Dash0: Building the Next Infrastructure Unicorn in the AI Era
Join us in Garaža for a conversation with Mirko Novaković, Founder and CEO of Dash0, alongside Oliver Manojlović, Chief Revenue Officer, and Judith Redi, VP Engineering. The conversation will be moderated by Tihomir Bajić from Fifth Quarter Ventures.
Mirko is one of the most successful founders to come out of the region. After building Codecentric and leading Instana to a successful acquisition by IBM, he is now building Dash0, an observability platform taking on industry giants. Less than two years after launch, Dash0 has raised $155 million, reached a $1 billion valuation, and become one of Europe's fastest-growing infrastructure startups.
We will dive into what it takes to build, sell, and scale a category-defining company, from founder-led growth and fundraising to engineering leadership and competing in crowded markets.
Topics include:
Lessons from building multiple companies: what mistakes you manage to avoid when building your third startup, and what no longer works in the AI era.
Founder-led GTM and distribution: why revenue remains the ultimate source of feedback, how founders have to be their own first salespeople, and whether building in public is becoming a requirement.
Scaling challenger companies and lessons from taking on category leaders.
Investing in technical founders: what experienced operators and angel investors look for at the earliest stages, and what opportunities they see in the Balkan startups.
AI-native engineering leadership: how engineering organizations change when AI is at the core of the product.
Speed versus rigor: balancing founder velocity, product iteration, and engineering discipline in AI-native companies.
Building global companies from Europe: company formation, fundraising, talent, and navigating the evolving European startup landscape.
The reality behind unicorn status: expectations, leadership challenges, and changes in building the company after reaching a billion-dollar valuation.
Speakers
Mirko Novaković - Founder & CEO, Dash0 Mirko is a serial entrepreneur and one of Europe's most successful infrastructure software founders. He previously founded Codecentric and Instana, which was acquired by IBM, before launching Dash0 to redefine observability for modern engineering teams.
Oliver Manojlović - Chief Revenue Officer, Dash0. Oliver has spent his career helping category challengers scale against larger incumbents, holding leadership roles at companies including Personio before joining Dash0.
Judith Redi - VP Engineering, Dash0 Judith combines a background in AI research with hands-on experience building AI-powered products. Before Dash0, she led AI initiatives at Miro, where she helped launch Miro AI and scale AI capabilities across the platform.
Moderator Tihomir Bajić - Partner, 5th Quarter Ventures
Who should attend?
Startup founders and operators
Engineers, CTOs, and technical leaders
Developers building AI and infrastructure products
Students interested in startups and technology
Event language: English