Transformation Lighthouse

03/09/2026

🔥 From extreme heat to systemic risk. From awareness to action.

On 22 September in Athens, the 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭 & 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 will bring together scientists, civil society, public institutions, investors, community leaders and other changemakers around one increasingly urgent question:

How do we become better prepared together?

𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐛, in partnership with the 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬 (𝐍𝐎𝐀) and 𝐑𝐄𝐎𝐒 Partners, with the support of the 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐄𝐂𝐅), the Forum goes beyond another conversation about climate change. It is about building stronger preparedness ecosystems and turning knowledge into action.

And that resonates deeply with us at Transformation Lighthouse.

Because climate resilience isn't only an environmental challenge.

It is a human challenge. A behavioural challenge. An ecosystem challenge.

Real resilience happens when we connect:
🔬 science with communities.
🧘 awareness with behaviour.
🧳 preparedness with investment.
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 and people with people.

Because awareness alone doesn't create transformation. Action does.

The Forum will also mark the launch of 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐋𝐚𝐛, a new collaborative platform bringing researchers, communities, institutions, innovators, businesses, philanthropies and investors together to strengthen preparedness before climate-related disasters occur.

😊 🤗 We are proud that Transformation Lighthouse founder & CEO 𝐔𝐫š𝐤𝐚 𝐉𝐞ž 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐈𝐈𝐈: “𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞” a conversation about moving people from knowing to doing, building trust and agency, and turning local action into systemic change.

💡 Exactly the kind of transformation we believe in. If you work with climate, communities, resilience, innovation, finance or systemic transformation do join us in Athens.

📍 Athens | Megaron
📅 22 September 2026
🔗 Join / apply: https://transformation-lighthouse.com/heat-and-climate-extreme-forum

Resilience isn't something we wait for.

We build it. Together.

17/08/2026

🐝 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲! Hummelnest DEMO Day 2026 happened — and honestly, what a way to close this chapter. 🚀

We started this Hummelnest journey with 𝟏,𝟐𝟎𝟗 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟕𝟔 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. 🌍

Somewhere between those 1,209 applications and the final pitches in Graz, we found a group of founders who were ready to roll up their sleeves, challenge themselves, learn fast and make things happen.

And then came Demo Day.

Eight international startups. One room. Investors, corporates, ecosystem people, mentors, friends and a whole lot of entrepreneurial energy. ⚡

And you know what we love most about Demo Day?

It’s not actually the stage.

It’s seeing what happens 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 the stage.

The conversations over coffee.
The last-minute pitch changes.
The “wait… what if we tried this?” moments.
The founders meeting someone who might become their next client, partner or investor.

That’s the real Hummelnest magic. 🐝✨

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐱 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬:
🧴 Bottless
📚 Legal-Pythia
🤖 Titannis
💹 Nexyzen
💳 Tap2Pay
🐝 Intelligent Hives
💎 Cognium Inc.
⚕️ Edit 8 AI Bridge

And an honourable mention of a team stuck in visa permission land.
🩺 FriendnPal

All addressing totally different problems. Different markets. Different founders.
But the same thing in common: they are building.

And that’s what we believe in at Hummelnest. Not just having a good idea, but having the courage, curiosity and most important the endurance to turn that idea into something people actually want.
A huge 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 to every founder who trusted us with part of their journey. You made this batch special. 💛

And an equally huge thank you to 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧-𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 for continuing to put real weight behind startups and to everyone who opened doors, shared knowledge, challenged the teams and helped to make the Hummelnest ecosystem what it is.

We’re incredibly proud to have built this journey together.
But let's be honest…
𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝.
It’s the moment when the next chapter starts. 🚀

So founders, investors, corporates and everyone who loves watching ambitious people build things:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩? 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 👇

03/07/2026

Naš čudovit dogodek AJDOVŠČINA INNOVATION SUMMIT – Future of Industry & AI Forum v Ajdovščini je prišel v medije 🥳

Za podrobnejši opis vsega iz dogodka, nam sledite še naprej 😉

https://tv3m.si/article/ko-se-v-ajdovscini-srecajo-silicijeva-dolina-hollywood-in-slovensko-gospodarstvo

Urska Jez Martin Jarc Občina Ajdovščina

02/07/2026

🤩 All the way from Mexico we had 𝐅𝐞𝐝𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 joining us for some startup back and forth session on building products that actually work in the real world.

Fede brought us a direct and real life perspective, 👨‍🎓 shaped by his background in design and his time leading product and UX efforts inside large organizations.

Some of the really interesting ⛏️ gold nuggets from this talk:
• User experience is not decoration, it’s a system that directly impacts ROI. Done right early, it can dramatically increase returns.
• If you can’t measure it, you can’t gate it. Clear success criteria and traceable data are essential, especially when moving from validation to repeatability and scale.
• Obsess over the problem, not your solution. Solutions fail. Problems evolve. The best founders stay obsessed with deeply understanding the problem from multiple angles.
• Trust is earned, not designed in. You must prove your loops work manually before layering on automation or AI otherwise, you risk breaking things at scale and hiding the root cause.
• Leadership is about providing extreme clarity on phases and success criteria, then giving the team the rails and freedom to perform within them.

The session was really honest, with really interesting discussions around adoption versus retention, the risks of dark patterns, and how to translate human needs 👫 (like anticipation and emotional experience) into product requirements.

🙏 A big thank you 𝐅𝐞𝐝𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 for one of the best talks we've had working with startups. It was filled with inspiration, no bu****it, sprinkled already with insights we had in the program.

You really are a superstar 🌟 and thank you again for taking the time to do deep dives with all the startups in the program. 🤗



Folowers Urska Jez Martin Jarc

25/06/2026

What happens when you bring together the right people in one room?

Startups.
Investors.
Corporate leaders.
Builders.

One afternoon
Numerous of conversations.
New partnerships.
New opportunities.

This was Transformation Lighthouse Meet & Match: Ligth up your network, Ljubljana.

The first step in building a stronger innovation ecosystem.

And just the beginning of what we're creating with Transformation Lighthouse

Connecting people.
Creating opportunities.
Building the future together.

Ph: Sinisa Kanizaj

24/06/2026

Watching people from completely different corners of the world arrive in Graz and within a few hours start acting like they've known each other for years.

Founders are a funny species.

Put them in a room together and suddenly conversations jump from AI to beekeeping, from mental health to fintech, from saving the planet to scaling a startup before lunch. 🚀 🤣 And we love it ♥️

Again thank you to Péter Kovács for once again sharing his networking magic. Every year he reminds us that the best opportunities come from genuine curiosity, meaningful conversations and being willing to talk to someone you don't know yet on a regular basis. 🤝

We all have our homework cut out for us. 😊

Keep watching this space we have startups all here and ready for action. If you want to talk to them in person on Monday 29th we are in Ajdovščina ready to put Peters lessons to the test.

Join us 😉

Urska Jez Martin Jarc Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark Brett Murray

🌍 From all over the world... straight to Graz. 🚀 This week, the Hummelnest 2026 cohort met in person for the very first time.

Founders building in AI, sustainability, legal tech, fintech, mental health, circular economy and beyond came together from different countries, backgrounds and industries. Yet even from the very first moments, it felt like meeting with friends that talk the same language: entrepreneurship. 💡

While startups begin with an idea, they grow through determined change making people. So where better to start than with a Networking Augmented workshop led by Péter Kovács. 🤝

The session wasn't about collecting business cards or perfecting elevator pitches. It was about building genuine connections, learning how to create meaningful conversations and understanding that some of the most valuable opportunities often start with a simple 👬 introduction.

Thank you, Peter, for returning every year and sharing the lessons of your networking magic in the Hummelnest accelerator.

This is exactly what Hummelnest is about. 🐝

Not just accelerating startups. 🚀

But we are building a community. 🐝🐝🐝

A community where founders challenge each other, support each other, connect on a personal level and hopefully grow together.

The journey began a while ago, but seeing this group together in Graz makes us incredibly excited for what lies ahead.

🚀 We have such a cool group of a very smart people….EXCITED.

If you are in Graz come say Hi meet interesting people and amazing speakers coming in…

20/05/2026

Still do not know where are you tomorrow? Well we will be organising 🌎Mercosur & Europe Bridge - Strategic Business Forum in Koper. Join us. 😄

Tomorrow On May 21, in the historic Pretorian Palace in Koper Slovenia will become a meeting point for companies, institutions, investors, and decision-makers ready to turn the EU–MERCOSUR connection into concrete business opportunities.

Explore real opportunities in trade, investment, market entry, logistics, agriculture, energy, and international cooperation and leave with new connections and clear next steps.

This forum is for you if you want to:
✅ Understand what the EU–MERCOSUR Agreement really means in practice
✅ Discover concrete opportunities between Mercosur and Central Europe
✅ Connect directly with companies, institutions, and decision-makers
✅ Explore new markets, partnerships, and strategic collaborations
✅ Be part of a high-level international business platform

📍 Pretorian Palace, Koper, Slovenia
📅 May 21 (Tomorrow!)

⁉️ Can’t join us in person?

No worries you can still be part of it via YouTube 📺️ live stream:

https://www.youtube.com/live/HYIfn3jv85Y

If your company is looking at international growth, new markets, or strategic cooperation between Europe and Mercosur, this is the place to be.

Join us tomorrow and let’s open the next chapter of business between both regions... together.

😉 And if you missed both, do not worry Transformation Lighthouse is here to help you connect even after the event. We are actively building bridges to LATAM and beyond.

22/04/2026

🚀 𝟯….𝟮….𝟭… 𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 — 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 is LIVE! 🚀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁. And honestly… this one was tough. 🥵

The quality this year was really next level and we congratulate all the 1209 startups from 76 countries that applied this year and showed us your trust, you will not be forgotten (plans already in motion to support). 😉

Too many startups we wanted in. Too few spots to give. Giving us a little hard time but we have come to the best from the best (yes top gun reference…no we are not too old 😂).

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫’𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬:
🩺 Chatdok
📚️ Legal-Pythia
🌽 Hidrobio
🤖 Titannis
💹 Camera di Compensazione
💳️ Tap2Pay
🐝 Intelligent Hives
💎 Cognium Inc.
💡 FriendnPal
🍾 BOTTLESS
⚕️ aibridge

👏 Massive congratulations. You didn’t just stand out… you forced our decisions a little bit.

🌍 This batch brings together founders building across industries, continents, and entirely new categories. Exactly the kind of energy we believe in. We will talk more in depth about them at a later stage at this stage what we want to say is…they are amazing people and we are so much looking forward to working with all of you.

But let’s be clear…

👉 This post is also for everyone who didn’t make it (this time).

The applications this year were on another level.
Selection ≠ potential.

💭 If you're building something bold: stay close.
This ecosystem is getting bigger than one cohort.

🚀 Now… It's the best time to build, test, break, and scale.
The question is:

🤔 What excites you more… the ideas or the people behind them?