After we fully announced this year’s Split Tech City Festival main stage program we started the pre-program announcements with the panel discussion powered by Silicon Castles.

You already know who will step on the stage of Bačvice Open-Air Cinema on September 7 during this year’s #STCFestival International Day, and now you’re also discovering the stars of the #SplitTechCityFestival pre-program!

The pre-program takes place at the same location, but just slightly different: in a small Mediterranean pine forest overlooking the Adriatic Sea off the Bačvice Bay and the island of Brač representing everything that our #MediterraneanTechHub truly is. 😉

As we’ve already mentioned, this year’s pre-program during the #InternationalDay is taking place in collaboration with a variety of innovative organizations that are members, partners, and/or supporters of the Split Tech City community.

It’s our way of extending the positive #SplitTechCityFestival vibe beyond just our sunny hometown! 😀

This part of the pre-program is brought to you by CroAI – Croatian Artificial Intelligence Association. Founded in 2019, CroAI is a community of tech optimists bringing together crazy, creative minds who believe they can make the best products in the world.

They unite big corporations and small startups, lawmakers and artists, business leaders and academics – all under one association to share knowledge and push boundaries. CroAI’s mission is to make Croatia a leading hub for AI innovation through collaboration and creativity.

To this year’s Split Tech City Festival they’re bringing a fireside chat titled: “The Solo Founder’s AI Odyssey”.

This fireside chat will explore the creation of Sulie through an interactive conversation with Dominik Šafarić, Sulie’s founder and CEO.

Focusing on how it democratizes predictive machine learning by making it more accessible, affordable, and faster, it will also discuss what sets Sulie apart, the startup’s vision for the future, and the challenges and risks of being a solo, bootstrapped founder.

Dominik will share insights on managing oneself, navigating identity, and personal growth throughout this journey.

Dominik Šafarić is the founder and CEO of Sulie, a company that’s making waves in data analytics with ML and natural language processing. Before launching Sulie, he led business development at Nanobit, forging partnerships with major players like Netflix.

His experience spans software engineering, machine learning, and innovative tech solutions. He holds an MSc in Software Engineering from the University of Amsterdam and pursued a part-time PhD in Streaming Software Analytics at TU Delft.

When he’s not immersed in data and tech, you might find him scaling mountains or keeping up with his energetic 3-year-old kid. 😀

Lea Sorić, Community Manager at CroAI, will moderate this fireside chat with Dominik.

As the Community Manager at CroAI, Lea oversees a vibrant ecosystem of events, communities, and members. Passionate about creating connections and innovation, she is also part of the organizational team behind the first AI Weekend.

As a law student with a passion for Tech Law and EU Law, Lea co-founded the “Direct Effect: Let’s Talk EU Law” podcast. Before joining CroAI, she was the President of the Erasmus Student Network Zagreb.

We’re sure there’ll be lots of interesting insights shared by both Dominik and Lea during this fireside chat, and that you wouldn’t want to miss out on being there in person to ask some questions of your own – about AI, about starting your own company, or about future of tech in Croatia – all topics encompassed by this particular program segment.

Get your Festival ticket and we’ll see you on September 7 in the fabulously Mediterranean venue of Bačvice Open-Air Cinema! 😀