The advantage of mentoring

Mentoring is a valuable resource that can make a big difference on the entrepreneurial path. It offers first-hand insights, practical advice and a firm hand to guide you through the complex terrain of business. In the “Growing Youth Potential” program, mentoring plays a key role in shaping the understanding of entrepreneurship in participants.

After going through all the workshops, our participants continued their journey through the mentoring process.

Meet our mentors!

Andrej Hanzir is a key project manager at the Croatian Office for Creativity and Innovation. He is the person in charge of overseeing all projects and head of the LEAP Summit team. Andrej has vast experience in project management and has been awarded as the best project manager in Croatia and the third best young project manager in the world by the International Project Management Association. Andrei’s experience also includes entrepreneurial skills acquired during the establishment of two NGOs and one start-up. At, he was in charge of the topics of entrepreneurship, business development, business modeling, finance and impact measurement.

Tena Žganec is a project manager at the Croatian Office for Creativity and Innovation, where through various activities and programs she strives to give young people the opportunity to be creative, responsible and proactive in their communities. A phonetician by profession, Tena is also engaged in education on the topic of communication and public appearance, and regularly holds workshops for all ages, from kindergarten onwards. Tena was in charge of design thinking, innovation and pitching at.

Matea Frankulin was marketing manager at the Croatian Office for Creativity and Innovation. It monitors the visibility of each project in the public and media, as well as the creation of strategies for digital and classic advertising and helps organize events. With her advanced experience from HUKI and previous digital marketing agencies, she has taken a leading role in marketing and communication-related topics at.

Blanka Hlad isa project manager with over 10 years of experience working and volunteering in the non-governmental sector. She holds a master’s degree in social pedagogy and attended psychotherapeutic education in the field of reality therapy. In addition to formal education, she completed courses such as Training for Human Rights Trainers, Youth Work – Methods for Youth Work, Youth Initiative – Working with Young Men, etc. He has experience in individual and group work with people in a variety of topics that focus on personal and professional development. At, she was in charge of the topics of well-being, self-perception and general support for participants with reduced opportunities.

platform

One of the most important advantages of mentoring is the ability to ask questions. In search of knowledge, participants took the opportunity to seek guidance on a variety of topics.

In doing so, they were able to use the Growing Youth Potential platform , which is available in as many as 6 different languages: English, Croatian, Slovenian, German, Hungarian and Romanian! On the platform itself, participants, as well as all other interested parties, can create their own profile and explain their entrepreneurial idea. More importantly, they can also ask a question that our mentors answer in the shortest possible time!

In addition to asking questions, on the platform it is possible to find a large project of various articles and resources for all those who are interested in entrepreneurial waters.

Learn from the questions of our participants

Interested in some of the questions that plagued our participants? We share with you, some of our answers:

Can I somehow further protect the brand, e.g. Production process or something else?

If there is uniqueness in a particular segment of the product, production process or something else, it is possible to protect intellectual property. One can protect the brand (trademark), industrial design, also if, for example, there is potential for a designation of origin, etc.

More info: https://www.dziv.hr/

Also, at the EU level there is an EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) that deals with EU-wide protection. More info: https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/web/guest/home

How do you arrange an ownership structure with founders and (early) investors to be fair to all stakeholders? In other words, how can you not take advantage of anyone in the process without being used yourself?

It depends on who brings what into the entrepreneurial venture. In the beginning, detailed discussions about expectations and opportunities are very important. (what a particular founder expects from the whole story, what he can offer, what he wants to enter, etc.). The founder’s business is generally a matter of agreement. With early investors, it again depends who the investors are. If it’s already some VC funds, etc. it is a valuation of startups (depending on what stage investors enter – is it an early stage where there is only an idea so it is a seed investment or there is already some prototype so it is for example series A – https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/102015/series-b-c-funding-what-it-all-means-and-how-it-works.asp). Depending on the valuation and investment that the investor gives, an ownership stake in the enterprise is offered, which the owners can refuse or accept.

How do you get to the pitch, i.e. the situation that you pitch for capital or for B2B sales?

By registering for startup competitions, startup incubators/ accelerators, direct contact with specific companies, etc. (B2B is sold.

 

Must read literature for entrepreneurship and marketing?

[Poduzetništvo]
1) https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898
(2) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18050143-zero-to-one

[Poduzetništvo & marketing]
(1) https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Cow-New-Transform-Remarkable/dp/1591843170

[Marketing]
1) https://www.amazon.com/Epic-Content-Marketing-Different-Customers/dp/0071819894
(2) https://atomskimarketing.com/

 

We hope that we have helped someone else outside the program, and in case you have questions for us – feel free to contact us through the platform!

 

The project is implemented within the Erasmus + program co-financed by the European Union and which supports the development of knowledge and skills in the fields of education, training, youth and sports. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the Croatian Office for Creativity and Innovation.

You can read more about the program here: https://ampeu.hr/erasmus