POSLOVNA ŠPICA Marina i Miroslav Obradović

Guest Marina i Miroslav ObradovićHosted by Saša PetarMay 3, 2026

Marina i Miroslav Obradović

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

Marina Obradović walked away from a corporate career due to burnout, not knowing what was next, only what wasn't. Two years later, she founded Priče jedne kuhače (Stories of a Ladle), a business built around her lifelong passion for cooking. This wasn't a calculated pivot; it was an intuitive leap, starting with recipe cards and zero graphic design experience, just a Word document and a vision for something different. What began as a creative outlet soon demanded a team. Her husband, Miroslav, initially a reluctant but supportive taste-tester, became the backbone of logistics, finance, and operations. He describes cooking as just "one or two percent of the whole story"; the rest is the relentless organization, delivery, and execution that makes the creative vision real. Their story offers a view into how a personal passion can become a thriving enterprise, especially when anchored by unexpected operational rigor. You'll hear how the unglamorous work of running a business often makes the glamorous part possible, and why a clear vision for what you *don't* want can be the most powerful starting point.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

Marina Obradović quit her corporate job due to burnout in 2016, two years before founding her company, with no "plan B" for what came next. The clearest path forward sometimes emerges not from knowing your next step, but from a firm rejection of the path you're currently on, as she puts it: "I simply experienced burnout and didn't know what I wanted. Or rather, I knew I no longer wanted that."

The idea for the initial recipe card collection came to Marina during meditation, prompting her and Miroslav to immediately mock up dimensions with paper cutouts in a Word document. Don't wait for design expertise or perfect tools; the fastest way to validate a concept is to create its rawest physical form, even if it's just "cut out in Word and immediately glued together as if it were double-sided, just to see the approximate dimensions."

Miroslav Obradović took on the "abnormally boring" tasks of finance, pricing, reporting, and paperwork, allowing Marina to focus on the creative core of the business. The partner who embraces the tedious, essential administrative work is often the true enabler of the creative founder's vision.

Miroslav states that "cooking is only one or two percent of the whole story. Everything else is organization, rushing, running around." For any passion-driven business, the actual craft is often a minor component; the vast majority of the work lies in the operational execution.

Marina started her recipe collection because friends and family constantly asked her, "Marina, what should I cook, how should I cook, how do I organize myself?" The most organic business ideas often emerge from repeatedly answering the practical questions people in your immediate circle already ask you.

Miroslav spent a year trying to convince Marina to start cooking workshops before she finally initiated them herself one day while he was away, by creating a Facebook event. External encouragement can plant a seed, but the decision to commit often requires an internal shift, not just persistent persuasion.

The initial success of Priče jedne kuhače's recipe collection came in a market where, as the host observed, publishers often claim "nobody reads business books, only cookbooks and children's books." The true demand for your product often lies in what people *actually* buy and consume, revealing a market far larger than the "serious" categories might suggest.

Marina describes how traditional diets, even "homemade" ones, are often full of foods that consume more energy to digest than they provide, in contrast to past generations with more physical activity. The definition of "healthy eating" is not static; it shifts with changes in lifestyle and activity levels, demanding a modern approach to diet rather than blind adherence to tradition.

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