On May 14th, we hosted Mentor Speed Dating at BIRD Incubator for the 12 startups participating in our Preincubation program. The event was designed to connect founders with mentors who could help them tackle the specific challenges they are currently facing in their startup journeys.
The evening kicked off with startup pitches from one member of each team:
- InStock (Dominik Zoričić)
- CertGate (Josip Papak)
- spotted. (Eni-Magdalena Orić)
- Vatro-dron (Antun Matijašec)
- CargoGO (Lovre Vojnović)
- Sumato (Ivan Androšević)
- KupiZaMene (Hrvoje Kovač)
- Graph Analyst (Silvio Sopić)
- FuelPro (Pablo Benko)
- AutoOffice (Stipe Fatović)
- Parking Guide (Karlo Gabrek)
Following the pitches, the event transitioned into the speed dating mentoring sessions — a series of focused 1-on-1 meetings between founders and mentors. Through multiple five-minute conversations, startups rotated between mentors from different industries and areas of expertise, with the goal of finding the right people to offer relevant advice, share experience, and help them overcome specific roadblocks.
What made the format especially valuable was the diversity of perspectives in the room. In just one evening, founders had the opportunity to test ideas, ask targeted questions, and receive direct feedback from experienced professionals who understand the realities of building and growing businesses.
Many teams walked away not only with actionable insights, but also with potential long-term mentor relationships and valuable new connections within the startup ecosystem.
The mentors who took part this year were Joško Bobanović, Branimir Buntak, Damir Firšt, Christer Andersson, Marko Brkljačić, Mario Ramić, Ivana Kraljić, Anita Čavrag, Igor Sobota, Martin Hren, Michael Wenning, Dražen Oreščanin, Marijan Bračić, Natalia Zielinska, and Alen Gojčeta. A huge thank you to all of them for sharing their time, knowledge, and experience with our teams.
Mentor Speed Dating once again proved how impactful short, focused conversations can be when the right founders and mentors are brought together in the same room.
