Podim Conference

MONUMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT ALERT 🚨 Leanpay, our Podim partner’s portfolio company, has successfully closed a Series B funding round, securing a significant investment 💸 of €10 million! This funding round was led by BlackPeak Capital and Catalyst Romania Fund II, joined by South Central Ventures and LEAD VENTURES, which also participated in previous rounds. ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ 🤫 Pssst, you can meet the latter two at Podim. 💪 Leanpay, which started in Slovenia and was at this year’s conference, is now making waves in Romania and Hungary. They can boast 120,000 satisfied customers and over €200 million in issued consumer loans. Their platform’s growth has been remarkable, with revenue increasing 📈 2.5 times last year and a fourfold growth since the Series A round. “𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑝𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠."  Jure Mikuž from South Central Ventures perfectly sums up.

Very demure 🤌, very mindful Podim tips ✨ - Put next year's dates in your calendar (12-14 May) - Keep your eyes peeled for startup announcements - Spread the word about the conference Anything to add?

Never have I ever.. Lied to get a promotion? Fell in love with a coworker? Some of our participants played the business edition of the famous game. Curious to see how our three musketeers answer the questions? You’ll just have to watch. 🤭 What about you.. do you dare to answer?

Soooooo, since you guys said throwback Thursdays are still a thing… 😬 Let’s throw it back to this year’s May. 204 startups. 1,300 meetings. 3 stages. 70 speakers. The math isn’t mathing, but that adds up to ONE great Podim 2024. ☝️

What advice did Dr. Barbara Mehner give to startups about building a relationship with investors? 1) Really do your research to see if they’re a good match for you. 2) Find out how you can connect to the specific person in a meaningful way. 3) For more, you’ll have to watch. 😉

“This technological revolution is happening faster than ever before.” We’ve got something good for you today! 3 key messages about Artificial Intelligence from Lorenzo Thione, serial entrepreneur and investor. Listen and find out whether we should or shouldn’t integrate AI into our daily lives or not.

Just throwing this out there, so you catch it! In case you’ve been on your holiday, taking some much-deserved rest or .. sleeping under a rock .. we’re sharing this one bit of crucial information. 𝟏𝟐 - 𝟏𝟒 𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓. Yes, that’s right. It’s set in stone, it’s not going anywhere. 🪨 Open your calendars and mark these dates for PODIM 2025! P.S. We already made early reservations for warm, sunny weather, so let’s hope they don’t cancel on us. 😬

“Business is like marriage. You win in marriage by the fact that you just stay married.” Oof, that’s a good one, Luka Banovic. So, if you stay committed, it’ll pay off. 🦾 Check out what other bits of wisdom our Podim participants shared with Sandra Auer, our TikToker!

You’re not doing something right if your customers aren’t eager to switch to your product. Why? You haven’t achieved product market fit. Julien Coustaury (Fil Rouge Capital), Nina Hoedlmayr (Brevo), Kristina Marinovic (Duamentes) and Mirna Marovic (VentureXchange) discussed emerging market potentials and unlocking startup growth in the current market at Podim. Kristina states true PMF means customers are willing to pay for your solution. Now. Immediately. When they don’t, it usually means they’re hesitating. Why? They’ve found alternatives or they simply don’t want to solve the problem. That’s why PMF matters. “When you hit this sweet spot, scale your vision. Look for markets with millions of potential customers facing the same issue. In the venture world, we're all searching for those multipliers,” says Kristina.  That’s why Podim isn’t just about networking, it’s also about learning. 

Need an answer as to why Podim is one of the best in Europe? Find it below and take a look at all our stepping stones that make three days in Maribor a not-to-miss event! Oh, and if you aren’t following Podim on TikTok yet, what exactly are you still waiting for?