focused on building a product the market already needs and is ready to use today.
Zyra works as the MVP, but at the same time it is a real product that can already be tested with construction companies. It solves an operational problem today while at the same time creating the foundation for a much larger platform.
6. Let’s talk about the future — where do you see your startup in five years, and what goals are you most excited to achieve?
In five years, I see Zyra becoming a standard tool for verification of construction quantities and payment statements in the Croatian market and across the region.
At the same time, the long-term focus is Nazeer. It is designed as a platform with much larger scalability potential, because it is not limited to one market but to the way construction projects are planned globally.
The goal is to develop a platform that can be used by project developers, investors, and designers internationally — a system that allows projects to be simulated, optimized, and financially tested before they are built.
7. To wrap up, what’s one piece of advice or wisdom from your journey that you believe every founder should know?
The most important thing I learned through this process is how important it is to test an idea in the real market, not only develop it as a concept.
Through the incubator and mentorship, I realized that sometimes the best way to build a long-term product is to start with something very focused that the industry can immediately use. That’s exactly how Zyra was created — as the first concrete step that can be tested with companies and used to build something much bigger over time.
