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Ana Milas i Marko Križanić
Episode · #786

PAMETNA HRVATSKA Ana Milas i Marko Križmančić

Guest Ana Milas i Marko KrižanićHosted by Marijana MatkovićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Imagine a factory floor where you could reprogram a robotic arm in a few clicks, without weeks of specialized coding or an expert programmer. That’s the core proposition of Crobotic Solutions, a startup born from the minds of young researchers at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) in Zagreb. Ana Milas and Marko Križanić, along with Filip Zorić, aren't just publishing academic papers; they're translating their doctoral work in robotics and intelligent control systems into practical tools for businesses. Their mission is to demystify industrial robots, making them accessible and adaptable for small and medium-sized enterprises—a segment often underserved by complex, costly automation solutions. This conversation explores how deep academic insight can pinpoint real-world friction and build a business around simplifying advanced technology, fundamentally changing how smaller companies can approach automation.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
The founders' initial problem wasn't in a market study, but in their own lab at FER, where each new robot application required "weeks of new setup, installations, and problem-solving." The most fertile ground for a startup idea isn't a theoretical exercise; it's the recurring friction you experience in your own specialized work.
02
While large firms can justify weeks of programming for "huge production runs" lasting years, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to change production "on a daily or weekly basis." The real market gap for advanced technology often lies not in replicating enterprise solutions, but in building agile tools for the underserved segment that needs flexibility over sheer scale.
03
Crobotic Solutions aims to make robot control "as simple as using an iPhone," requiring "a maximum of one to two hours" for an operator to learn. True simplification of complex machinery isn't just about making it work; it's about compressing the learning curve to hours, making advanced automation accessible to a non-specialist workforce.
04
Filip Zorić, the company's CEO, was the one who "pulled [Ana and Marko] by the hand" and proposed the idea for Crobotic Solutions. Even among co-equal experts, an early-stage venture often needs a single individual to act as the primary catalyst, translating shared knowledge into a concrete entrepreneurial step.
05
Crobotic Solutions explicitly includes a designer, Sara, as a core team member, even though she is not a co-founder. For deep-tech products, user experience is as fundamental as the underlying engineering; prioritizing design from the outset signals a commitment to usability, not just functionality.
06
The team's focus is on "robotic manipulators"—arms that perform tasks like assembly, welding, or gluing across various industries. Rather than attempting to automate everything, targeting a specific, versatile category of robots allows a startup to build deeper, more universally applicable solutions within a defined niche.
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