POSLOVNA ŽENA Silva Horvat Zadro

Guest Silva Horvat ZadroHosted by Tomislav KukecMay 3, 2026

Silva Horvat Zadro

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

A corporate finance background, a stable income, and then a pivot into hospitality — during a pandemic, no less. Silva Horvat Zadro’s path to Health&Joy bistro in Zagreb wasn’t a lifelong ambition for restaurant ownership, but a response to a very specific problem: the heavy, post-lunch lethargy that plagued her and her sister after corporate meals, and a shared desire for truly wholesome food for their young children. She describes the initial years as a relentless test of will, even raising her baby in the restaurant kitchen amidst staffing shortages and the industry's often unforgiving dynamics. Five years on, her bistro stands as proof that a clear vision for quality, even when it feels 'a bit crazy,' can build something lasting. Readers will consider how deeply personal frustrations can become the bedrock of a robust business, and what it takes to persist when every day feels like a battle.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

Silva Horvat Zadro’s bistro Health&Joy began not from a grand plan, but from a simple, personal frustration: the heavy feeling after corporate lunches that made returning to work difficult. The best businesses solve a problem you yourself feel acutely, turning personal pain into a market solution.

Opening Health&Joy right after childbirth, during the pandemic, meant Silva raised her baby in the restaurant kitchen, with her entire family stepping in to cook and help. When resources are scarce and the market is against you, the only 'team' that matters is the one around your dinner table.

When her chefs called her 'crazy' for insisting on sourcing eggs from a supplier whose hens were too stressed by a fox to lay that day, Silva refused to compromise on quality. What the market calls 'unprofitable' or 'impossible to scale' is often the very detail that makes a business distinct and worth remembering.

As a younger woman owner in a male-dominated hospitality sector, Silva faced resistance from male chefs and waiters 'not inclined' to have a woman boss. Persistence, she found, isn't just about weathering market challenges; it's about navigating the internal dynamics of an industry that expects a certain kind of leadership.

Silva didn't leave corporate finance for a lifelong dream of hospitality, but because she and her sister believed they had 'something to offer the market that no one else has.' The impetus for a new venture isn't always passion for an industry, but a conviction about a specific unmet need.

Only after five years can Silva say Health&Joy has a 'proper team' and can 'function normally,' after years of daily uncertainty about staffing. The most important milestone for a high-turnover business isn't a revenue target, but the quiet arrival of operational stability.

Health&Joy's commitment to 'whole meals' made from scratch — daily pasta, homemade mayonnaise, fresh lasagna sheets — means their dishes are complex and demand a large kitchen team. 'Homemade' isn't a shortcut; it's a specific operational choice that defines your labor needs and kitchen processes.

The intense demands of building Health&Joy almost led to divorce, as Silva spent 'the whole day at work' for years. The personal cost of entrepreneurship is real, and the 'return to normal' in one's private life is as significant a milestone as any business success.

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