I grew up in one of Croatia's most war-affected regions during the Independence conflict. When my first-grade teacher declared me "the stupidest child she had ever seen," she unknowingly sparked something that would define my approach to life: a determination to understand the deeper workings of things rather than accept limitations at face value.

Throughout my early years, I encountered numerous voices suggesting what I couldn't or shouldn't do. Rather than being defeated by these judgments, I became fascinated by the challenge they presented. Each "no" became a question mark – an invitation to explore what might lie beyond conventional thinking.

Early Intellectual Obsessions

History captivated me from childhood, particularly military strategy. By ten, I had filled fifteen notebooks with battle formations and castle defenses. My mother would smile, saying, "Leave him to his battles, and you won't hear a sound for hours." Those drawings were my first explorations of leverage, positioning, and strategic influence. I was also naturally blessed with a vast imagination and energy for life. Luckily I had a father who had read hundreds of books and was always ready to answer any of my questions. Even after losing a father and a teacher I kept exploring life.

Archery became another formative passion. The discipline that brought me the feeling of mastery and the joy of winning several national championships taught me that excellence isn't about grand gestures but consistent, focused & humble effort. There's a clarity that comes with drawing a new arrow – a moment everything else falls away. It is you and your arrow, any passionate archer sooner or later develops an intimate relationship with his bow and every arrow. This early experience of a feeling that I can be truly in love with doing something and be great at it allowed me to think bigger and believe in myself no matter where life takes me.

Call To Adventure

My path took an unexpected turn when business literature captured my imagination, leading me to study Business in England. Those early student days taught me practical resourcefulness – I went without a pillow for three months, considering it an unnecessary expense that might jeopardize my opportunity at making something out of myself.

After my first year of university, eager for new opportunities, I took a summer job on a hidden Croatian island, a jewel tucked in a bay too beautiful for words. That summer was a gift. Guests arrived and I soaked up their stories—conversations with people whose names lit up headlines and others whose quiet influence ran deep. I left with memories, a stack of business cards, and offers I tucked away, determined to chart my own course.

My career progression wasn't linear or conventional. From being a Croatian archery champion to an international student, from a happy guy surrounded with love to someone isolated working two jobs and always reading his books. From getting a job at the shisha place to wash the shisha pots to becoming a known shisha doctor in the town. From selling a pen at the interview to making a biggest company sale that has 24 stores on my first day of work to selling luxurious car washes in a lonely carpark of a shopping center to getting my first job in marketing before finishing uni to delivering significant revenue increase by understanding and applying leverage through design and words. From having my own office at 21 and becoming a lead digital growth guy at a very respected manufacturing company to being a voice of reason when it came to growth and strategy at the global company. During the period I have also worked on launching my first ecommerce brand and have advised businesses on the side when it came to their digital growth.

This unconventional journey gave me insight into things at a deep level. I've realized the way companies are shaped internally is ultimately what makes the most difference; without the proper reason & strategy it's just a lot of effort but not actually enjoyment and growth. I observed how many of us, myself included, were investing tremendous energy in roles, and things that looked impressive but didn't connect to our deeper selves.

Listening to filmmaker Guy Ritchie discuss authenticity and the essence of narrative made me question things. He explained that one must wear a suit because they want to wear that suit – not because he should. He ultimately believes that it is all about understanding your own internal narrative and being the person that you are and the life you ultimately want to live. This perspective crystallized what I had been sensing: that I have been basing a lot of my self value on how well I was doing professionally and I knew I was tired by that point.

The birth of Business-Narrative

Through deliberate reflection, I came to understand that the most powerful work happens at the intersection of genuine interest and practical impact. This insight transformed not just my personal approach and how I see things but my entire understanding of creative expression and once chosen field of service.

Over the years I've observed a consistent pattern: companies struggled when their internal and external narratives were disconnected. Products failed when they lacked coherent context. Teams lost momentum when their daily efforts seemed arbitrary rather than meaningful.

Too often, I watched organizations jump straight to tactical execution – digital campaigns, brand refreshes, spending insane amounts of money and energy on things that didn't really matter because there wasn't a shared narrative. Without understanding why they are doing what they were doing they would invest in answering "how" questions without clarity on the more essential "why."

From my observation the consistently successful companies share a crucial trait: they are not just selling products and doing things for the profit but they were producing something of value and significance. Without the coherent narrative of building something bigger and together no one in the organisation is connected with their higher performing self and the market performance present, their lack of internal connection with the shared narrative.

This insight led directly to founding Business-Narrative – everything that interests me, everything I love doing and everything that I am good at is combined into one business. It represents both a professional focus and a personal philosophy.

I've figured that the Most companies in my space fall into one of two categories. Traditional strategy consultancies know how to strategize but lack the ability to work directly on digital execution. They create impressive slide decks but leave clients wondering how to implement their recommendations in today's digital landscape. On the other hand, digital marketing companies often focus on short-term wins without understanding the power of strategy. They excel at tactical execution but rarely connect these tactics to a coherent long-term vision that the businesess need.

This insight led directly to founding Business-Narrative – everything that interests me, everything I love doing and everything that I am good at is combined into one business. It represents both a professional focus and a personal philosophy. I wanted to form a company which will bridge this gap by being both strategists and practitioners. In order to do this properly I came up with a Business Narrative Framework, which shows how a company's Core Story—its Why, What, and How—affects all areas of the business from culture to product development, from marketing to customer experience, effectivly creating what I called "Strategic Storytelling"

When it came to positioning I knew I don't want to work with companies who exist just for profit, they had to at least have good energy about what they are doing. Lastly I knew in order to make the vision reality Business-Narrative will have to keep being a boutique-level, end-to-end premium growth partner for a select few vision-led companies. This selective approach allows us to invest deeply in each client relationship, becoming true partners in their success rather than vendors of services who have a limited shelf life and not a real business model.

Present Day

Today, I've come back to the place where it all began. I've reconnected with my past and the child I once was. After taking a little break from professional work I have spent a lot of time with my own mind, meditating on what is the meaning of life and what do I truly want. I have found a lot of joy in just practicing mindful meditations, advancing on my reading and learning about the great philosophies that have shaped the world. In doing so I have experienced redefining moments of absolute peace and tranquility. Those moments of peace have been my navigating system ever since as it brought me to the understanding that no matter what you have to be okay with who you are and live a life that is honest to your real self.

That has defined how I approach anything. I'm far from achieving the freedom and the professional position I would ultimately like to achieve but I am very grateful to be working by following what truly resonates with my most authentic self and the ultimate desire to be doing exactly what I'm doing, from my start ups, my consulting business, to the novel I'm writing & to this website. All is shaped around the same philosophy that everything is a story and it's all a lot more simple than most can admit to themselves.

I often think of the ancient Egyptian story of joy and giving joy, they believed that once a person leaves this world he finds himself at the entrance gate of something new and he is asked a simple question if he has found joy in this life, and if he gave joy to others.

Thank you for taking your time to read this far

With Love,

Ivan