Did you think that the conferences and major events in the world of startups disappeared after the coup de Covid-19 last year? Discuss again! In an innovation environment, event organizers have managed to adapt and make them even better than ever. THE Podim 2021 conference May 17 to 19 strengthen this tendency to bring the best of the digital experience and to add a new dimension for participants and teachers.
Founded in Slovenia in 1980, Podim became one of the most influential startup and technological events in the EEC region, attracting an average of 1,000 participants and 150 startups per year. The regional platform brings together innovation with commercial opportunities and capital, as well as knowledge and experience. Its objective is to give the founders and innovators the right tools to find a solution to the most significant challenges that our company is confronted.
To find out more about the Podim 2021 conference, we talked to the chief of the Matej Rus conference.


Startups combine companies to innovate the market
“Each year, I am surprised by the emergence of new businesses in the region and their ideas. I note that more and more companies are playing with the idea of integrating the latest technologies into their commercial products and models. For example, more than 25% of companies use artificial intelligence and more than 15% use automatic learning. More than 10% of companies also use various mobile tools, IoT – Internet of Things, Electronic Commerce, Big Data and Cloud Computing Technologies, “said Rus.
This demonstrates the penetration and technological innovation of startups, which are recognized as the driving force of technological progress and the transformation of society. As such, they are particularly interesting for SMEs and established companies, which consider them more and more as potential partners to provide innovations on the market.
Podim digital catalog Enumerates a variety of these young companies from all over Europe – the startups of 19 countries have already been announced in sectors such as “Business and Productivity”, “Lifestyle and Entertainment”, “Mobility and Transportation”, “Life Science and Agriculture” And more specialized those such as “financial services”, “materials and manufacturing” and “energy and public services”.


Digital providing new opportunities for global connectivity
The Podim 2021 conference will be different, adding value to all participants.
“With the help of technology, we can make the podim completely digital. Corona forced us to do so, “said Podim Head Matej Rus. On the one hand, digitization has created additional full opportunities for global connectivity and more efficient networking, even in cases where a physical presence is not possible due to time constraints. On the other, investors and startups are missing the physical component which gives meetings greater authenticity of connectivity and makes the easiest to establish long -term relationships of quality.
“So, in the future, we are planning hybrid implementations of the conference that combine the best of both worlds – physical and digital,” said Rus.
See strong presence


Looking at the participants, we can see a strong presence of See. In many countries in the region, the startup ecosystem is booming. Some of them have already witnessed the birth of their first unicorns, while others take their baby steps towards the creation of the foundations of their entrepreneurial ecosystems.
“We must surely build our identity and our opportunity on the value added of the SEE region, and not simply try to reproduce the Silicon Valley, which has developed in recent decades. Our starting points and our circumstances are different and it is worth taking advantage of it. The digitization of the world has led to positive changes in the decentralization of the world, “said Rus.
An increasing number of American investors are interested in companies in the SEE region, which means that we can expect positive changes in the state of mentality when it will no longer be necessary to go to Silicon Valley To obtain an investment from the United States, but investors will come closer to the region.
“Consequently, we must strive to highlight our talents, our advantages and our offers on the global market and positions us accordingly.”, Added Rus.
Will we see the next future CEE unicorn or see the Podim 2021? Join to find out – get your ticket to Podim conference website.
Trend subjects see the multimedia partner of the event.