We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikolina Belic a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nikolina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I didn’t start with a grand business plan or funding. I started with frustration, and a deep feeling that I couldn’t keep working in environments that didn’t let me think, create, or be free.

But before I tell you about building my business… let me tell you where I come from.

I don’t come from a family of entrepreneurs. My dad’s a mechanic. My mom, an ex-nurse. I grew up in a small town in Serbia that used to be the capital of the Roman province called Sirmium, and from early on, I knew I had to carve my own path.

In high school, I chose economics, the first step away from what was expected. Later, I became the first in my family to finish college, studying both business and IT. I learned how to read a balance sheet and how to build a database. How to negotiate and how to code.

In 2015, I combined those two worlds and built my first product for a children’s hospital where all my relatives work. It failed. I made all the mistakes you can make as a 22-year-old who is trying to apply something she learned in college.

But that failure was good enough to land me my first job as a business analyst in a company that had its own products, whose owner was the very founder of my field of study in university, which I finished!

And from there, I spent 10 years building products for other companies. From ERP systems to slick mobile apps, platforms, InsurTech, FinTech, MedTech, PharmaTech, HealthTeach, Entertainment,… you name it, I’ve done it. I became the go-to person for product discovery, coaching, and building from zero. I built teams, led teams, created and optimized processes, helped with pitches, offers, sales, trained 100+ product managers, worked with 60+ founders, and created frameworks others now use.

But then… I hit a wall.

I had the knowledge, the frameworks, the wins, but no freedom. My last job drained me. My body literally started saying “no.” I was sick all the time. I knew it was over.

There was no one in my circle who could give me a roadmap. So I created one. I thought: what if I tested my own framework, the one I’ve used to coach founders, on myself? And, that’s how it began.

I quit my job. I launched my own product camp for founders, and it sold out in days.

At the same time, I enrolled in a Lovable challenge to build a product using AI. I gave myself 6 weeks to go from idea to revenue. I used the exact framework I now teach called IN369, using 3 pillars I like to call the 3D method (Demand, Delivery, Dollars). And this time, it worked.

I didn’t need perfect. I needed data. I used landing pages, AI-generated mockups, pre-sales, and fast feedback loops. And in just 6 weeks, I went from a blank page to a working product, and my first paying customers.

That’s when I realized I wasn’t just building a product. I was building a system. One that helps others go from “I’ve had this idea forever…” to “I just made my first sale.” So, I built my own landing pages, payment systems, newsletter, messaging, sales strategy, all from scratch. I had to learn how to sell without hiding behind a brand name, how to talk to potential customers, how to handle rejections, how to handle the fact that I was used to getting each month a nice salary and now I have to sell to get paid that month.

Basically, I had to rewrite my story, from product strategist in someone else’s company… to founder of my own.

This business didn’t start with confidence. It started with constraint and a decision to experiment instead of overthink. And that’s still how I build today.

This all happened in a timeframe of 6 months. I opened my company in May 5th, and today is the end of October.

Nikolina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, I’m Nikolina, founder of Innoversium, product strategist, builder, and someone who’s spent the last 10+ years helping founders go from “I have this idea…” to “It’s live and making money.”

But I didn’t come from a startup world like I said in the previous answer. I grew up in a small town, learning things nobody in my family knew, but I chose my own path, and the fact that I learn both business and IT shaped everything I do today.

I started in the trenches: building ERP systems, launching mobile apps, later coaching product teams, mentoring individuals, working on multi-million dollar software products across Europe, Asia, and the US. Creating products that saved a lot of money for internal company use or made a lot of money selling to customers.

After coaching 100+ product managers, working with 60+ companies, and building multiple internal tools from scratch, I realized something: most people don’t need more theory. They need traction. They need action steps. They need clear path.

That’s why I built Innoversium. To combine innovations and universe, sending a message that you have no limits, you can create innovative products, and together, we can go beyond anything you ever dreamed of. There are no limits in the universe :)

I help founders and early-stage builders validate ideas, design prototypes, run lean tests, monetize their products – get revenue, and launch faster, without burning out, blowing budgets, or getting lost in perfectionism.

What I offer:
– Idea → Income Fastlane (IN369 Framework): a 5-week accelerator that helps you validate your idea, build a prototype, and test your first offer in just 35 days.
– 1:1 Founder Fast-Track Mentoring: personalized strategic guidance to support you wherever you are in your journey of making your dreams a reality. From idea or MVP to a profitable, sustainable business.
– Innoversium Hub: a learning and support community with templates, tools, and live Q&As for founders who want ongoing momentum.
– Product Strategy Templates & AI Tools: practical Notion, Miro, and prompt libraries for discovery, validation, and go-to-market to help you speed up your process. Created based on my 10+ years of building digital products.
– Workshops & Consulting: custom sessions for startups and teams that want to accelerate innovation and validate ideas faster.

In one sentence, I help people turn ideas into validated, profitable products, faster and smarter, by combining product strategy, business design, and AI-powered tools.

What problems I solve:
– You’ve had an idea for months (or even years), but you don’t know where to start or what to do first.
– You’ve tried building, but you’re stuck in endless research, feedback loops, or perfectionism.
– You don’t need another course, YouTube video, or 50-page business plan. You need validation and proof.
– You’re afraid of building the wrong thing and wasting months (or worse, money) on something nobody needs.
– You’ve built an MVP, but you still don’t have traction, paying customers, or clarity on what’s next.
– You feel overwhelmed by tools and frameworks, and just want a step-by-step system that turns ideas into results.

My work is designed to de-risk early product development using fast experiments, real user insights, and modern tools like AI and no-code.
We don’t guess. We validate. We test. We attract investors. We sell.

What makes my approach different?
Most programs teach you how to build. They focus on features and output, and tell you what to build next.
I focus on building the right product. The one people actually need, understand, and pay for.
That’s why we make your first sale before you even build the solution.

I blend three worlds: Product strategy (clarity), business modeling (viability), and human psychology (why people buy).
I’ve been in the room for every part of the journey, from early research and MVPs to investor decks and product scaling.

What I’m most proud of?
I’m most proud of helping builders who once felt stuck finally see their ideas come to life, often faster than they ever imagined.
I’ve seen founders get their first paying users after just a few validation tests.
I’ve helped people go from “I’m not sure this will work” to “People are asking when it launches.”

I’ve also guided many professionals transitioning into product management, helping them gain clarity, confidence, and completely transform their careers.
That’s what energizes me: seeing other people’s success stories unfold.

But I don’t just give advice.
I walk with you through the process, asking smarter questions, challenging assumptions, and cheering louder than anyone when your first sale happens.

If you’re sitting on an idea and want to test it fast, before quitting your 9–5 or investing €50K+ in development, I’m your person.

And who knows, my long-term dream is to build and invest in multiple startups. So if your idea has potential, I might just know a few investors who’d love to help you make it real :)

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was this: security comes from a paycheck.

Where I come from, taking a “safe job” was the ultimate goal. My mom was a nurse. My dad is a mechanic. And if I had followed the traditional path, that would be to go to medical high school or work at my dad’s firm, I would’ve had a job waiting for me right out after finishing high school. My aunt already worked in the hospital (and still is working). So, it was all lined up.

But even as a teenager, I felt something different pulling me. I chose to study economics and programming not because anyone in my family did, but because I couldn’t ignore the urge to carve my own path.

Fast forward many years from that big decision and I had everything people said you should want:
– a stable, well-paid job in the IT industry especially for Serbian standards
– KPIs to hit, promotions to earn
– a reliable monthly paycheck

But I was deeply unfulfilled. I was building for someone else’s dream, and not mine, and that was really hurting me.

And when I finally decided to leave and go all-in on my own business, I realized something. All the things that once felt “safe” for me were actually keeping me stuck.

The hardest part wasn’t learning how to run a business. I had studied sales, product management, economics, NLP, psychology, content creation, marketing, and many different things on my own for years because I am curious by nature, or maybe I was preparing for this moment. But the hardest part of it all was unlearning the deep belief that security means someone else giving you a salary every month.

Because when you’re on your own, no one tells you what to do next. You don’t just clock in. You create. And every day you either move the needle or you don’t.

So I had to:
– unlearn the idea that success comes from perfection, and re-learn that it comes from experimentation.
– stop waiting for approval, and start validating my own ideas.
– stop helping for free out of fear of charging, and start building something sustainable.

Six months later, I had:
→ sold out multiple digital products camps
→ built and validated a new product in 6 weeks
→ coached dozens of founders 1:1
→ landed partnership works
→ and started teaching the very frameworks I created

So yes, I gave up the safety net. But in return, I gained the freedom to build something mine from wherever I am on this planet. And I’ll never trade that back.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first started showing up online, I had 500 LinkedIn followers, mostly former colleagues. I had no clue how to write content, let alone use it to grow a business. I wasn’t a marketer. I was a product person.

But I knew one thing: I didn’t want to build in silence. I was testing my own idea, and I wanted to build in public. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to share it with other people. I wanted to help other people where I was once stuck.

So I made a decision. For 1 month, I’d post something every 2-3 times per week.

No perfection. I just needed to show up.

At first, my posts were messy. I didn’t know how to structure content, what “voice” to use, or how to share things people actually cared about. I was afraid to have a strong opinion or say something personal. What if someone calls me out? What if I get it wrong? What if everyone thinks I am a fool and doesn’t know how to do my own work?!

But slowly, I learned to treat content as I would a product experiment.
First, I analyzed who my Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is. The people I want to help and teach. Next, I began experimenting.

Every post became a micro-test:
– What do my people struggle with?
– What language do they use (not just language, but words, phrases, limiting beliefs)
– Which story resonates enough to make someone reach out?
– How would I solve that pain/problem/need?
– What tiny action can they do to move the needle?

So, I realized I could use content to validate, build trust, and even fill my programs. And that’s what happened.

I built a small but engaged community. I filled my first digital product camp through posts alone. I started getting coaching clients, partnership offers, and even invitations to collaborate with startups, all from showing up and sharing value for free.

My advice to anyone starting out?

Don’t try to be a “content creator”. Try to be useful.

Write like you’re speaking to one person who’s just a few steps behind you. Share your mistakes, your lessons, and your frameworks. And be generous, people remember those who give more than they ask.

What sets me apart isn’t fancy branding. It’s that people see how I think, and how I help, before they ever work with me. That’s the power of building in public.

And today, I still post regularly not just to grow, but to connect, refine ideas, and meet people who want to turn their ideas into something real.

Contact Info:

• Website: innoversium.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolina-strategist/