MPIK success academy 2026

Entrepreneurship

29. 9. 7.–8. 10. 20. 10. 3. 11. 10. 11. 17. 11. 24. 11. 2026
16.00 - 19.00
MPIK1 Slovenj Gradec and the Old Ironworks of Ravne

Kliknite za prenos dogodka

Build a business that can grow.

MPIK Success Academy is a practical entrepreneurial program of the Network Business Incubator Koroška, intended for startups, development-oriented companies and ambitious individuals with an entrepreneurial idea.

The program guides participants through 8 practical workshops, from market and customer screening to business model, sales, legal foundations, business economics, use of artificial intelligence, digital visibility, and clear value presentation.

The purpose of the academy is to help entrepreneurs develop their ideas, products, services or businesses in a more systematic, practical and market-oriented way.

Registration is possible for the entire set of workshops or for individual workshops. The number of places is limited.

Who is it intended for?

Ambitious individuals with an entrepreneurial idea who want to test, develop and prepare their idea for the market.

Startups and entrepreneurial teams looking for their first customers, a clearer business model, more efficient sales, and a foundation for growth.

Development-oriented companies that want to improve sales, business economics, digital visibility, use of artificial intelligence tools, or presentation of their value.

What do you gain by participating?

By participating in the program you will:

better understand your customers, the market and the needs you are solving,
check whether your idea, product or service has market potential,
designed a clearer and more sustainable business model,
improved the sales approach and understanding of company growth,
learned the key legal and financial foundations of business,
use artificial intelligence tools to make daily work more efficient,
understand how the online visibility of companies is changing in the age of artificial intelligence,
more clearly present the value of your offering to customers, partners or investors.

Programme

Workshop 1: Does the market really need your solution?

Customers, needs and market verification

29. 9. 2026 | 16.00–19.00 | MPIK1 Slovenj Gradec, Ozare 19, 2380 Slovenj Gradec

The workshop is aimed at better understanding customers, their needs and the problem that the entrepreneurial idea solves. Participants will learn how to ask the right questions, how to test assumptions in the market and how to develop a product or service that is not just based on a feeling, but on real customer needs.

What will you gain?

better understanding of customers, their needs and problems,
knowledge of how to ask the right questions and test assumptions,
clearer direction as to whether the product or service really meets the needs of the market.

Sofija Sion

Sofija Sion is a marketing expert and self-employed entrepreneur specializing in positioning, growth marketing, and market assumptions testing. At the startup Polifinity, she transformed an MVP into a service through customer research that generated 60,000 EUR in offers. She also taught a similar approach in workshops at the GoStartup Academy of the Primorska Technology Park.

Workshop 2: How to build a business that can grow

Business model as the foundation of growth

7. 10. 2026 | 16.00–19.00 | MPIK1 Slovenj Gradec, Ozare 19, 2380 Slovenj Gradec

A good product does not necessarily mean a good business. The workshop will teach participants how to think about the business model, revenue sources, key customers, costs, partners and how to create value. The focus will be on how to turn an idea, product or service into a more sustainable and development-oriented business.

What will you gain?

understanding why a good product does not necessarily mean a good business,
insight into the key elements of a sustainable business model,
a clearer picture of how a company creates, delivers and captures value.

dr. Rok Stritar

Rok Stritar is an entrepreneur, mentor and long-time lecturer in entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana. He has extensive experience in supporting companies in the growth phase, is the co-author of the manual for entrepreneurial mentors of the Slovenian Social Security Administration, the founder and procurator of the company Kibuba, and a consultant to major business systems in Slovenia.

Workshop 3: From a good product to a company that knows how to sell

Sales, customers and sales system

8. 10. 2026 | 16.00–19.00 | MPIK1 Slovenj Gradec, Ozare 19, 2380 Slovenj Gradec

The workshop focuses on the transition from product development to sales, systems, and business growth. Participants will consider how to design a sales approach, how to better engage customers, how to build repeatable sales, and how to gradually evolve a company from a single offering to a more organized sales system.

What will you gain?

better understanding of the sales process,
tools for a more effective approach to customers,
guidelines on how to build a repeatable sales system from individual sales.

dr. Rok Stritar

Workshop 4: Legal Mistakes That Can Halt a Business's Growth

Legal foundations for safer business

20. 10. 2026 | 16.00-19.00 | MPIK1 Slovenj Gradec, Ozare 19, 2380 Slovenj Gradec

Legal problems often only emerge when a company starts to grow – when unsettled agreements between founders, ownership, contracts or intellectual property rights become an obstacle to investment, collaboration or team development. Using practical examples from working with startups and investors, we will look at how to timely regulate the relationships between founders, the corporate framework and preparation for investor entry, contracts with customers and partners, intellectual property and relationships with employees and external contractors. We will also touch on personal data protection and other regulatory requirements and show what makes sense to regulate immediately, what can wait and how to recognize warning signs while mistakes are still fixable.

What will you gain?

an overview of the most common legal mistakes in growing a business and what they actually cost,
a clear distinction between what needs to be sorted out now and what can wait,
A checklist of questions for arranging the legal foundations in your company.

dr. Peter Merc

Dr. Peter Merc is the founder and managing partner of Lemur Legal. He knows startups from four perspectives: as an investor (partner in a venture capital firm), as a legal advisor in the fields of technology law, fintech and crypto regulation, as a mentor and external evaluator in the Horizon Europe and NATO DIANA programs, and as a co-founder of several technology companies. He therefore views legal issues from both sides of the table – from the side of the team building the company, and from the side of the investor reviewing it.

Workshop 5: How to set a price that withstands costs and the market

Prices, costs, margin and financial sustainability

3. 11. 2026 | 16.00–19.00 | Old Ironworks Ravne, Koroška road 12, 2390 Ravne na Koroškem

The workshop is designed to understand the numbers behind a healthy business. Participants will learn how to think about price, costs, margin, profitability, and conditions for growth. The emphasis will be on a practical understanding of business economics so that the company grows not only in terms of volume, but also in a financially sustainable way.

What will you gain?

better understanding of costs, prices, margins and profitability,
a framework for setting prices based on costs, margin and financial sustainability,
a practical view of growth that doesn't just mean more work, but also better results.

Nina Dremelj

Nina Dremelj is the President of Business Angels of Slovenia, the Managing Partner of Vesna VC and an active co-creator of the Slovenian and European investment ecosystem. In recent years, she has invested in more than 18 startups and participated in more than 40 additional investments worth a total of more than 40 million euros. She helps entrepreneurs build successful, ambitious and globally oriented companies.

Workshop 6: AI as an entrepreneur's right hand

AI for faster and better everyday work

10. 11. 2026 | 16.00–19.00 | Old Ironworks Ravne, Koroška cesta 12, 2390 Ravne na Koroškem

Artificial intelligence has been not just a technological trend for some time now, but a useful and almost inevitable tool for the everyday work of an entrepreneur. The workshop shows how to use artificial intelligence tools in content preparation, sales communication, research, work organization, idea generation and other entrepreneurial tasks. The emphasis is on practical use that saves time and improves the quality of execution.

What will you gain?

understanding where AI can specifically help you in your daily work,
practical examples of using AI for content, sales, research and work organization,
a clearer understanding of how to use AI as an assistant, not as a mindless shortcut.

Enej Gradišek

Enej Gradišek is an entrepreneur, lecturer and expert in generative artificial intelligence. He specializes in using AI to accelerate business models, innovation and work efficiency. He has worked with organizations such as A1 Slovenia, NLB and Ljubljanske mlekarne, and as a mentor has led more than 100 startups and development teams.

Workshop 7: How does artificial intelligence see you?

Company visibility in search engines and AI answers

17. 11. 2026 | 16.00–19.00 | Old Ironworks Ravne, Koroška road 12, 2390 Ravne na Koroškem

The online visibility of companies is changing, as users increasingly search for information through artificial intelligence tools. At the workshop, participants will learn how artificial intelligence perceives a company, its content, offerings and digital presence. The aim is to understand what a company can do to be more clear, trustworthy and findable in the age of AI.

What will you gain?

understanding how AI tools perceive your business, offering and online presence,
insight into what affects a company's visibility in the age of artificial intelligence,
concrete guidelines on how to improve digital presence, trust and findability.

Matic Kolar

Matic Kolar is the CEO of Web Center and an expert in SEO and GEO optimization . Based on more than ten years of experience in the field of SEO optimization, he has developed a GEO optimization strategy that helps companies position their brands in AI models. He also leads the development of the Gausrank program for measuring and optimizing visibility in AI models. In his work, he combines technical knowledge, analytics and practical experience, with a focus on achieving greater sales for clients.

Workshop 8: A presentation that demonstrates the value of your solution

Pitch and clear message for customers, partners and investors

24. 11. 2026 | 16.00–19.00 | Old Ironworks Ravne, Koroška road 12, 2390 Ravne na Koroškem

The final workshop is designed to present a clear, concise and convincing presentation of an entrepreneurial idea, product, service or company. Participants will learn how to create a message that not only describes the offer, but also clearly shows who the solution is important to, what problem it solves and why it is worthy of the attention of customers, partners or investors.

What will you gain?

a clearer message about what you offer and who it is intended for,
knowledge of how to present the value of a solution, not just its features,
a more convincing short presentation for customers, partners, investors or other interlocutors.

Tine Hamler

Tine Hamler is a startup entrepreneur, product consultant and mentor with over a decade of experience in international markets. He co-founded a company that was a finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt in the US and is now a partner in two award-winning market research and marketing startups in the UK and the US.