It all started in primary school… and by high school, I was already living out of my backpack, hopping from one innovation competition to another.
Somewhere along the way, I started being noticed. I was constantly presenting, explaining, building, and rebuilding. I became a member of the Croatian Union of Inventors. And somehow, this kid who once read computer manuals like comic books was now traveling the world with his creations.
From Germany, Switzerland, Serbia, Taiwan… to Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, and even Norway - I was there. Me, my robots, and a bunch of soldered wires that somehow worked under pressure. But beyond the medals, certificates, and sometimes chaotic demos, these events gave me something even more valuable. They polished my public presentation skills, and yes, they improved my English really fast.
These competitions were a crash course in everything:
How to pitch your project to a panel of engineers
How to smile confidently even when your robot malfunctions
How to survive on two hours of sleep in a foreign country
And how to explain PWM, H-bridges, or proximity sensors to someone who’s never touched a soldering iron.
I also started showing up on TV more often. There was marketing. Exposure. Grants. Scholarships. Support from institutions I never thought would even know my name. It all gave me momentum and pushed me to build more, test more, and learn more. I honestly felt like a rockstar.
Not the kind that sings, though. The kind that powers up a demo board under a spotlight and explains embedded logic to a judge who barely speaks English. But I loved it. It was wild, fulfilling, and completely unexpected.
