After two interesting sessions of our Product Management Academy, the third one brought another mix of useful stories and practical examples. This time, we welcomed two guests with very different backgrounds – but both very familiar with turning an idea into a product people use every day.
The first part of the day featured a lecture by Juraj Kovač, Senior Product Manager at Hootsuite, who shared his experience working with one of the world’s leading social media management platforms. Later, we were joined by Matija Babić, founder of Index.hr and TasteAtlas in a relaxed conversation with Ivan Bešlić, Sofascore’s CSO and co-founder
Babić: “I just followed what I found fun”
Babić openly explained how his ideas usually don’t come from market research or user feedback.
“My ideas don’t start from market feedback. That’s both a blessing and a curse. I started TasteAtlas because it seemed fun to me, and I felt the market was missing that kind of content – especially the way food connects to local culture. I couldn’t find that information anywhere, so I built it.”
He also shared how TasteAtlas now works with countries to promote their national cuisines.
“At first it was hard to explain what TasteAtlas even was. Today, I’ll be honest – our business model is based on the fact we have strong social media, and countries advertise through us. We work a lot with Saudi Arabia, for example.”
When it comes to Index.hr, Babić said he often hires people who can organize and structure his broader ideas:
“I have a long-term vision, and they help turn that into strategies we can work on.”
He also complimented Sofascore for creating something unique:
“You’ve done something incredible. Your Player Ratings were the first real difference from the competition in such a tough market. And it’s amazing no one thought of it before.”
When asked about decision-making, Ivan shared a simple but honest approach:
“When Zlatko and I don’t know what to do, we go with the decision that gives us the most peace of mind. If we’ve been debating something for a while, we say: ‘Let’s go with the one that feels right in our gut.’”
He added that while Sofascore didn’t do much market research in the early days, that had to change later:
“At the start, we didn’t research the market either. But now we have to – because we’ve learned that not every country uses our platform in the same way. The product was made with Croatia in mind, but people in other countries expect different things.”
Kovač: “Don’t just sell features—sell results”
Juraj Kovač from Hootsuite shared his thoughts on product strategy, especially in the B2B space.
“In B2B, there are two ways to make money. One is to promise companies that your product will increase their revenue. The other is to help them cut costs. Personally, I think it’s always better to focus on increasing revenue.”
He also touched on how platforms like TikTok have changed what users expect from social media.
“Social media is no longer just about staying in touch with friends. TikTok is interesting because its algorithm adapts to each user so well—it creates a better experience, and people respond to that.”
That kind of product thinking—where user experience is everything – was a nice way to wrap up a day focused on how different people approach product building.
Three sessions in, our Product Management Academy keeps showing that there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for building great products. But hearing real experiences – from founders, managers, and makers – helps us all ask better questions and make clearer decisions.
Read more about Day 1 here and Day 2 here. Stay tuned – more sessions coming soon.