Croatian entrepreneurs Marin Smiljanic and Matej Ferencevic’s success story didn’t begin in the business office. It started in their high school classroom in the capital of Zagreb. It was back when Marin, being four years older than Matej, became his mentor and shared his knowledge on subjects such as math and computer science.
Over time, a bond developed between them that would eventually lead to the founding of their AI startup Omnisearch in 2021, which has attracted more than $450K in funding so far. Omnisearch is an AI-powered search engine tool for online courses.
“Marin was my mentor in high school and that’s the main connection. And I think that this idea was great – at this point the mentors still have some free time and they can teach people. So it’s a pretty beneficial system – it’s like your teacher is also your friend, so there isn’t that much of a difference between your age, and there is that sense of authority which can also be respected,” Matej tells The Recursive.
“They were probably one of the best generations when it comes to the combination of great algorithmic skills, but also real world skills and a willingness to develop real stuff. Because you’ll see a lot of smart people in other generations, but I think what sets them apart is they wanted the industry experience, and they were hungry for it,” Marin fondly recalls of his mentoring days.
Source: The Recursive
