PAMETNA HRVATSKA Bruno Balen

Guest Bruno BalenHosted by Boris ŽivkovićMay 3, 2026

Bruno Balen

About this episode

What you'll hear in this conversation

The pursuit of sustained focus without the usual caffeine jitters often leads to complex solutions. But what if the answer was an ancient recipe, repackaged for modern convenience? Bruno Balen, co-founder of Geek, has built a business around precisely that: a simple blend of coconut oil and ghee designed to transform your morning coffee or tea into a steady source of energy. Balen and his partners didn't start with a chemistry lab or a grand business plan. Their product emerged from a personal frustration with existing methods, quickly validated by an immediate investment, and tested in a demanding local market before setting sights on global expansion. This conversation explores how a "primitive" experimental approach can lead to market-ready products, why diverse skill sets are often more valuable than specific scientific credentials, and how to find surprising support for innovation in unexpected places. You will walk away considering how everyday inconveniences can spark a business idea, and what it truly takes to bring a new concept from personal use to commercial scale.

Insights from the conversation

What to take from this episode

Geek isn't just coconut oil and ghee; it's an ancient Tibetan and Ethiopian recipe for sustained focus because it makes caffeine release slower, preventing the typical energy crash. The real value of a product often lies not in its components, but in the specific interaction or outcome it creates.

Balen corrects the host: Geek is "food," not a supplement, positioning it as a natural tool for biohacking within the fastest-growing keto and low-carb dietary trends. Reframe your product's category to align with emerging health trends and differentiate it from common misconceptions.

The idea for single-serve sachets came from Balen's frustration of carrying a bulky jar of ingredients to make bulletproof coffee while skiing. Personal inconvenience with an existing solution is often the direct trigger for a new product format.

Balen and Luka paused their ski trip, went to Ljubljana, and developed the initial design, name, and web page in three and a half hours. Sometimes, the most valuable ideas emerge from casual observation and are validated by immediate, decisive action.

The three co-founders are an economist, a filmmaker, and a blockchain specialist — none are chemists, and the "recipe" was developed through primitive experimentation with ratios. Expertise in the core product's science isn't always a prerequisite; a diverse team can apply a practical, experimental approach to refine an idea.

Balen stresses that Geek must be frothed or blended into coffee, not just stirred, to achieve the "creamy, foamy, coconut-like texture" that replaces milk and sugar. A seemingly minor user instruction can be critical to unlocking the full experience and perceived value of a product.

The team established their first company in the Netherlands for investors but chose to test the market in Croatia, saying, "if we succeed in Croatia, we can succeed anywhere." Treat a challenging home market as a rigorous proving ground; success there often signals readiness for global expansion.

Despite common perceptions, Balen found Zagreb City's innovation support programs "very kind" and helpful, securing 15,000 Kuna. Don't dismiss public funding or support programs; they can be surprisingly accessible and helpful if you engage with them directly.

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