The first day of the inaugural unlockit conference, organized by the Digital Serbia Initiative, was held today at Sava Centar, bringing together more than 800 participants from 25 countries — founders, investors, students, corporate representatives, and members of the innovation ecosystem.
The conference was opened by Tanja Kuzman, Director of the unlockit conference and the Digital Serbia Initiative, who reminded attendees that the idea for the event was conceived only a few months ago and, in just 240 days, grew into an international gathering of founders, investors, and technology leaders shaping the global market through products used by millions and investments that fuel further ecosystem growth.
“unlockit was created out of the need to open space for serious, honest conversations about global growth — without myths and without shortcuts. In this room today are people building products for millions of users, as well as those just beginning that journey. Sometimes one meeting, one idea, or one decision is enough to create real momentum,” said Kuzman.
AI, Scaling, and the Cost of Growth
Throughout the day at Sava Centar, discussions focused on the key forces shaping today’s global technology landscape: how to build products in the AI era, how to scale a company without losing focus, how to make strategic decisions in a rapidly changing environment, and how to recognize the moment when a local story becomes a global one.
Ravish Agrawal (Gamma) spoke about the rise of AI-native products, while Branko Milutinović, CEO and Co-founder of Nordeus, shared insights on transitioning from the startup phase to building a long-term global company. The role of brand as a strategic growth tool was explored by Nina Lalić, while Damir Sabol, Founder of Photomath, emphasized that an entrepreneurial mindset is essential regardless of a company’s stage of development.
“Long-term strength comes from the ability to generate significant profit and reinvest it into the next product. We were fortunate that investment was not necessary at the moment when we were already able to launch products,” said Milutinović.
“Sometimes we’re not ambitious enough. Build big things and be confident — that’s what’s expected in Silicon Valley,” said Damir Sabol, Director of Software Engineering at Google and Co-founder of Photomath.
From Founder Lessons to Investment Decisions
Talks and conversations also addressed the real cost of growth — from partnerships and financial infrastructure, discussed by Damir Čaušević (Monri Payments) and Maximilian Schausberger (Elevator Ventures), to investment criteria and recognizing “outlier” founders, presented by Sarah Finegan (Antler) and Rajko Radovanović (Andreessen Horowitz).
Strategic decision-making during the scaling phase was explored by Marius Haufe and Joerg Rheinboldt, while Marija Radulović Nastić, former CTO of Electronic Arts, shared her perspective on technology leadership during periods of accelerated growth.
Special emphasis was placed on personal entrepreneurial journeys — the rejections, mistakes, and long-term game behind every global success. Nick Velkovski (HeyReach) spoke about the lessons behind every “no,” Nikolina Lauc (GlycanAge) about long-term vision and perseverance, while Dušan Komar (Ominimo) and Aleksandra Mitrevska (Native Teams) shared experiences of transitioning from corporate environments to startup reality and the challenges of maintaining focus during growth.
In his talk “How Every ‘No’ Led Me Here?”, Nick Velkovski, Co-founder and CEO of HeyReach, reflected on the rejections and failures that preceded the company’s current success, with more than $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Although investors and the market initially told him the competition was too strong and the idea too risky, those “no’s” became his most valuable lessons.
“If they had said ‘yes’ back then, we probably wouldn’t have built the company we have today,” Velkovski emphasized, highlighting that persistence often matters more than early support.
Global Expansion and the Future of AI
The themes of global expansion and the future of AI were further explored by Bar Winkler (Wonderful), Daniil Liberman (Gonka.ai), and Mirko Novaković (Dash0), who shared perspectives on founder-led sales, as well as Miloš Trajković (Tenstorrent), who spoke about building next-generation AI companies.
At the end of the first day, the launch of the Soonicorn program was officially announced — a regional, tailored program designed for startups aiming to accelerate growth in global markets with support from mentors across different parts of the world. More details about the program will be shared soon.
The first day of the unlockit conference confirmed that Belgrade is becoming a meeting point for global capital, knowledge, and ambition. The program continues tomorrow with a focus on concrete strategies in sales, fundraising, marketing, and the application of artificial intelligence for international markets.
