Our Story

About Nikola

Growing up, I thought I could do everything on my own. I thought asking for help was a weakness and comradery was purely recreational. As I started my professional career, not much changed. I wanted to be ahead of others, always faster and better. At work, I never asked for help. Most of what I learned, I learned by myself. And it worked. There's something to be said about figuring things out on your own. However, we also don't have to re-invert the wheel all the time. Often times, it makes sense to not treat everything as a life lesson, and step on the knowledge and experiences of others.

Fast-forward to a decade later, I know all too well that some lessons are too harsh to be always learned the hard way. In fact, a one sentence advice from someone with the right experience can save you years, by not going down the wrong path. Now I understand, it's not only okay to seek help, but also critical to moving in a good pace. Even a king doesn't rule alone. A king always has a truthworthy counsel that helps guide the kingdom forward.

A turning point

Year 2024 was tough for me. We had sold our startup in 2022 for peanuts and we spend 2022 and 2023 trying to build something new. After having some ups and downs, it was getting clearer and clearer that these enterprises were not going to be successful.

I was left alone, needed to get a regular job and was uterly clueless as to what I wanted to do with my life. It was a time of struggle, hummility and self-discovery. Suddenly, the answers I was looking for could not be found in a book or on the internet. What I needed was a bespoke solution - a way forward, specific to only me.

I read a lot of stories about famous and successful people and I saw that one thing they often had in common, was that they had people around them, from which they could learn. Even if they were self-thought, they usually had someone that could show them the way and accelerate their development. Then I remembered the mentoring I was doing, I remembered all the times my mentees were coming to me with their issues and worries and how they needed someone that had gone through the same path and already knew many of the solutions.

The idea

Putting it all together, I realized that mentoring is not something you do when you are young, or if you're disadvantaged. Mentoring is something you need your whole life. There's always something more to learn and the right person that can teach you.

That's why I set out to create a mentoring program that takes people from point N to point N + 1, no matter what N is.