What shaped your professional path and how, as an economist by profession, did you come to build a career in technology and found two IT companies?
My motivation has always come from within. I am ambitious, curious, and interested in everything. As my mom would say: Never dream of an easy path. The feeling of having successfully solved a problem or overcome a challenge feeds me. I believe that this very need to understand how things work, and to improve them, naturally led me towards entrepreneurship. On the other hand, as a child I have always loved technology. In the Gardašević household, I was the one who disassembled, assembled and repaired computers around the house. The introduction of modem internet opened up a whole new world for me – I no longer had to go to the Herceg Novi library every other week, but I could find everything I was interested in online and, with the printer that I still have today, create my own little libraries. I got into IT almost by accident. First, I got the opportunity to work part-time for ME-net, the largest hosting provider in Montenegro, which at the time had a digital marketing department. Very quickly, as the team liked to say, I “employed myself”; I found ways to contribute even beyond the initial agreement, taking the initiative and learning as quickly as possible. It was then that I realized that my path was not just to work in the industry, but to change it: to create environments and teams that function differently, better, and in which people can grow.
There was also a personal turning point – when I led a complex digital project for the first time and realized that responsibility doesn't scare me, but rather drives me. The attitude that has always helped me in this is that: If I don't know something today, I'll learn it tomorrow.. Master's studies abroad gave me additional breadth. On London School of Economics and Political Science I deepened my knowledge of behavioral economics as a scholarship holder. Chevening Fellow, program of the British government. It combined my economic background in education with an understanding of human behavior and the way people use technology, and gave me direction. Upon returning to Montenegro, Milutin Pavićević and I founded Alicorn, which grew from a small team into one of the leading digital agencies in the country. Later, we also launched the startup ZUNO Games and, as they say, the rest is history.
How did Alicorn come about and what key moments shaped its development to the position it is in today?
We noticed that companies in the region lack a partner who truly understands the digital environment as a whole – not just developers, marketers or designers, but a team that understands each other and speaks “the same language”. That the market lacks someone who can listen to the problem, interpret it across disciplines and offer a solution that is creative, technically innovative and commercially effective. That is why, from the very beginning of 2017, we wanted to position Alicorn as a digital partner, not just an executor.
On the other hand, Milutin and I wanted to build a working environment in which we would like to work: a team that is curious, ambitious, open and supportive of each other. Although small, we chose complex and demanding projects from day one. They are what accelerated our development and formed Alicorn as it is today: a compact team of high knowledge and interdisciplinary cooperation, capable of solving complex digital challenges.
There were several turning points on our journey. Very early on, we got the opportunity to work with organizations like UNDP, Erste Bank, and DoMEn, which introduced us to systems with clearly defined standards and forced us to mature quickly. The pandemic then brought a strong momentum to digitalization, in which we had to deliver quickly and reliably, and this further strengthened our position. Inclusion in international EU projects, such as Rock4You, through which we digitally equipped the Ex-YU Rock Museum in Sarajevo, and the LEAD project, which resulted in the ESG Coach platform, also played a particularly important role.
However, I would say that the key turning point occurred within the company in 2022, with the establishment of an internal R&D department and the cultivation of a culture of intrapreneurship. It was from this environment that ZUNO Games was born, as well as our current work in the field of artificial intelligence.
Your team started early to introduce advanced services in the field of artificial intelligence. How do you approach artificial intelligence at Alicorn, what solutions have you developed?
Our approach to AI stems from the belief that AI cannot live in a silo. It cannot be a stand-alone pilot, a short-term experiment, or a tool introduced because it’s popular. If it’s not part of a broader business transformation, AI quickly becomes an expense and a technology burden. That’s why our initiatives never start with choosing a model, but with asking, “What business problem are we really solving?”
If the problem is not clearly defined, or there is only a desire to “do something with AI”, it is best not to start at all. The solution must fit into the processes, culture and data infrastructure. This often means that the client does not need a “grand model”, but a combination of purpose-built AI approaches that deliver consistent quality, speed and reliability.
For us, AI is, first and foremost, an organizational change. Models change, technologies become obsolete, but people who understand the problem, the processes and AI remain key. That's why we work with clients to develop their processes and mindset, not just the software. Through our AI Sprint Together with clients, we map workflows and identify where AI really brings value. The result is solutions for automating processes, from document processing and competitor analysis, to report preparation, data categorization or procurement support. Tasks that previously required hours of manual work are now completed in seconds. We also develop advanced AI chatbot systems based on real company data, which understand the context, language and specifics of the service, thereby significantly reducing the burden on customer support. I would especially like to highlight the AI tool that we are currently piloting with a dozen Montenegrin companies, which is used to automatically monitor calls for grants and tenders. It collects and filters relevant calls from multiple sources in real time, analyzes criteria and suggests to organizations only those opportunities that are relevant to them. The process that previously required hours of manual monitoring is now completed in a few seconds, which gives companies a real competitive advantage and significantly saves time.
An internal platform for creating educational games that was developed at Alicorn later grew into a company of its own – ZUNO Games. How did the idea come about and how different is running a startup from running a classic business?
The idea for ZUNO Games came about after the success of the educational application “EU in the palm of your hand”, which we developed at the request of the EU Info Centre (today’s Europe House). In just a few months, the application gathered more than 56.000 players, which clearly showed us how interactive formats can change the learning experience. Initially, ZUNO Games was a way to engage the community and educate the public through short games and quizzes. Market testing soon opened up a much bigger opportunity: how organizations can make learning faster, more accessible and in line with the habits of today’s generation. Thus, ZUNO Games grew into a corporate learning platform through which companies can transform their procedures, policies and internal training into short, interactive and easily measurable formats.
Over time, ZUNO Games has grown from an internal project into a sustainable company, which is a great success for us. Especially because running a startup and a classic business are different in almost every way. A classic business requires stability, predictability, and clear processes. A startup lives in uncertainty: the product, market, and business model change from month to month, and every day brings new testing of assumptions. A startup requires different skills, both from the leader and the team. It takes a lot of dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to learn faster than the environment changes. There is no easy way to give up; you have to believe in your idea even when the results are late, because that is the nature of every beginning.
What were the biggest challenges of starting a startup in Montenegro? Would you do anything differently today?
When we started ZUNO Games, the startup ecosystem in Montenegro was still in its infancy. We learned by going to conferences across Europe, listening to other people’s experiences, and talking to investors to understand what was key to building a scalable product. The biggest challenge was getting funding in the early stages, when the risk is highest, but we were lucky to have the support of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Innovation Fund at key moments, which allowed us to grow faster and more steadily than we could have done on our own.
Today, the situation is different. The ecosystem has spawned great teams, new products, and people who are genuinely open to sharing knowledge. There is a stronger infrastructure and more opportunities than before, which is a huge advantage for startups just starting out. There is still a lack of funding, but mainly in the later stages of development, when intensive go-to-market and global sales are needed.
And would I do anything differently? Sometimes it seems like almost everything. What I know for sure is that we would have started testing on the international market sooner. However, every challenge we went through was valuable and taught us many valuable lessons that we are grateful for today.
What does it look like to build a team where women make up the majority, especially in the tech industry where it is still a rarity?
I have been privileged to have worked, and continue to work, with exceptional women from day one of my career. Today, 55% of Alicorn is female, and this is not a result of politics, but a natural outcome of the way we build the team.
It was important to me that, just as I had support at the beginning of my career, the women who come after me would feel the same. I try to be a mentor where needed and to build an environment where people are seen as professionals, not through stereotypes. Advancement at Alicorn has always been based on meritocracy: on knowledge, work, and commitment.
I am also proud that many women took their first professional steps at Alicorn, and today, either here or in other systems, they are in leadership positions. Some of them have also launched their own initiatives and companies, mostly in the IT field, which for me is perhaps the greatest confirmation that the culture in which we grew up was healthy and supportive.
Finally, what is your message to girls and women who may still doubt whether they can succeed in business and technology in Montenegro?
I would tell them what I have told myself many times: it is perfectly okay to have doubts, but it is important that those doubts never become louder than your ambition. Technology and entrepreneurship are not “men’s spaces” and they are certainly not closed clubs. They are industries that value curiosity, persistence, and the courage to try, even when you are not sure of the outcome.
There are still not enough female role models in our market, and although this is a reality, it should not be an obstacle. Be brave, be the first to open the door to others, change perceptions and show what a woman who leads a team, creates products and builds companies looks like. Don't wait for the perfect moment. Start where you are, with what you have. And build as you go. Surround yourself with people who support you, learn from those who know more and don't be afraid to be ambitious. And when you succeed, and you want to, take another woman with you. That's how culture changes.
(Alicorn i ZUNO Games)
