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Intera at European Venture Summit

At the European Venture Summit (EVS), a summit attended by the most promising European companies, which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany on December 1st and 2nd, Intera from Ptuj represented Slovenia. The consequences of the world economic crisis and the best possible responses to it were also discussed at the event.

EVS, organised by Europe Unlimited, an organisation from Brussels, is one of the biggest European business events, where the most ambitious high-tech companies from all over Europe introduce themselves to the potential partners and investors. Only the most successful companies can take part in the event. These are the companies which succeed in slipping through the numerous sieves of the selection process, which lasts for a year. This year 30 events were attended by more than 800 companies from 21 European countries.

Among the applicants at more than 30 events a team of topmost experts from the realms of investment, science and management chooses those which have the greatest potential of international growth. This year they have chosen 100 most promising European companies from the realms of Biotech, Industrial Biotech, New Energies and ICT. The chosen companies had the possibility to present their projects in front of investors and they had a firsthand contact with the depositors and other strategic partners. The presentations were given a form of an 8-minute presentation in front of investors and the expert committee composed of four members, which was followed by a 7-minute interview. In addition to the networking and individual meetings, the entrepreneurs also addressed other investors by giving elevator pitches.

A lot has been written about Intera on international blogs of PR agencies as well.

The only representative of Slovenia at the summit was Intera from Ptuj, a company, which deals with developing innovative online business applications. To put it in general terms, this is a program equipment which works online and helps companies work in a clearer and more efficient manner. At the moment, the most successful Intera’s products in the market are Intrix CRM, an application for customer relationship management, and Intrix Project, an application for project management.

Intera develops all solutions on the basis of its own innovative internet platform Intrix, which was also the reason why Intera was accepted to EVS and which awarded the company with several prizes in the past; among others the company received a golden award of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Štajerska and a bronze award of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. At the Slovene Innovation Forum, Intera was chosen as one of the three best Slovene innovators in the category of small and mid-sized companies; the company also prides itself on the fact that it is one of the first Slovene companies to have received the Family-friendly company certificate. The company has been in operation for six years, they currently have 11 employees and recently they have opened a new business unit on the premises of the Technology Park in Ljubljana – Brdo.

Intera’s CEO, Davorin Gabrovec, said that the acceptation to EVS is important especially as a confirmation that the company belongs to the top of the most promising European companies and is also a great opportunity for receiving feedback about the strategic orientations of the company. “Intera has reached a point where expansion of the company is the only logical way. We have a globally interesting product, we have polished our business model, we have an experienced team of workers, however for such big steps we need the help of a strategic partner.”

The second important part of the summit of international experts, entrepreneurs and investors was conference-oriented; one of the heated issues was obviously the recent development of events concerning the world economy and their significance for the European companies and the fluctuation of the perilous capital. Gabrovec’s opinion is that the new situation demands more caution, however one needs to stay bold enough and realistically optimistic.

William Stevens, CEO of Europe Unlimited, agrees: “EVS is attended only by the most talented entrepreneurs from all over Europe, who have been chosen by the best European business and financial experts. We are confident that they will overcome the current situation and continue to grow and flourish.”