This is Lilalab Think Tank

Lilalab is a private, non-profit think tank based in Slovenia and working internationally. We bring together entrepreneurship, human development and creative practice to reimagine entrepreneurial ecosystems where people, ideas and organisations can thrive.

WHAT DRIVES US

Our mission is to help people thrive while building what matters.

We believe entrepreneurship should develop people, not only ideas and businesses. We exist to bring the human side of entrepreneurship into the way entrepreneurial ecosystems are designed.

Our moonshot is reimagining the entrepreneurial ecosystem for the new economy.

We want to help shift entrepreneurship support from primarily developing ideas towards developing adaptable entrepreneurs and the environments around them.

WHY THIS MATTERS

The entrepreneur is more than the idea.

Markets, technologies and business models change fast. Specific skills and today's best idea can quickly become outdated.

The ability to learn, adapt, create, collaborate and navigate uncertainty stays valuable.

That's why we're interested in developing the entrepreneur — their mindset, capabilities and environment — alongside the venture.

And entrepreneurship doesn't stop after first 3 years.

A lot of support is concentrated around starting: ideation, validation, acceleration and access to funding.

We're particularly interested in what happens three to five years later, when founders can face a different set of challenges: loss of direction, changing markets, team and leadership questions, exhaustion, stalled growth or the need to reinvent the business.

We want entrepreneurial ecosystems to support people through these transitions too.

Because an ecosystem is a system. And a new economy needs new systems of support.

OUR VALUES

Human first | We work with people, not only projects, organisations and ideas.

Curiosity | We ask questions, cross disciplines and stay open to changing our minds.

Co-creation | We believe better solutions emerge when the people affected help create them.

Experimentation | We learn by testing ideas in real contexts and improving what doesn't work.

Playfulness | Serious challenges don't always require serious methods. Creativity, movement and play can open possibilities that conventional processes miss.

Sharing | Knowledge becomes more valuable when others can use it, adapt it and build on it.

WHAT WE BRING TO A PARTNERSHIP?

What we can do?

  • Strategy & ecosystem development

  • Project management

  • Programme & methodology design

  • Facilitation & stakeholder engagement

  • Train-the-trainer programmes

  • Funding & proposal development

  • Research, talks & knowledge sharing

What knowledge we bring?

Our work combines expertise from:

  • Entrepreneurship & business

  • Psychology & human development

  • Project & stakeholder management

  • Creative and participatory facilitation

  • EU projects & funding

  • Learning and programme design

What experience we build on?

Our experience spans EU-funded and international projects, strategy consulting, entrepreneurship programmes, research, training and 50+ facilitated learning experiences per year.

Learn more

OUR IMPACT

Every year, Lilalab brings together entrepreneurs, facilitators and changemakers through learning experiences that inspire meaningful action.

  • 50+ workshops, conferences and community events organised each year

  • 150+ entrepreneurs and changemakers engaged annually

  • 20+ EU Youthpass certificates awarded every year

  • 13+ long-term partnerships with organisations across sectors

  • 10+ countries represented in our community

CORE TEAM

Lilalab is led by a small multidisciplinary team and supported by a growing community of trained facilitators, competence partners, researchers and practitioners.

This allows us to stay agile while bringing the right expertise and people into each project.

Founder and Executive Director

  • Meta Pezdir is a founder and executive director of Lilalab Think Tank.

    She holds a joint Master's in Entrepreneurship from the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her background spans strategy consulting at Deloitte — where she co-developed Slovenia's National Strategy for Coal Phase-out and contributed to EU policy research on the "Fit for 55" package — and hands-on entrepreneurship education, having designed and facilitated more than 50 trainings in 12+ countries for participants aged 4 to 92.

    She is a trained Expressive Arts Therapy practitioner, a published researcher and writer, and a regular speaker and guest lecturer, including at SAZU, the University of Ljubljana, and international conferences on sustainability and social innovation.

    Meta leads Lilalab's EU-funded programs and its long-term mission to bring meaning and wellbeing into the centre of entrepreneurial education, in partnership with leading universities and industry.

Managing Director

  • Alenka Pirih is a board member and managing director at Lilalab Think Tank.

    After graduating in biopsychology, in 2023 she obtained her master's degree in psychology at UP FAMNIT, where her research focused on social psychology and transgenerational trauma.

    She gained work experience in psychoeducation and conducting workshops for adolescents and adults through the PKP project for individuals with fibromyalgia and the project "A (se) štekaš?!? " in the field of suicide prevention.

    She further strengthened her skills in organizing and leading psychoeducational workshops and creating psychoeducational materials through her work at Pozitivna psihologija za boljše življenje and through her internship at the Health Promotion Center and the Center for Social Work.

COMPETENCE PARTNERS

We believe the best ideas are created together. Our competence partners bring diverse expertise, fresh perspectives and real-world experience that strengthen our Labs, projects and research. Together, we co-create innovative approaches to entrepreneurship and contribute to a more regenerative future.

  • Tea holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. In 2021, she obtained the title of Practitioner in Expressive Arts Therapy and, since 2024, has been training in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy. She is the project manager of Mala šola psihologije (Little School of Psychology) and the MEPI Career Academy at the MEPI Institute, as well as the founder and director of the AGB Expressive Laboratory.

    Tea delivers training for professionals in the field of psychosocial support and lectures in the Expressive Arts Therapy program. Her work integrates psychology, integrative transactional analysis, and expressive arts therapy in working with individuals and groups. She also designs and develops educational programs for youth workers and other professionals.

  • Tadeja Mirič has extensive work experience in coordinating various educational events, contributing to brand development, and internal communication. She also has experience in managing large databases and optimizing business processes.

    She has enhanced her competencies in major Slovenian and international companies, including Studio Moderna, Danfoss, and Telprom. Additionally, she has experience in the administrative management of projects co-financed by the state and the EU, including a digitalization project within the Next Generation EU framework.

    She is currently completing her studies in entrepreneurship at Gea College. She brings structure, reliability, and fresh ideas for solving challenges to the team. Her main role is the internal coordination of our informal youth group and providing administrative support for the entire project.

  • LL.M.

    Inštruktor na projektu Lilalab inkubator za ustvarjalce sprememb

  • pesnica in praktikantka geštalt terapije - inštruktorica na projektu Tekstoterapija (SPLETNA STRAN)

  • oblikovalka, inštruktorica na projektu Lilalab inkubator

  • ustvarjalec videovsebin, inštruktor na projektu Tekstoterapija

  • Ilustrator, designer

  • Lara is a preschool teacher and a postgraduate student of social pedagogy. As a student, she works in a kindergarten and also serves as an animator and leader of vacations for children and adolescents at Caritas Slovenia.

    She was the coordinator of the charity concert "Koča", which connects, as well as the "Kuhajmo skupaj" project. She organized cooking workshops for children, where young people spent quality time with older individuals and gained new cooking skills.

    She also acquired additional knowledge and experience during a semester-long study exchange in the Czech Republic, where she completed an internship at an international kindergarten and school in Olomouc.

PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS

We are proud to collaborate with organisations across sectors and borders to shape the future of entrepreneurship together.

LET'S BUILD SOMETHING TOGETHER.

Looking for a project partner, consultant, facilitator, consortium member or a new perspective on a challenge?

Let's talk!
Let's talk!