Awards Nominees 2024
The proposed nominees are listed in the six categories: Private Equity Investment of the Year, Later-stage Venture Capital Investment of the Year, Early-stage Venture Capital Investment of the Year, Founder of the Year, Investor of the Year, Exit of the Year, Fundraising of the Year and Exit of the Year. The Award Committee Members will decide on the final nominees and on the final awards criteria. Join the BestInvest conference and learn who are this year’s winners.
Private Equity Investment of the Year (2023)
- As Croatia’s leading management fund, Prosperus Invest last year concluded a significant transaction by acquiring Nord Mobil, one of the largest mobile home manufacturers in Croatia. This transaction not only represents a significant step for Prosperus Invest, which stands out for its meticulous approach and strategy, but also for several successful investment projects, but also has a profound impact on the Croatian economy. This makes them not only the leading, but also one of the most successful private equity companies in Croatia. It is important to point out that Prosperus Invest is committed to promoting Croatian production and products, and thus the plan for further development of Nord Mobil will clearly be based on investing in its own production and improving the quality of products, which will result in an increase in employment. This is crucial not only for the Croatian economy, but also for companies such as Nord Mobil, where maintaining production and quality in continuous demand is of utmost importance. Therefore, the role of this transaction is not only a business move, but also a strategic step that supports the growth and development of the domestic industry, which makes this transaction the investment of the year.
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- BlackPeak-backed Bulgarian company euShipments.com, one of the fastest-growing e-commerce logistics platforms in the region, has acquired a majority stake in Romanian e-fulfilment provider Helpship. The deal, part of euShipments‘ M&A strategy, aims to strengthen the company’s presence in Romania and ensure new cross-border shipping services and faster transit times to various European countries. This is the second strategic acquisition for euShipments since the investment from private equity fund BlackPeak Capital in 2022. At the end of last year, the company also acquired a majority stake in the Croatian fulfilment leader Pick&Pack. Pick & Pack is one of the leaders in Croatia, uniquely serving the logistics needs of e-commerce players. It was founded by Matej Javorek, who built the company to address the ‘pain points’ in fulfilment and courier services for online stores in Croatia. Matej will continue to run Pick & Pack and use the resources of euShipments to provide an innovative logistics service to online stores in Croatia and the SEE region.
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- Provectus Capital Partners started the veterinary services consolidation project in Feb 2023, via the initial platform investment in Buba Veterina doo (renamed to Vetti Group). 10 add-on investments were completed during 2023 and YTD 2024. With these, Vetti Group grew from EUR 1.3 million revenue and 28 employees in 2022 to become the largest veterinary services group in Croatia with LTM revenues in excess of EUR 13.0 million and more than 240 employees providing high quality veterinary services.
- Furthermore, in Dec 2023, Vetti Group opened the largest veterinary clinic in the region, a 24/7 clinic on +700m2 in Zagreb (Rotor), with state-of-the-art diagnostics (including 64 slice CT), 10 examination rooms, 4 surgery rooms and 24hrs pet infirmary – with a total investment of EUR 2.3 million.
- Vetti Group has ambitious plans for 2024, with +15 add-on companies in immediate pipeline (of which 6 joining the Group over the next two months) and expects to reach approx. EUR 20m revenue, +300 employees and +20 companies in the Group by the end of 2024.
- Museum of Illusions is the largest and fastest-growing chain of privately-held museums in the world. This unique concept offers all age groups an immersive experience where over 70 mind-bending exhibits play tricks on the minds of visitors and show them the exciting science behind illusions. With 50 locations across 25 countries and 4 continents, Museum of Illusions continues to grow and share the fascinating world of illusions with curious minds all over the world.
- The last open museum- Cleveland, USA 31.5.
Next openings in June – Seattle, USA (Corporate Museum) and Lille, France (franchise)
- Studenac, portfolio company of PEF VIII managed by Enterprise Investors, acquired three major add-on companies during 2023: Strahinjcica, Spar and La-vor. Through the acquisitions, Studenac added a total of 103 stores to its network and expanded its presence in Istria and Northern continental Croatia. With more than 110 of additional organic openings, Studenac grew its network in 2023 to over 1,260 stores keeping the mantle of the largest grocery retail network in Croatia.
Venture Capital Investment of the Year (2023)
- Cognism is a B2B sales acceleration software company that provides a marketing and sales acceleration solution. In May 2023, Cognism raised another USD 60 million in a fundraising round. Since 2016, Cognism has raised multiple fundraising rounds exceeding USD 150 million and is backed by AXA Venture Partners, Swisscom Ventures, Viking Global Investors, Blue Cloud Ventures, South Central Ventures and other venture capital investors. Cognism is a unicorn headquartered in the UK, possibly the next unicorn with one Croatian founder and business operations in Croatia.
- Sales intelligence platform
- Daytona is the enterprise-grade GitHub Codespaces alternative for managing self-hosted, secure and standardised development environments. Daytona has raised a total of USD 2 million from investors that include Silicon Gardens, 500 Emerging Europe, Firestreak Ventures and business angels. This was a Pre-Seed round raised on Nov 6, 2023.
- Web developement, platform
- GameBoost is a leading startup providing marketplace services for gamers wanting to boost their rankings. Their revenue grew 500%, taking the market by storm. GameBoost’s ability to tackle critical issues within the gaming community is a key distinguishing factor. In 2023, GameBoost raised over USD 3 million from investors including Fil Rouge Capital and Feelsgood Capital over two rounds.
- Marketplace / Gaming
- Discover InsiderCX, startup set to redefine patient experience and revolutionise healthcare interactions through their innovative platform. InsiderCX has raised a total of EUR 600K in funding over 2 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Nov 15, 2023 from a Seed round from investors including daFund and Silicon Gardens.
- Market Research
- In September 2022, Feelsgood Capital Partners invested in Croatian-Slovenian food tech company Juicefast. Combining the concepts of a classic juice detox and nutritious ready-to-eat meals, Juicefast offers simple and effective solutions for achieving a healthy lifestyle. Feelsgood EUR 750 thousand in Juicefast, which was a seed round.
- Foodtech
- Native Teams is a global platform for digital payments intended for freelancers, remote workers and employers.
- Since 2022, Croatian Fil Rouge Capital has invested EUR 2.3 million in Native Teams.
- Native Teams is a platform that offers payments and employment tools for freelancers, remote workers, and clients. Their growth has just been phenomenal on their way to breaking EUR 100 million in revenue in an exceptionally short amount of time (scaling from 0 to 100 in approximately three years).
- HRTech / FINtech
Founder of the Year (2023)
Albert Gajšak
CEO & Founder at CircuitMess
CircuitMess specialises in producing immersive and experiential STEM experiences
Aleksandra Mitrevska
Co-founder & Chief Evangelist at Native Teams
The platform that offers payments and employment tools for freelancers, remote workers, and clients.
David and Marko Dravinec
Juicefast d.o.o
Provide guided juice fast programs, supporting individuals in their journey towards wellness
Filip Spiranec
Co – founder at Hypefy
AI powered platform that will transform your influencer marketing
Goran Deak
CEO & Founder at Spona
Project management platform for Marketing directors
Ivan Burazin
CEO at Daytona.io
The enterprise-grade GitHub Codespaces alternative, a self-hosted vendor-agnostic standardized development environment
Josip Begić
CEO at Lebesgue
Focused on building mathematical models that make your growth scalable and profitable
Kristijan Salijevic
CEO & Co- founder at Gameboost
All in one platform for gamers
Luka Berger
Founder & CEO, Flexkeeping
A hotel staff communication and housekeeping software that automates hotel operations
Matija Nakic
CEO & Co-founder Farseer
Software for financial planning
Nikola Komes
CEO at InsiderCX
Redefining Patient Experience
Sabine Gradistanac Skrgatic
CEO & Co-Founder at BE-ON Savjetovanje d.o.o
Specialised in financial consulting in the process of restructuring and reprogramming the total debts of citizens in financial difficulties
Stjepan Buljat
CTO & Co- founder at Cognism
B2B sales acceleration software company
Investor of the Year 2023
- Feelsgood Capital, the first Croatian venture capital fund for investing with social impact. Feelsgood fundraised EUR 30 million from the European Investment Fund (EIF) and other investors.
- Some of its investments include BE-ON (incrases social inclusion by enabling debt restricting to citizens in financial difficulties), VIDI X (creates innovative systems in education), BiteMe (committed to creating healthy alternatives in sports nutrition), AGRIVI (global leader in providing digital agricultural solutions enabling sustainable food production), Juicefast (focusing on improving healthy nutrition), Gameboost (a global marketplace that enables users to buy and sell gaming services in a secure environment), Spona (platform for digital services).
- Fil Rouge Capital (FRC) is EUR 46 million first Croatia dedicated fund launched in 2019 under the Croatian Venture Capital Iniative selected by the European Investment Fund (EIF). FRC operates two programmes : an incubator program and a venture capital program. Over the last few years, FRC has been recognised as the most active investor in the CEE region. FRC has to date backed an estimated 150+ companies and has been instrumental in sca ling up the Croatian startup ecosystem. In the period 2019 to 2023, Croatian startup ecosystem valuation grew 7x, which is the best performance in Europe (in comparison CEE startup ecosystem valuation grew 2.4 x and Western Europe 2.1 x in same period (data: Dealroom.co).
- Invera Equity Partners is a private equity firm based in Zagreb, Croatia. Invera fundraised EUR 60 million from investors including the European Investment Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as other investors. Invera made an incredible success with its investment in the Museum of Illusions, exporting the concept and the Croatian know-how to over 80 global cities. Its other Croatian investment include Kompare and it also invested in Slovenian company Marles.
- Prosperus is a fund management company with over twenty years of experience as entrepreneurs, managers, financiers, and investors in the Adria region. Prosperus‘ third fund is Prosperous Growth, with over EUR 65 million of capital fundraising from investors, including the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) under the CROGIP initiative, as well as other institutional investors. In the latest fund, portfolio companies include IT platform Neos, global leader in e-books and publishing IntechOpen and mobile home manufacturer North Mobile.
- BlackPeak Capital is EUR 126 million growth capital fund with plans to invest up to EUR 40 million in Croatia. BlackPeack Capital is backed by the European Investment Fund, the EBRD, the IFC, and other European private institutional investors. In 2023, BlackPeak Capital made its first investment in the Croatian company Pick-and-Pack, as an add-on acquisition to the platform euShipments.
- Provectus Capital Partners (“PCP”) is a buy & build specialist focused on investments in growing and fragmented industries to create regional champions. Investing from PCP fund I, the team of 10 professionals made investments in 5 portfolio companies and +30 add-ons in private healthcare, private dental services, specialty retail and veterinary services sectors – which together have +1,400 employees and generate annual revenues more than EUR 140 million. Over the last three years, the team created two clear regional champions: Adria Dental Group: largest dental service organisation in CEE with more than 600 employees, +110 dental chairs in 11 group members in Croatia and Slovenia; and Arsano Medical Group: leading regional private healthcare group with more than 400 employees, +230,000 patients p.a. in 7 group members in Croatia and Slovenia. In line with its moto – Beyond Capital – the PCP team works with portfolio companies on improvements in corporate governance, providing them with tailor-made strategic guidance and operational support from leading international sector experts.
- Provectus Capital Partners started the veterinary services consolidation project in Feb 2023, via the initial platform investment in Buba Veterina doo (renamed to Vetti Group). 10 add-on investments were completed during 2023 and YTD 2024. With these, Vetti Group grew from EUR 1.3 million revenue and 28 employees in 2022 to become the largest veterinary services group in Croatia with LTM revenues in excess of EUR 13.0 million and more than 240 employees providing high quality veterinary services. Furthermore, in Dec 2023, Vetti Group opened the largest veterinary clinic in the region, a 24/7 clinic on +700m2 in Zagreb (Rotor), with state-of-the-art diagnostics (including 64 slice CT), 10 examination rooms, 4 surgery rooms and 24hrs pet infirmary – with a total investment of EUR 2.3 million.
- Vetti Group has ambitious plans for 2024, with +15 add-on companies in immediate pipeline (of which 6 joining the Group over the next two months) and expects to reach approx. EUR 20m revenue, +300 employees and +20 companies in the Group by the end of 2024.
- Enterprise Investors is the oldest and one of the largest private equity firms in Central and Eastern Europe. Since entering the Adria region approx. 15 years ago, Enterprise Investors and its portfolio companies have acquired more than 20 companies in Croatia with total deal value of over EUR 300 million. In 2023, Croatian portfolio companies of Enterprise Investors recorded over EUR 850 million in revenues and employed over 7,500 workers.
