Up until this point, we have introduced you to all the speakers who will step on the main stage of Bačvice Open-Air Cinema on September 7 during the International Day of this year’s Split Tech City Festival: David, Matthias, as well as the duo – Jaïr and Petra.

You had the chance to get to know them and their work a bit better, as well as discover the interesting topics they will discuss during the #STCFestival2024 main stage program. Now the time has come to introduce you to the final segment of this year’s official program – the panel discussion.

The title: “Lessons from Split’s Internationals: Creating Positivity in Life and Business”

After showcasing the year-round international side of Split last year, this year we have decided to show you how our “local internationals” are cultivating optimism even in the face of adversity: be it their friends and family telling them it is crazy to move to Split and start a business here or be it the (always overwhelming) labyrinth of Croatian bureaucracy.

Our partner in this particular #STCFestival main stage venture is the Foreign Business Owners Association. 🙂

FBOA is an association founded here in Split by internationals who chose to move here and live in Split and the surrounding region, and start their own businesses on top of that. We often highlight the stories of people who decide to call Split and Croatia their home through the Split Tech City Podcast, so we do know they exist.

What we also know, because Split Tech City is not just into tech, but also entrepreneurship, is that many of those internationals started businesses in Croatia. This is what they all have in common and what was one of the reasons behind the founding of FBOA – the Foreign Business Owners Association.

Connecting people for the purpose of sharing knowledge and skills to improve together is something we at Split Tech City can absolutely get behind, so partnering with the FBOA team on this part of our Festival’s program was a logical step in building our continuous collaboration.

During this #SplitTechCityFestival panel discussion powered by FBOA, you will have the opportunity to get some life and business advice from internationals who moved to Split and chose to ignore all the bad sides of life here that we keep complaining about and instead create positivity and prosperity for themselves and others.

You will learn by gaining advice on overcoming negativity and cynicism and handling moments of doubt, and inspire yourself by hearing about the opportunities our internationals see on the horizon!

Our panelists for this STC ft. FBOA discussion are:

• Keith Kirby (NatureSafe Marine) – An experienced entrepreneur and mechanical engineer from South Africa with extensive expertise in renewable energy. In 2021, Keith moved to Split and co-founded NatureSafe, a company that develops biodegradable cleaning products and natural disinfectants.

• Flor Nieto (The Inmediato) – Working mom from Patagonia, Argentina. Communication specialist, Cultural Journalist, TEDx Speaker, two-time book author, and founder of marketing agency The Inmediato.

• Kent Pepper (Brooklyn Bagel Company) – Founder of Brooklyn Bagel Co. who, before moving to Croatia, was a Creative Director at top U.S. advertising agencies where he produced print, television, and online ads for a diverse range of brands such as Lexus, Yahoo!, and Hewlett-Packard.
  
  On arriving in Split six years ago, Kent turned his bread-making hobby into his new career and introduced New York City’s favorite breakfast, the bagel, to Croatians. Brooklyn Bagel Co. has a bakery in Žrnovnica and three retail locations between Split and Zadar, with shops in Zagreb and Šibenik opening soon. The company now also offers a franchise program.

Important to note is that all three of them have Croatian-made businesses and are here to stay.

The only thing that you need to do to be inspired by their stories is to get your #STCFestival ticket! 😉

See you at Bačvice Open-Air Cinema on September 7 in Split as we see it: a Mediterranean Tech Hub open to all kinds of entrepreneurial ventures and entrepreneurs from around the globe! 😀