Organising a business event is demanding enough even when its aim isn’t to become the largest meeting of its type in Croatia, and with the most renowned business people attending the event, there is no doubt that the organiser is someone special
Maja Borovina Frankić has one strategic objective: presenting Croatia to foreign investors and bringing together national and regional economic actors. Her execution of putting together the pieces of this A-list business event has been exceptional. When asked what her inspiration for the event was, she replied:
When an artist was asked where he finds the inspiration for his painting, he replied: ‘I don’t find inspiration, I’ve already dreamt the entire thing.’ The same thing happened to me; I dreamt the Masters of Building Fair. Ever since I decided to organise such an event, I have been dreaming about it non-stop. My wish is for everyone to join and visit the Masters of Building Fair, and by that, I mean primarily entrepreneurs, to feel an impulse. You know how they say: ‘Good things come in pairs.’ So, the more of us there are, the stronger we get and the more accurate the portrayal of our economy is. My goal is for everyone to feel as the first among equals. We strive for something great and making a breakthrough in the market. The only way to create potential interest from foreign markets is by strategically bringing together a who’s who of the industry. I keep saying that the only place you can invite a serious investor in Croatia at the moment is to lunch, and Croatia is not a country where the biggest events are party invitations.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EVENT IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL?
It’s a misconception that the Masters of Building Fair refers only to the construction industry, the term ‘building’ is actually about everyone building the economy, with a strong entrepreneurial drive. I automatically thought several steps ahead: organising an event in Rovinj that can be recognised by parties from other European markets and beyond interested in making an investment. Why wouldn’t there be a world-class event in Croatia that potential foreign partners are interested in? We don’t need to visit fairs abroad all the time, people from abroad can come to Rovinj as well. I also believe that we definitely need to discuss a regional option right from the start.
YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE EVENT’S ORGANISATION FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW. WHEN DID YOU START?
We started in January 2023. Right from the start, I knew that my organisation potential would grow if I contracted external partners for every step of the way, or rather well-known companies that do serious work. That is definitely a more costly option, but it’s the only way to do these high-profile events on a large scale. I did an analysis of the factors and persons I would require. I also knew what I wanted and took action to make it happen. If you have business experience, you are able to recognise quality.
WHO IS ON YOUR TEAM NOW?
The first person that’s with me 100 percent is President Group’s Matea Jerić Ćurković, owner of Perfecta Travel, which is a renowned agency. She has been there from the beginning, recognising my dreams, supporting me and co-managing the project. There’s also the event management and marketing agency, Alert, run by Lana Bedeković Rosandić and her team. I had been wanting them to work on the event because, based on their previous experience, I believe they have something I want to bring to this business event, a next-level elegance and entertainment, with a sense of warmth to the event instead of a plain old business affair. Then there’s Jerko Trogrlić’s Vajt agency, and we’ve already booked Zvona Catering, a premium Croatian caterer. I was convinced that I would be able to outsource and handle everything on my own, but even a few of us working in house are in way over our heads.
AND WHO WILL BE ATTENDING THE FAIR?
From day one, I knew that I wanted an event bringing under one roof everyone involved in the investment and supply chains. I also knew, given the market size, that every relevant person from each segment needed to be involved, from institutions to the real sector, everyone from the chain. These are various investors, public and private. They are followed by other stakeholders: from architects, construction workers, to businesses producing and selling materials, tools, equipment, financial services, insurance, to consulting services of all sorts, as well as stakeholders from the areas of economy, law, engineering, energy, technology, and the IT sector. These professions are extremely interwoven in the market, and sometimes a single company does construction work, IT and is a food retailer, or even sells jewellery, you can’t help but wonder why these people are in one place. However, they are deeply interconnected by the fact that they are extremely important in their respective industry and connected to institutions by being investors or by being a link in the chain the investors use.
YOU AREN’T READY TO TALK NUMBERS?
If by that you mean the number of attendees, I can tell you that we already have a 2025 date. If I wanted 5000 people, I would charge them €20 and we would have a full house. However, we don’t want just passers-by, but truly relevant actors. If we’re talking business, you need to attend events where it’s highly likely that every conversation you have is a productive one. People and companies visiting leave a good and positive impression on their work. When talking numbers, they can create a false impression of how relevant an event is. Thanks to our price and all other important aspects, we have established ourselves as a serious event for serious people. I care deeply about quality and we’re focused solely on decision makers.
YOU MADE AN IMPORTANT STEP BEFORE THIS BY PRESENTING CROATIA TO YOUR INDUSTRY BY CREATING THE BUILDING.HR PLATFORM?
That was the first step in my journey. The various jobs I did at my family’s company, SPEGRA, also included procurement. As I like to be as efficient as possible, I realised that I was losing an incredible amount of time just to find out a company’s location and area of business. There was substantially fewer information online at the time, and combined with the fact that most online data are incorrect to a degree, I realised that we needed to make a system for each company to register with correct information, which needed to be automatic, without any possibility of manipulation, enabling the ideal matching of demand and supply exclusively for the B2B sector. I built the platform and we were on the market in 2022, with a really good response already in the first year. Businesses realised that that was what they needed, and as companies and markets are living organisms that rebrand or change locations, it’s impossible to keep track of this without a proper tool. Building.hr is a digital tool, or better yet, a digital epicentre of the investment and supply chains, and out next step was to create an event. Pairing a digital base with an event such as the Masters of Building Fair means that we are creating a position for consuming our interests in the market and the region, but also making a one-stop destination for all investors from abroad that are interested in our market and the region.
Text Ivana Nedoklan
Photos Maja Borovina Frankić Archives
Video Masters of Building Fair
