Vesna Deeptech Fund

Experts & Advisors

When assessing potential investments, Vesna will need to conduct thorough due diligence to evaluate the viability and potential of a startup. Industrial experts will help us contribute to this process by offering their insights and perspectives on the market, the technology, the team, and other relevant factors. Their input can help Vesna VC to better understand the risks and opportunities associated with a particular investment. Beyond providing capital, VC funds often offer value-add services to their portfolio companies to help them accelerate their growth and achieve their goals. Industrial experts can play a significant role in providing such services, offering strategic advice, mentorship, industry connections, and operational support tailored to the specific needs of the startups.

Industrial experts typically have extensive networks within their respective industries.These networks can be valuable for Vesna VC in various ways, such as sourcing deal flow, connecting with potential co-investors or strategic partners, and accessing key resources like talent, customers, and suppliers. Leveraging these networks can enhance the success and growth prospects of the startups in which Vesna VC will invest.

Our carefully selected experts and advisors can offer value-add services to portfolio companies, and help mitigate investment risks. Their involvement enhances the overall effectiveness and success of Vesna VC investments in specific industries.

Advisors

Bryn Rees

Advisor

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Bryn is Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation and Managing Director of Venture Partners at the University of Colorado Boulder. Together with his team, he works with university researchers and the extended innovation ecosystem to commercialize innovations created at the University of Colorado. Bryn oversees all Venture Partners functions, including entrepreneurship training and mentorship, the I-Corps Hub, Ascent deep tech accelerator, the Lab Venture Challenge and other founder funding opportunities, intellectual property management, licensing, and strategic partnerships. Venture Partners directly supports larger campus goals of innovation, positive societal impact, and faculty and student development.

Within the larger Colorado community, Bryn serves on the Investment Advisory Board of the Buff Venture Fund, the board of the Colorado Bioscience Association, and the Boulder Subcommittee of the Innosphere Ventures board. Bryn is a principal investigator for the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine, a regional consortium funded by the National Science Foundation, which builds new ventures and innovations to address drought, wildfire, and other climate challenges.

Bryn has been with the University of Colorado since 2009 and prior to that was with the industry liaison office at the University of British Columbia. He began his career in research innovation at GlaxoSmithKline, where he managed disease genetics and pharmacogenetics research. He holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of Victoria, a master's in biotechnology from the University of Toronto, and a second master’s degree in counseling psychology.

Srdjan “Serge” Lončar

Advisor

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Srdjan is a seasoned entrepreneur and angel investor. He co-founded SanctumEgo, a sports car company, merging the advanced driving platforms and comfort of Porsche 997 platform with the aesthetics of the iconic Porsche 930 turbo model.

Srdjan founded Skok123 angel group providing SE European pre-seed and seed stage companies with US investor “smart money”. He is on the Board of Jumpstart New Jersey angel group and serves as a mentor at New York and Connecticut Healthtech Accelerator. and World Bank’s Katapult Accelerator for the Western Balkans.

Srdjan was the founder and CEO of CareSpeak, a healthcare SaaS platform that enables pharmaceutical companies support their patients throughout therapy to ensure better health outcomes. CareSpeak was acquired by OptimizeRx (NASDAQ: OPRX) in October 2018.

Prior to starting CareSpeak, Srdjan was the President of Songbird Hearing, a VC backed medical device company that exited to Proctor & Gamble in 2005. Before that he headed up strategic business development at cdnow.com, the first online music store, which was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 2002.

In the early days of his professional career Srdjan held numerous domestic and international brand marketing and sales positions at Johnson & Johnson consumer health care and medical device divisions, and Pepsi Cola International in the USA and Europe. Srdjan received his MBA from New York University’s Stern Business School, and his BA from University of Belgrade, Serbia.

Mario Šimić

Advisor

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Science and Technology, from R&D to Production, with strategy through real life… only one thing counts: connecting the dots and making it happen.

Mohan Raju

Advisor

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Mohan Raju is a prominent Indian leader in the Technology and Digital space. In this capacity, he also pursues diverse portfolio of activities involving advisory, public speaking, thought leadership and venture investments.

Mohan has rich and diverse experience of delivering in key business leadership roles for large fortune 500 multinational organizations like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and HCL as well as possess rich valuable experience of setting up new organisations in Indian market from scratch. Mohan has been instrumental in driving organisational growth in new verticals and market segments by leveraging upcoming technology innovations.

Mohan is passionate about leveraging emerging technologies to bring sustainable & inclusive developments which can enrich lives and society.

In his honorary capacity, Mohan contributes his leadership and expertise to key bodies in India and Europe. Mohan is a member of the Expert Advisory Council at the prestigious TIH-IOT Foundation @ IIT-Bombay, Chairperson for the 5G & Mobility Special Interest Group at The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) – IoT Forum as well as the Mentor at the German Entrepreneurship Program promoted by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Mohan is an Engineer in Electronics & Communications discipline and is an MBA in Marketing from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, India.

Maja Pozar Andrejasic

Advisor

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Maja Pozar Andrejasic is the director and co-founder of REC d.o.o., which develops innovative solutions for managing battery systems for applications in electric vehicles, vessels, aircraft and solar power plants. Maja’s journey began in the realm of research and development during her physics studies at the University of Ljubljana and continued at academic institutes.

Her career trajectory reflects her unwavering commitment to exploration and growth, so in 2009 she and her partner decided to start their own company to help make a difference in the world by using their knowledge – their aim is a greener planet for all. In the field of energy storage, the company was selected among the TOP 10 in Europe 2020. The export-oriented company operates globally, with a presence in more than 40 countries around the world.

Ulli Fischer

Advisor

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Entrepreneur, investor and advisor to startups and tech companies to develop scalable business models and to accelerate market driven product development and growth.

Since 2022: Founder of MATCHINO. Our AI-supported APP matches innovative solutions with people who are seeking innovations. With our matching app, innovative companies find customers and partners automatically and corporates gain the best source to find innovative solutions.

Since 2016: Founder of mytaskey, a leading internet company offering unique features for agile project management, customer generation and knowledge management based on artificial intelligence.

Since 2002: Owner of MSN-I. MSN-I offers for companies in a large range of industries technology scouting, as wall as sales and product marketing support. Our profession is to increase revenue and the market position of our clients. We manage the entry into national and international markets and the acquisition of new customers.

1999-2002: Head of Organizational Planning in Sales and Marketing at BMW Group

1995-1998: VP Market Development DaimlerChrysler Corporation. Responsible for joint ventures in Asia and Middle East

1992-1994: Senior consultant with Roland Berger & Partner, International Management Consultants

1992: Production engineer for Komatsu United Kingdom responsible for quality control and production automation.

Magdy Shehata

Advisor

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Magdy Shehata is an active angel investor, a mentor and a serial entrepreneur. He is the founder of Söderhub, a company that connects Nordic businesses with tech talent in Egypt through remote teams. Magdy is also the CEO and Co-founder of FunRock, a Swedish mobile gaming company, and the Vice President and Co-founder of Fragbite Group, a publicly-traded company since 2021 with a focus on M&A in gaming and e-sports.

Magdy is an active angel investor and a mentor to several startups in Europe and the MENA region, and he is a member of the Swedish Institute Network for Future Global Leaders (NFGL) and Alexandria Angels Network.

He is a Ph.D. candidate in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. He holds a MSc degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management from the KTH and a BSc degree in Computer Engineering from Pharos University.

Ante Medić

Advisor

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Ante has over 10 years of experience building products, from the idea to manufacturing.
With their network of proven vendors and partners, his company ensures your product is ready for market success.

Experts

Dušan Omerčević

Expert

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Founder of Cleanshelf (acquired by LeanIX). Held senior product and engineering leadership roles at Zemanta (acquired by Outbrain) and Najdi.si (acquired by Telekom Slovenija). Holding an MSc in Computer Vision and now working on a PhD in Artificial Intelligence