#25 Igor Stjepanovic - What Difference Can You Make?

Futures Voices

At the age of 17 he narrowly escaped with his life, when one of the two buses that was transporting refugees Zivinice, Bosnia & Herzegovina to Germany was bombed. His life would never be the same. Being haunted by images of war, he felt a mix of guilt and gratitude for the gift of life and woke up every morning in Germany to work at a factory while finishing his high school studies. His life took a very positive turn when he moved to the “Lucky Country” - Australia.

He earned his degree in Computer Science and got a job at a local IT company. A few years later, Igor established not one, but three companies: “GIS People”, “Gruntify”, and one particularly interesting company “Open Declare” through which Australians ensure the transparency of donations for political campaigns. His ethics is led by a few simple rules: being on time, and what difference one can make. The business model he applies as an entrepreneur is based on income from his consumer instead of external investment. His hard work was rewarded with the Brisbane's Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2014 and brought him as far as SiliconValley, where he attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in 2016 hosted by President Barack Obama and the US Government to represent Australia.

Being on time and taking the first bus when feeling his homeland ultimately saved his life, but his ‘never give up attitude’ and determination are the driving force of his success today.