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We have already written about the young team behind the smart parking barrier called “Parklio” back in January 2017 when we first introduced them as the winners of the Entrepreneurship Camp in Solin.
In the meantime, they have gone through what we believe to be the most challenging part of the very demanding entrepreneurial path. Today they stand as a stable company operating on the global market. Even with all their success, they are not oblivious to the importance of investing in the community and cooperating with others which is why they have just become the newest member of our Split Tech City community. We had a chat about the aforementioned topics with two of the company’s founders, Dario Boras and Marko Smoljo.
“A few months after our interview, we participated in the Get in the Ring international competition in Zagreb where we won first place and a trip to the Singapore global finals. This competition brought together some of the best startups in the world and, in a way, it represented the startup Olympics to which each country sends their best representative and in 2017 that was us”, Parklio team reminisces.
In Singapore, they achieved remarkable success; they were pronounced the world’s second best startup in the early stages of development competing against more than 5,000 startups.
Carried by the wind of world-wide recognition, a plethora of awards and encouragement, they have gained strategic partners and investors and thus began serial production, so they say.
“In just a few months, there have been significant advances and we have grown unexpectedly and learned a lot in the last two years. The path was incredibly thorny, much harder than it should have been, but we were always there for each other. What we always stress as the main aspect of our success are teamwork and companionship. Likewise, we have always remained focused on the quality of products and services that Parklio offers to its clients. We learned from our mistakes which resulted in a great deal of experience that we have acquired and which help us march into new victories.”
Today, Parklio is present in 24 countries on 3 continents and with each day they gain new satisfied customers whose problems they solve with their product.
“Many changes and improvements have taken place since the initial barrier model, and we can say that today, after much effort, we have a perfected version of the Parklio smart barrier that provides its clients with a carefree parking experience. The product was launched to solve our clients’ problems and their feedback is very important to us. We strive to systematically implement new features based on their feedback in order to provide them with the best user experience”, explains the entrepreneurial team.
If you’re still quite unsure what Parklio is, we offer an explanation.
The Parklio smart parking barrier protects the parking space from unauthorized parking and allows its users to share their keys with others – family members, friends, guests, etc.
The Parklio smart barrier is controlled via mobile app that anyone can download to their smartphone for free and thus use the barrier (of course, under the condition that the owner of the barrier shares the key).
The barrier offers various additional features – digital key time limit, GPS navigation, web application control, a solar panel that extends the life of rechargeable batteries, resistance to damage and unfavourable weather conditions, barrier personalisation…
Parklio is the only barrier on the market that offers the aforementioned benefits and therefore takes parking protection to the next level.
When we last spoke to this team, there were only four of them. As the market expanded so did their team. Now there are twelve of them and by the end of the year they expect those numbers to double.
“As for locale, we would like to use this opportunity to thank the Klis Municipality for offering an area of 300 square meters spread across two levels, one for the office space and the other for production. We are currently looking for a new workspace of 1000 square meters”, they point out.
By the way, they have received many offers to develop their product outside Croatia.
“Investors from Slovakia, the country with the largest metalworking industry, have developed a scenario for the development of Parklio in Slovakia”, they say.
After their victory in Singapore, the local government offered them more than excellent conditions to relocate to Singapore and develop their product there. The ‘startup hubs’ they have are almost the size of Split, their startup ecosystem is at an enviable level, something they can only dream of in Croatia.
Still, the Parklio team considers Split to be full of potential and they strongly believe they can make it from here as well:
“We need just a few good examples and Parklio is one of them. We want to stay in a beautiful city like Split and contribute to the creation of a new business climate which will be suitable for young innovators and entrepreneurs.”
Entrepreneurship constantly brings about new challenges. Have they ever wanted to give up?
“Sometimes we were overworked but giving up was never an option for us. We have encountered many obstacles on our business journey, as we still do, but that is not a reason to quit. On the contrary, it gives us additional motivation to succeed. With strong determination and belief in what we do, we always find a solution and the right way to succeed. We never know what the future holds, but entrepreneurship really fulfils us and we see ourselves going at it in the years to come.”
Our interviewees point out that Parklio has been attracting the attention of many companies in the parking industry from the very beginning. That is why it is no wonder that today, with a finished high-quality product used throughout Europe and beyond, they have repeating inquiries from clients and investors while their biggest problem remains meeting the market needs.
“We believe that the company’s performance is measured by the implementation of its vision and our vision is a complete dominance of the parking market. The Parklio barrier was an introductory product with which we have proven our innovative approach and worth within the industry. From now on, a wider range of products and features will induce the realisation of our vision”, they announce.
As we have mentioned, Parklio has become a member of the Split Tech City community, the first formal association of the Split tech scene, which is made up of individuals and companies dedicated to the development of the tech sector in Split and the region.
“Through our experience and leading by example we would like to demonstrate that success is possible and provide others with the necessary assistance we needed at certain crucial moments. Split Tech City is the right place for such a thing – a place where we can combine our experience and knowledge with other talented people full of potential and good ideas, people who are just looking for an opportunity“, they explain their intent.
And finally, we would like to announce that we will soon be hosting a Parklio exclusive, but in the meantime we leave you with this quote by US President Calvin Coolidge, one which this inspirational team says might best describe the message they wish to convey to young (future) entrepreneurs:
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Translation of the original text: Ana Vidić
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