Towards the end of last year, a new association based on economic interest – Slovenian Business Club – was established, bringing together "garage entrepreneurs", as they call themselves. The former television journalist Uroš Slak, a lawyer by training, is the founding father of the club.

Uroš Slak speaks about the Club with enthusiasm. The interview with him reveals his great personal involvement and commitment. Also, it cannot be said that the idea was born overnight; in fact, he was contemplating such a project at least in the last few years of his journalist career.

How did you get from the idea to the actual project?
By the end of my professional journalist career, I had to decide what my career would be in the future. My thoughts were centred mainly around practicing law. However, late last August, I was called by Joc Pečečnik, the director of Elektronček (slot machines) company, who suggested that I'd realise some of my ideas, which we often talked about at our informal meetings following my formal TV programmes, where they participated as guests. Pečečnik's first idea was to establish an export agency, but I believed that the idea required further upgrading. I was thinking primarily in terms of how to bring together companies that represented the healthy core of the Slovenian economy. I had in mind particularly those entrepreneurs who had established companies on their own, often in home garages, and as they voice their views individually, they are often ignored. Therefore, it seemed only appropriate for these people to join their forces in some kind of a club and present to the Slovenian public their positive experience along with their ambitions. All these entrepreneurs are aware of the fact that development, exports and a fair attitude to employees guarantee a company's success. We must all understand that the more successful entrepreneurs there are in Slovenia, the better public education and healthcare we'll have. A successful society goes hand in hand with successful individuals. Among the objectives (of the Club) is that our members support each other in entering foreign markets.

Who joined you right from the beginning?
After Pečečnik and myself, we developed the idea and put it on paper; we first invited those whom we knew from past experience shared similar ideas. Among the first were Igor Akrapovič, Marjan Batagelj and Robert Grah, i.e. the best.

How many entrepreneurs are in the Business Club?
At the moment, we have thirty-six founding members, while seventy applications of companies wishing to join the Club are pending (these will be associate members). Which is to say that the Club's enlargement is not self-evident. The Club will accept only members who comply with our values, which are as follows: the person has established the company on their own or inherited it as a family business, has not been involved in tycoon scandals, is not a member of any political party, pays taxes and does not have a criminal record.

There is also a rule in the statute according to which a new member can join only with the unanimous consent of all founding members. If any founding member expresses an objection or doubt, despite the candidate's eligibility, such a company will not become a member of the Club.

Was the response as expected or above expectations?
We did not expect such interest. Therefore, we are still discussing the extent to which the Club will grow, considering our objective is that communication between members should still be possible. We'll see about it when we reach an agreement.

What is your attitude to the Government, trade unions, other interest groups and political parties?
The main purpose of the Club is to integrate a healthy (entrepreneurship) core and thus enable economic growth, more jobs, etc. Of course, we will definitely make ourselves heard and present our views to those who will want to hear us, when we recognise that the time has come. However, cooperation with the interested stakeholders you mentioned is not our primary objective. We are not burdened with politics; we are interested solely in the economy. In wishing to play a positive role, we set ourselves high standards. Companies in the association neither claim nor use taxpayer's money or subsidies. Also, we are not competitors to any of the interest groups, such as The Managers' Association, the Chamber of Craft and Small Business of the Slovenia, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, and similar.

But you are establishing links with similar foreign associations.
We have already started talks with some foreign associations, and we also intend to present our Club to foreign diplomats in Slovenia. We also received an ample response from Slovenians living abroad and working for multinationals. They have offered to help us with their business connections, knowledge and experience. So, this initiative and the Club in a way aspire to a higher idea of integration for the common good. This is not solely about business.

What are your plans for the near future?
At this moment, we want to establish a sound foundation; we will also set up a section for young (entrepreneurs). We really do have a lot of energy and we share the unanimous belief that where there's a will, there's a way. We will discuss the items on our ‘wish-list’ once again, and try to make them come true as far as possible. For myself, I am very happy that I am part of this story, certainly a Slovenian success story. Our Club will not accept anything less than that.

Tanja Glogovčan, SINFO