Unlockit

Day 2 at unlockit brought conversations closer to what building global business actually looks like day to day.

- Unlock AI discussions at Palata nauke moved past experimentation toward infrastructure, ownership and the reality that leaders can no longer outsource their AI strategy.

- Marketing growth conversations at Microsoft Development Center Serbia focused on building sustainable growth systems: from defining clear value propositions to creating content engines that compound over time and turn early traction into long-term customers.

- Sales sessions at Haos Community Space addressed one of the hardest transitions founders face: building teams that can scale revenue without losing founder conviction.

- And fundraising conversations at Garaža revealed what rarely gets said publicly: raising capital is not an event, but the beginning of long-term alignment and shared pressure.

By the end of Day 2, one thing felt clear: building global business today depends less on geography and more on how consistently teams execute, adapt and learn.

Thanks to everyone who stayed in the rooms, asked uncomfortable questions and shared real experiences.

📸 Explore the Day 2 photo galleries: 204225826@N07/albums/" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/204225826@N07/albums/

What an unlocking experience 🔑

Last Thursday and Friday, hundreds of conversations unfolded across halls, corridors, coffee breaks and late evenings. Ideas were challenged, experiences openly shared, and stories about building globally told again and again - each time becoming a little more real.

Looking back at these moments, our hearts are full.

Thank you to everyone who made unlockit meaningful: our speakers, sponsors, partners, students, conference board and every attendee who showed up ready to share honestly and learn from others.

You made unlockit special.

📸 A selection of moments from Day 1 is now available at the link: 204225826@N07/albums/72177720332188688." rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/204225826@N07/albums/72177720332188688. The album will continue to grow over the coming days.

800 people from 25 countries gathered in Belgrade for the first edition of unlockit - a conference focused on one question: how do companies from this region grow globally?

Over the day, founders, investors, students, corporate leaders, and ecosystem builders came together to discuss AI, capital, infrastructure, and the real decisions behind scaling beyond local markets.

319,600 possible encounters later, new ideas, partnerships, and directions are already taking shape.

Somewhere in that room, someone had their unlockit moment.
Thank you for building the first unlockit with us.

This was just the beginning.

unlockit begins.

35+ speakers. 800 participants.
No theory.
No panels for the sake of panels.
Just people who’ve done it sharing what actually worked.

Belgrade. Two days. Let’s unlock what’s next.

Global relevance is built through access to experience, to people, to patterns that repeat across markets.

In her latest op-ed for NIN, Tanja Kuzman, director of Inicijativa „Digitalna Srbija“ and unlockit, reflects on what still holds our ecosystem back and what must change if we want to compete beyond the region.

Join the conversation in Belgrade, February 19–20.

🔑 unlockit.org

Read more: https://www.nin.rs/english/news/102491/how-to-build-global-relevance-from-the-region

unlockit doesn’t exist in isolation.

It’s shaped and supported by communities that build, learn, and grow together - every day, not just on conference days.

Proud to have our community partners on this journey.

🔗 unlockit.org

When the stage lights go down, unlockit shifts gears.

One of the moments waiting for Growth ticket holders - More Than Tech Party 🎉

No panels. No slides. Just conversations that go deeper, connections that get real, and a dance floor that brings the ecosystem together.

Behind the DJ booth:

- Rastko Petaković, Senior Partner @ Karanovic & Partners
- Milan Gospić, Director Microsoft Garage Serbia @ Microsoft Development Center Serbia

By day shaping legal and innovation ecosystems. By night setting the rhythm.

We’ll be raising a glass with Roza Lija and Veliki dečko from Vinarija 100 Zena.

Playing local is comfortable. Building global is intentional.

In his piece for Blic, Tihomir Bajić - General Partner at Fifth Quarter Ventures and member of the unlockit Program Board - explains why focusing on the local market is one of the most common traps for startups aiming to scale.

Operational maturity. AI-enabled ex*****on. Designing for global customers from day one.

These aren’t abstract concepts. They’re the conversations happening at unlockit.

If you’re building from a smaller market, this is the mindset shift that matters.

Read the full article → https://unlockit.org/news/tihomir-bajic-focusing-on-the-local-market-is-the-most-common-trap-for-startups-aiming-for-global-growth/

From engineer to CEO, without losing technical depth.

In “The Technical Founder Journey: A Retrospective,” Andrej Benčić, Co-Founder and CEO of Tenderly, reflects on what rarely gets discussed: how an engineer’s mindset can both accelerate and slow down company building.

In this session, Andrej will share the engineering strengths he leaned on to fuel Tenderly’s growth, the weaknesses that forced him to evolve as a leader, how to choose problems worth a decade of focus, and how technical founders can reframe their relationship with risk.

If you are a technical founder or building alongside one, this is a candid look at the shift from expert to long term decision maker.

📍 Belgrade
🗓 February 19–20, 2026

🔗 unlockit.org