In early March, Academia Institute of Technology hosted special international guests – Gordon and Kelly Daugherty from Austin (USA) at the initiative of a partner start-up company from France, who spent one week in Slovenia and participated in several events, workshops and lectures for students, lecturers, entrepreneurs and other employers of Academia.
Gordon Daugherty is a serial entrepreneur, investor and co-founder of Capital Factory , the largest start-up incubator and investment hub in Texas. Throughout his career, he has been involved in more than 600 start-up investments and helped companies raise more than 250 million dollars in capital, whilst also making a significant contribution to the development of Austin as one of the leading technology centres in the United States.
Workshops and Lectures for Students and Entrepreneurs
As part of the visit, Gordon and Kelly delivered several interactive lectures and workshops, where they presented to participants:
- how global investors think,
- what distinguishes start-ups that succeed in the global market,
- which strategic mistakes most frequently halt company growth,
- how to develop companies and innovations with international potential.
They also placed special emphasis on the development of start-up ecosystems and connecting education, entrepreneurship and investment capital.
Collaboration with the Slovenian Innovation Ecosystem as Well
During their visit to Slovenia, they also participated in several events in the start-up and innovation environment.
At the Factory of Ventures in Maribor, Gordon Daugherty led an interactive meeting with the start-up community, where he shared experiences from the American technology ecosystem with company founders.
In Ljubljana, he appeared as the keynote speaker at the DUAL EDGE SLOVENIA event, organised by the Ministry of Defence, DOVOS, IBEX Equity Partners and Technology Park Ljubljana. The event was aimed at start-ups that wish to develop dual-use technologies and enter the field of defence technology (defence-tech).
International Connections as an Opportunity for Academia Students
The visit of Gordon and Kelly Daugherty represents an important step in connecting Academia with the global innovation and investment environment. Such meetings enable students and lecturers to have direct contact with international entrepreneurs, investors and experts from technology ecosystems.
Academia thus continues with active involvement in international innovation networks, where education, entrepreneurship and the development of new technologies intertwine.
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Source: Academia (14. 2. 2026). Fotografije: arhiv Academie.
This English summary was produced automatically from the Slovenian article and is pending editorial review. Slovenska različica
