The challenge which any successful start-up entrepreneur has to face is how to harmonise their desire to retain ownership of their idea and the need for faster growth of business through external investments, says Ivan Pelivan, one of the directors of Stratowave Connect, a company which is developing products and solutions for wireless long-distance communication, reports Poslovni.hr on January 7, 2019.
They are one of the eighteen teams of the third generation of the Startup Factory acceleration programme, which was launched three years ago by the City of Zagreb and the Zagreb Innovation Center (ZICER) to strengthen the ecosystem for start-up entrepreneurship. At the 2018 Zagreb Connect, they were named one of the top five Start-Up Factory teams.
The internal team consists of Vilko Klein, Ivan Nikolić and Ivan Pelivan, who are joined by eight experts from electronics and information technology to sales and marketing. The young company started operating in April and was jointly founded by Vilko Klein and Ivan Pelivan.
The Stratowave name originates from the previous experiment with wireless communication from the stratosphere which was developed by Vilko Klein and Ivan Nikolić. The English name should facilitate the recognition of companies abroad, says Pelivan. “Our solution is unique in that it offers a range of 50 kilometres, and even more in the future, which we achieve through a combination of commercially available equipment and years of experience in the field of wireless technologies. Last year, we recognized that it was an ideal moment to launch the project. In just a few months, we gathered the initial members of the wider team. After we founded the company, we were joined by experts from the fields of marketing and information technology,” explains Pelivan.
Pelivan, Klein and Nikolić used the self-employment incentives, which were indispensable for starting the business. Before they launched the company, they applied for the programme of support for entrepreneurial projects in Croatia designed for novice entrepreneurs. They were among the seven finalists among 350 applied projects. “The competition was crucial since it included mentoring and establishing business contacts. We have also received support from the Croatian Employment Service (CES), enabling us to enter the demanding world of private entrepreneurship,” says Pelivan.
Their goal is to expand to European markets, and they have already made contact with the companies in the region. “Reactions to our ideas, solutions and current results are positive. Potential clients and partners see great potential in implementing our communications solution in conjunction with drones, and it is up to us to turn them into practical commercial products,” explains one of the directors.
“We are proud that our idea has produced excellent results in a relatively short time which, of course, raises expectations, but we are confident we will meet them in the course of the next year. This year is crucial for us,” explains Pelivan.
The final product should be ready for production by 2020. As for the start-up itself, they see it as a way to commercialise their creative ideas. “One of the challenges in this journey is to align the desire to retain ownership of our idea with the need for faster growth through outside investments. The entrepreneur is the one making the ultimate decision,” Pelivan concludes.
More news on the Croatian start-ups can be found in our Business section.
Translated from Poslovni.hr (reported by Lucija Špiljak).
