Investor Saša Cvetojević: “I Definitely Feel That Anything That Disrupts Existing Business Models Has Great Potential.”

Describe yourself in 50 words or less.

Entrepreneur and investor. Founder of the first and most acclaimed Croatian startup incubator, ZIP.

What led you to investing in startups?

It was a combination of things: interest in new technologies, new business models, new people who are able to bring even the craziest ideas to fruition. Of course, I also expect a return on my investment.

What startups are you currently involved in?

I invested in Repsly in their early phase. I was quite involved at the beginning, but they’ve “grown up” now, they’ve picked up two seed rounds in the US and are developing without much assistance from me. Today, I’m fairly involved with uniGkulo, a diabetes control and management system.

I’ve invested in ten or so other startups, such as Entrio, Hypersfera and Once Football. We collected a small fond at ZIP through which we’ve invested in four new startups, where we’re now waiting for their first serious results.

Describe your typical day from waking up to going to bed.

I don’t start early, I’m not a morning person. I get going around 9am by checking emails and posts received during the night. After this is attend meetings, on average five a day, with a couple of hours of operations work at the companies where I am the majority owner or founder. Lunchtime is almost always reserved for a business lunch, so the time goes fast until 5pm. There’s more peace after 5, no telephones and no hands-on. I take two to three hours to check my emails again, check social media, write some posts and respond to any enquiries received via all channels during the day. I also use this time to think about future steps and plan strategic moves. I finish up after 7pm, sometimes even after 8, and head for home. Supper, time with my family until 11 or midnight. Before I go to sleep, I often spend another hour or two on emails and social networks.

Essentially this sounds like I don’t really have any free time. This is true in a way, because I don’t differentiate between work and free time. My way of life and business values don’t allow for it, and if you ask me how many hours a day I work – my answer is that I don’t work at all. I also don’t know how many days of holidays I have per year, or how many hours a week I work, because my socializing with friends, weekend dinners and travel are almost always in some way connected to my business and generally where new business opportunities, ideas and challenges arise.

Tell us about your best investment so far and why it succeeded.

To date, my most successful investments have been in companies I founded myself. The pharmaceutical company I sold to the Atlantic Group in 2008 was definitely a good exit, perfectly timed. My first company, Insako, is still successfully doing business 25 years later and turning a profit which enables me to invest in new things. It’s definitely my best investment, but also the biggest job, as it still takes up a certain amount of my time.

The most successful startup I’ve invested in so far is Repsly. They have collected about 3 million in investments so far, both in Croatia and in America, they’re growing well and I think the exit will be what I aimed for.

My biggest loss isn’t a startup I invested in and lost on, but one I missed out on – Mate Rimac, of Rimac Automobili, called for investors in 2012, and I failed to invest in valuations which would have been several tens of times the amount today.

Tell us about an investment you made which turned out to be unsuccessful.

There have been various misses. I might highlight the project “Naklikaj.hr”, which should have been the first major service for micro-companies and artisans to offer a very simple and turbo-fast way to create a presence online. My fellow investor and I misread the team involved, it transpired that they would not be able to deliver what was promised, and ultimately, we withdrew.

7 years from now: how did your contribution change the startup world?

The tech and startup scene in Croatia is very different today than in the moment we began discussing them and working. Today, “startup” is a buzzword used by everyone, albeit also for all sorts of ventures which are not startups. A whole new generation of business people has matured, some of whom started out in parallel and independently of us, some of whom we directly helped. The state and local governments have gotten involved and have started significantly encouraging and stimulating innovative businesses. The regulations have also changed in the sense that the IT sector has finally been recognized as an export industry, rather than simply a service sector.

What trends would you bet your money on? And how will they influence everyday life?

I definitely feel that anything that disrupts existing business models and way of thinking, implemented correctly, has great potential. Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the segments that will soon see big changes.

All forms of sharing economies are especially interesting and I also expect big steps and plenty of new players in the game, as well as the disappearance of some former giants, even some whole sectors. The EU has a big problem with regulations, over-regulating and terrible bureaucracy, as well as the non-existence of a single digital market.

However, ridesharing, co-working, new trends in food preparation and delivery and all forms of driverless transport will find their place in the EU.

What does it take for a startup to impress you?

The team, first of all. The team has to prove their passion, but be grounded enough in reality to know how to deliver on their promises. In Croatia, we generally see overpromise and underdelivery, while we look for it to be the other way around.

What do you offer your partners when you’re not throwing money at them?

Most of my fellow investors and I have come to the conclusion that most of our beneficiaries consider that the money itself is the least important part of what they get from an angel investor such as myself. The money is far from negligible, but if we really want to achieve something, an angel investor and a good founding team can be a killer combination. Not only “can”, in fact, they must.

Describe what a business relationship with you looks like.

I have decided not to invest in the ideas of people I wouldn’t have a beer with. Even if they don’t drink beer. There’s not much legal wrangling with me. I don’t go for big plans, xls. tables and PP presentations. I’m more appreciative of people who set the bar lower and exceed their own goal than those who promise a lot and deliver excuses.

What advice would you give first time entrepreneurs and young startups?

Sales is everything and everything is sales. But first, you have to have something to sell, so if all you have is an idea, keep on having it. But if you’re capable of turning ideas into reality, start yesterday and don’t overthink things. In any case, your path probably won’t take you where you wanted to go, which doesn’t mean you won’t be satisfied with the final destination!

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