Is there any particular event that triggered you to run Pauza.hr?
Elmira: I love food, I consider myself an early adopter and I was always a big big fan of delivery, or actually, any service that can help me save time and get things done.
I wanted to contribute to something that I believe can withstand the test of time. An opportunity presented itself self and I was asked to take over once Pauza was sold to Foodpanda Group then, now Delivery Hero Group.
What can we learn from Pauza.hr data? Do Croatian’s like more pizza or burgers?
Elmira: Hahaha, we love our barbecue and are not very picky eaters! So we will not shy away from Asian cuisine and new things but pizza is still pizza <3. And it is the single most ordered dish on Pauza in these 12 years.
How did you cope with the recent COVID-19 pandemic? How did you adjust?
Elmira: Our immediate efforts back in March went into keeping all Pauza employees, restaurant partners, riders, and customers safe and healthy.
We were aware that due to the uncertainty around the COVID-19, people might prefer to dine-in and order meals, groceries, and other necessities straight to their door and we were prepared to meet the growing need of our customers, with safety remaining a top priority. Today, we continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 to respond promptly and implement best practices addressing the needs of this rapidly evolving situation.
Do you struggle with competition, or is there plenty of market for everyone?
Elmira: Croatians and food 🙂 There is enough room for a couple of players, but only for the best. We have been here for our users as always, working on our product, introducing new things, and making sure that if we are to compete we have the biggest coverage, most loyal users and the fastest delivery! And I think we do!
List three books or movies that taught you the most!
Elmira: Uf, let’s say I had the time to catch up on my reading this year so this is challenging but here is what comes to mind…
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek (seriously) because it helped me understand how much autonomy of a team matters and it displayed leadership in a way I see it and it’s as the responsibility for other human beings.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman because it shows some really important concepts around how people make decisions and how errors in judgment come about. Read it, it’s fast and you might come to see that you may be about to make a System 1 error.
It’s Not the How or the What but the Who: Succeed by Surrounding Yourself with the Best by Claudio Fernández-Aráoz as it explains nicely why our decisions–choices about friends, partners, employees, and mentors are more important than any other. We know that to thrive we need to have people in our corner and on our team but sometimes we fail to make the best decisions. And this book teaches you how to master the recognition and how do “who” decisions look like.
