How Does the Swiss EP Serbia Team Recruit New Experts?

Since the inception of the Swiss Entrepreneurship Program, we have developed a vast network of specialists. From 2015 to 2023 and have collaborated with 426 of them across seven countries.

More than a quarter of the total number of experts—125—were engaged in Serbia, either in person, online, or a mix of both supporting the local startup ecosystem. With an NPS (Net Promoter Score) of 8.3 out of 10, it’s clear that our partners in Serbia are satisfied with the quality of the expertise we provided.

As Swiss EP continues its mission in Serbia for another four years, our commitment is to meet the ever-changing needs of our partners and entrepreneurs with the most relevant and up-to-date expertise.

How does the Swiss EP team find relevant experts?

Keeping a pipeline of qualified experts is essential to maintaining the quality of our services. Over the years, we have developed a few ways of finding suitable people with applicable knowledge and experience. These strategies include:

• Demand for a specific person from our partners — often, our partners have a general idea about the expert they want to work with. Still, they cannot engage them for various reasons: finance is one of the challenges, and the other, most common, is the "reputation" of the country and the wrong image that people often have, especially about the Western Balkans. In such cases, they ask us to help them establish collaboration and build confidence with experts. In the next step, we talk to the experts to check their credentials and motivation to support our efforts, and when we feel everything lines up, we engage the expert, which is an easy win for everyone.
• Recommendations from our expert network—another common situation is that our partners need specific expertise to resolve a particular challenge. The first group we address for recommendations is our existing network of experts asking them if they can recommend somebody. In most cases, this works like a charm.
• Conferences and different events our team is attending—every event is an excellent opportunity to meet new potential experts. We make a conscious effort to seek out new experts at conferences, meetups, retreats, and similar events where startup communities are gathered.

When we need more than our standard methods to achieve the desired results, we are committed to being proactive and creative in finding the right match for our partners.

Proactive approach

In the last three years, we have noticed an immense growth in the Serbian startup ecosystem. After the initial expansion in 2021 and a record amount of investments raised by local startups in the following years, the growth has been steady, even when it was not that significant. Serbian growth-oriented startups need industry-specific experts with experience scaling a business and expanding globally.

London hosts one of the most dynamic and competitive startup communities in Europe. As we set out to find new experts, we knew where to start.

The idea for this type of mission had been brewing for quite some time. Whenever a UK expert worked in Serbia, they would highlight local startups that could benefit from expanding to the UK market. The latest expert from our group of UK experts supporting startup ecosystem actors in Serbia was Rishi Chowdhury.

As an entrepreneur for over a decade and an active supporter of startups in London, Rishi has a good overview of the local startup scene. He also has good insights into the startup ecosystem in Serbia. Rishi first encountered Serbian startups in 2019 with Swiss EP, and he has been active in working with different partner organizations and mentoring local startups ever since. Rishi sees London and Belgrade as quite compatible:

London is a diverse ecosystem that welcomes entrepreneurs and companies from abroad. Most businesses can find a relatively good market here, given the size and diversity of the population. This is an opportunity to learn from a more established ecosystem and build a more robust network and potential routes to a soft landing in London. On the other hand, London-based founders would benefit from an external perspective to break out of the 'London bubble,' better understand how international markets may differ, and start conversations about what they need to consider when expanding internationally.

Our Serbian team on a mission

Luka Prišunjak and Milos Lazović traveled to London in October 2023, seeking inspiration for the upcoming Phase 3 and searching for new experts. The five days spent in vibrant London gave them a good overview of the local startup ecosystem and opportunities for practical collaboration.

Luka noticed that the London startup ecosystem has similarities to the one in Belgrade, but he also recognizes a few significant differences:

The scale of startup programs in London is significantly larger (e.g., Morgan Stanley's startup program had 8,000 applicants). Still, the quality level of startups is similar to what we have in Serbia, which is quite encouraging. London's size allows for niche expertise. For specific expert needs, London is a prime location. We also had an opportunity to attend different events in London at various price points (free, inexpensive, and costly). We discovered differences in attendee demographics and networking styles, notably different from those in Serbian events. This was one of the lessons we'll share with our partners at home.

Milos also noted a few lessons for Phase 3 during the mission:

London presents a viable starting point for startups looking to scale, offering a diverse and mature ecosystem. Targeted visits focused on regular events, as opposed to large conferences, provide deeper insights and learning about the ecosystem. Participating in these types of events serves as an effective outreach program. It helps in building a reputation both within local ecosystems and internationally. The effectiveness of this approach was evident in London, aiding in promoting services to startups and partners.

Results of the mission

The first results of the London mission were quickly visible. In the Spring of 2024, four new experts visited Serbia. Adam Williams, David Cook, Gabriel Makinwa, and Isabela Chick worked with some of our partners and approximately 15 startups per expert.

Gabriel shares his insights and recommendations:

I had a great time meeting with the local partners and startups in Belgrade. The local startups have a well-organized group of partners who open doors and provide services for them. Similar services in the UK are typically paid for in cash or equity. I highly recommend founder mission trips where founders from Serbia can visit a market like the UK or US and hear from/meet with several experienced founders or subject matter experts.

With two other experts from London in the pipeline, we are already seeing some of the benefits from this mission: the influx of new experts with a fresh perspective and new access to networks in the London startup scene.

It is too early to analyze the more profound impact of this mission, but what we are seeing so far is quite beneficial for the Serbian ecosystem. Not only do organizations and startups gain new mentors and advisors, but they also earn new promoters of the Serbian ecosystem internationally.