Slovak business has a problem that isn’t talked about much. It’s not a lack of talent or capital. It’s isolation. Companies operate side by side and tackle similar problems on their own. They look for solutions someone else found long ago, yet they don’t even know about each other. Inovato was created as a response to this situation.
Not through yet another contact database, but through real relationships, joint projects, and an environment where people meet who have something to offer and are also open to collaboration.
We brought together three members from different industries: an engineering design office, a financial advisory firm, and an accounting firm. We asked them directly: what does membership in the INOVATO Cluster actually give you? Where has collaboration translated into real practice?
Viktor Albert: Machines, paper, and people solving real problems
Viktor Albert runs the engineering design office Vida Design, which specializes in building single-purpose machines. It’s not an industry where you’d intuitively look for a community overlap. And yet.
“I meet many C-level people here. They’re people who are working on innovative things in their companies. This networking is very valuable to me,” says Viktor. They’re not big projects yet, but he says the collaboration is gradually and genuinely turning into concrete business relationships between companies.
Vida Design works on equipment for recycling paper and refurbishing old production lines. Sustainability not as a marketing pledge, but as a real machine on the shop floor that turns waste into raw material.
Viktor sees the circular economy in its most tangible form as an opportunity where Slovak industry has something to say.
Why join Inovato? Viktor puts it simply : “It’s good for everyone to meet new people and attend events like these. Besides networking, there are regular webinars and meetups of more narrowly specialized people and companies focused on specific topics.”
Dana Behulová: Measurable results and the question no one asks out loud
Dana Behulová represents Finlinea and has been involved with Inovato for several years. When she talks about results, she doesn’t need to wrap her answer in vague words about the benefits of community.
“Membership has brought our company—and me personally—a lot of contacts, many good friendships, and of course business collaborations, and it has helped us grow as a company.”
Specifically: webinars for Inovato, projects in the energy sector, research collaboration, innovation vouchers. “We got opportunities that helped us grow.”
When we asked her what topics the community should open up, she didn’t hesitate. And her answer was surprisingly direct: Slovakia’s macroeconomics. Not digital transformation, not AI, not sustainability. The fundamental question: where our country is heading, where it’s stagnating, and where the real opportunities are.
“I’m seeing that many companies are starting to struggle. Experts’ perspective on Slovakia’s macroeconomics—that’s a topic we’d all like to hear.” It’s a topic that’s usually avoided at conferences. Dana says that’s exactly why it should be heard.
Her message for those considering membership is honest to the very end: “You’ll definitely be welcomed here by great people, you’ll get opportunities to collaborate, but how well you do will also depend on you.”
Juraj Krnavec: Efficiency isn’t a buzzword—it’s a way of thinking
Juraj Krnavec leads Reform Office and doesn’t talk about Inovato’s benefits only in theory. He actively provides services to Inovato itself and several of its members. The business didn’t come from reaching out to unknown contacts or paid advertising, but directly from the community—through relationships built gradually and naturally.
What does membership give him beyond contracts? “A broader perspective. Meetings with companies from different industries, with entrepreneurs living a similar life. Problems across different industries are often the same, and here you have space to talk about it with someone who’s living it too, and to look at things from multiple angles.”
In his business, Juraj focuses on a topic that’s resonating more and more: eliminating unnecessary manual and duplicate tasks and achieving real efficiency in company processes. Not as a technology topic, but as a management one—so entrepreneurs have the capacity to think strategically and not just put out operational fires.
“I want people to have time for things that bring real added value—for the company and for clients.” His recommendation for those interested in membership is shorter than any marketing copy: “Go, meet, experience it, and try it.”
What do these three have in common?
Three different companies. Three different industries. And the same experience: Inovato isn’t a contact database or a series of lectures. It’s an environment where people meet who care about what they do. From conversations and shared meetups, a real project, a real client, or a real collaboration sometimes emerges.
Each of them came with different expectations. Each leaves with something concrete. And each says the outcome depends on what you put into it yourself. If you’re looking for an environment where it makes sense to be active, the door is open.
Inovato isn’t a contact database or a series of lectures. It’s an environment where people meet who care about what they do.
About Inovato Cluster
Inovato Cluster brings together Slovak and Czech companies in mechanical engineering, digitalization, energy, transport, and social enterprise to foster mutual cooperation and the development of innovation. For members, it organizes educational events, webinars, workshops, conferences, networking meetups, and consulting services. It connects companies, universities, and experts on joint innovation projects.
It actively develops the innovation ecosystem in Slovakia and supports international cooperation. It is built on the values of openness, fairness, responsibility, and trust, and develops only projects that benefit people, nature, and quality of life.
Members are companies and individuals who share the courage to innovate, a willingness to collaborate, and an interest in building long-term relationships. Inovato turns ideas into real business.
TEXT: Natália StašíkováPHOTO: INOVATO
