Interviewer:
Interview with Marko Nožica
(ZSEM alumna, class of 2006)
Tina Ereš: What are some of the opportunities that were offered to you / that you took at ZSEM?
Marko Nožica: At ZSEM I mastered the tools which enabled me to create a solid base for the journey that lay ahead of me after graduation. The unparalleled curriculum and unbelievable access my collegues and I had to influential professors and business leaders, enabled us to not only understand the theoretical aspects of the courses we were taking but also get an insight into the practical application of the topics we were learning about.
Tina Ereš: What advice would you give to students that are studying at ZSEM at the moment (in terms of becoming successful, being a good student,…)?
Marko Nožica: Being a student was an incredible experience for me because aside from my academic responsibilities I was very active in extracurricular activities. For example, a group of us established the first Student Association from which we organized many of the clubs and events that are still relevant at ZSEM today such as Student Future Day which we organized for the first time in 2006. I also founded my company, Aretis, while at ZSEM and this year we are celebrating our 14th birthday! Therefore, my advice to students would be to use the time they have to be as active as they can be. Travel or study abroad, read, meet people, volunteer, start a company…do whatever they can to gain experience and spread their horizon of knowledge, information and network of friends and contacts. The fact is that the older you get the more risk-averse you become and have less time and energy to invest in new ideas and experiences. Therefore, if you want to become successful at anything you have to start working towards that goal as soon as possible.
Tina Ereš: In your TED-talk you say that the formula for success is “Preparation + Effort + Opportunity”. Would you give each of them equal emphasis or does one have the greatest weight? To what do you attribute most of your success?
Marko Nožica: I am a firm believer in the formula for success being “Preparation + Effort + Opportunity”. However, without Preparation, which in my case would be a good education and Effort, which is tied to the activities I mentioned, one cannot learn to recognize good Opportunity and be successful. This is why studying at ZSEM had such a great impact on me. I gained both the tools and experience needed to recognize the opportunities which in the end had the most impact on my life.
Born in 1981 in Zagreb, Marko lived for 15 years in Silicon Valley, California where he finished elementary and high school. Since returning to Croatia and majoring in Strategic Management at the Zagreb School of Economics and Management, Marko has over 13 years of executive experience, in private firms, creating added-value by successfully addressing strategic management, sales, marketing and business development challenges.
