Today we’re taking a close look at a rather small EU country which is, to be honest, not really known for being a hotbed for startups. But after doing some hours of research and after talking to key players from the Croatian startup ecosystem, I have to tell you that my previous impression proofed to be quite wrong. Croatia and its hubs like Zagreb and Split are definitely catching up!
At the end of my research, I had 20+ promising early-stage startups on my shortlist – all of them were founded between 2015 and 2017. After rating them by employee count, web traffic, social media followings, degree of innovation and my gut feeling, I ended up with my selection of the Top 5 Croatian startups to watch in 2017. Here they are:
Adopto is an applicant tracking system and recruiting software (SaaS) designed to help you find and hire the best tech candidates and improve your recruiting process. The Zagreb-based startup was founded in 2015 and provides you with a specialized recruiting tool for tech hiring, which eventually helps you engage the right talent faster.
Vollo aims to provide the easiest way to search, compare and book bus tickets in Croatia. Search hundreds of lines, routes and connections and find best way for your trip. Vollo is Croatia’s leading online retailer of bus tickets. The Zagreb-based startup allows customers to travel smarter and save time, money and hassle. Vollo was officially founded in 2016. Its CEO Marko Jukic previously worked for Rocket Internet as co-founder and Managing Director of foodpanda in Azerbaijan.
Memgraph is a scalable and enterprise ready graph database which understands the relationships between its data points, generating meaning just like a human brain. Bundled with import, data processing and visualization tools, it provides technology innovators with the complete ecosystem to tackle the future challenges of big data. Memgraph was founded in 2016. The Croatian team successfully took part in the renowned Techstars accelerator in London.
Locodels is a service for small e-commerce, online sellers and individuals and aims to provide the easiest way to ship your stuff. They manage a network of drivers and senders through a phone and web application providing options and varieties in the transportation service. Everyone can send items. Everyone can deliver items. The Croatian team behind Locodels founded the startup in 2015. Today they are based in London and in December of 2016 they secured $600K in seed funding.
Canelio provides you with a smart device (clicker) and a mobile app, which will transform your dog’s training into a mobile game. Based entirely on positive training methods, Canelio acts as an universal communication tool between you and your dog. With countless videos and a personalized training guide the Croatian startup helps you to improve your training. Let your dog become a level 73 Puppy Sergeant with 12 achievements. Canelio was founded in 2015 and successfully took part in the most recent batch of the ABC Accelerator.
By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!
