Bonus Stage 🔓 Meet Olga from Neofunction, the startup taking smiles global

Welcome to the Bonus Stage 🔓 where the real story starts after the pitch. This is where founders talk about the hard work, the wins, and everything behind the scenes. In this edition, we chat with Olga Petrovic from Neofunction, who tells us how they’re making moves and growing their startup.

Neofunction is a Belgrade-based health-tech startup, founded in 2023, revolutionizing oral care for people with braces. Their flagship product, Neo Pill, makes dental hygiene easier and more effective, and has already received positive feedback and CE certification. With initial sales in the region and EU expansion underway, they’re now gearing up for broader European and U.S. markets, while developing add-ons to reach the general population.

What’s the story behind your startup’s name? Any fun or surprising origin?

The name Neofunction reflects our mission to bring new functionality to everyday oral hygiene. We wanted a name that signals innovation and transformation, something that challenges the status quo in dental care.

“Neo” stands for new, modern, and forward-thinking, while “function” highlights our focus on practical, science-based solutions that improve health. The idea also has a fun twist: part of the inspiration came from the film The Matrix, where the character Neo breaks free from outdated systems, just like we aim to disrupt outdated oral hygiene routines with smarter, more effective solutions.

What was your “why”, the personal motivation or problem that pushed you to start this venture?

Our “why” came directly from the real-world struggles we saw in dental practice, especially among patients with fixed orthodontic appliances. Despite their efforts, they were four times more likely to develop cavities simply because traditional tools couldn’t effectively clean around braces. As a dentist and co-founder, I witnessed this frustration daily.

We realized that if we wanted to truly help patients, we had to go beyond the toothbrush. The insight that oral hygiene needed a smarter solution pushed us to create Neo Pill. It started as a mission to solve a specific problem, but it grew into a vision to redefine preventive oral care for everyone.

How did the founding team come together? Did you know each other before or meet through this journey?

All the founders are friends many years , working together on other startups.

What’s the biggest personality clash or funny disagreement you’ve had as co-founders, and how did you resolve it?

One of the funniest disagreements we had was about how to demonstrate the product during early investor meetings. One co-founder wanted to go all in with a high-tech, cinematic presentation like dramatic music, Matrix-style visuals, and even lab coats. The other co-founder just wanted a clean PowerPoint and a simple demo.We couldn’t agree, so we did both. At the pitch, one half of the team looked like scientists from a sci-fi movie, and the other half looked like they were presenting quarterly sales. It was chaotic, but it got people’s attention and they remembered us. In the end, we agreed to tone it down, but we still keep a bit of the playful energy when presenting. It reminds us that we can disagree and still create something memorable together.

What’s the single biggest problem your startup solves that no one else is tackling quite like you?

The biggest problem we solve is the lack of effective, easy-to-use oral hygiene solutions for people with fixed orthodontic appliances, a group that is up to 4 times more likely to develop cavities due to poor cleaning access.

While others focus on better brushes or rinses, we approach the problem differently: Neo Pill uses a mild electric current to actively attract and remove bacteria left behind after brushing: without friction, water, or user effort. No one else in the market is tackling bacterial biofilm in this way, especially not with a non-invasive, portable, 30-second solution.

We're not just improving hygiene. We're changing how it’s done.

What’s one customer story that made you realize your product really matters?

One of our early customers was a teenage girl who had been struggling for months with inflamed gums and white spot lesions around her braces, despite brushing carefully multiple times a day. Her orthodontist recommended trying Neo Pill, and within just a couple of weeks, her gum inflammation decreased and her check-up showed significantly less plaque build-up. Her mother wrote to us saying, “This is the first time my daughter smiles without covering her mouth. You've not just helped her hygiene, you’ve helped her confidence.”

That message reminded us that this isn’t just a dental device, it’s a tool that directly impacts quality of life.

What’s the weirdest or most unexpected thing you’ve learned from competing in the Founder Games?

One of the weirdest and most valuable lessons I learned during the Founder Games was how much it pushed me out of our comfort zone, especially when it came to being on camera and speaking in front of an audience.

At first, the idea of pitching in front of investors with cameras rolling felt intimidating. But after a few rounds, the fear turned into excitement. I realized that stepping into the spotlight wasn’t just about presenting our startup. It was about owning our story and learning to communicate it with confidence.

Now, every time we get in front of an audience, there’s less fear and more flow. The Founder Games helped me drop the nervousness and find my voice.

Can you share a memorable moment from the Founder Games that changed how you think about your startup or team?

One memorable moment from the Founder Games was when we got very direct feedback from a jury member during our pitch. It wasn’t easy to hear, but it made us realize something important: we were focusing too much on the product, and not enough on clearly communicating the business potential behind it.

That moment helped us shift our mindset. We started thinking more like investors, highlighting the market, the traction, and the growth strategy, not just the innovation. Since then, our storytelling has improved, and we’ve been much more successful in getting people to see the full picture behind what we’re building.

What advice would you give to other founders watching the show about thriving under pressure?

The best advice we can give is: embrace discomfort and treat pressure as part of the growth process.

Don’t aim for perfection; aim for clarity, authenticity, and learning. When you're pitching under pressure, it's not about having every answer, it's about showing you believe in your solution and understand your business.

If you had unlimited funding tomorrow, what’s the first bold move you’d make?

If we had unlimited funding tomorrow, we'd go full Matrix mode.

We’d build a cutting-edge OralTech Lab that looks like a sci-fi movie set, staffed with top scientists, designers, and even behavior psychologists to reimagine how the world thinks about oral hygiene.

Then, we’d launch a global “Clean Mouth, Clear Mind” movement, giving away Neo Pills to every teen with braces, from Tokyo to São Paulo.We’d partner with NASA to test it in zero gravity, put it in space, and create the first oral hygiene device with its own AI assistant.

Because with unlimited funding… why not?

What’s one crazy, ambitious goal for your startup that you haven’t told anyone yet?

We want to create the world’s first smart oral health ecosystem where Neo Pill is just the beginning.

Our crazy, ambitious goal? A fully personalized, tech-driven oral care system that syncs with your phone, analyzes your saliva in real time, tracks bacterial levels, and gives daily health insights, turning your mouth into a window to your whole-body health.

And yes… we might already have sketches for a toothbrush that talks back.

How do you want your startup to impact the world beyond just making money?

We want our startup to change how people think about oral hygiene, not as a chore, but as an essential part of overall health.

By making advanced, science-based oral care accessible and easy to use, especially for those with the most need (like people with braces), we aim to reduce preventable dental diseases, lower healthcare costs, and improve everyday confidence and quality of life.

Our bigger mission is to empower people to take control of their health in smarter, simpler ways starting with their smile.

If your startup was a movie/TV show or video game, what genre would it be and why?

Our startup would be a sci-fi action film with a twist of health-tech realism. Think The Matrix meets Iron Man’s lab.Just like in sci-fi, we're using unexpected, futuristic technology (electricity + biology) to fight an invisible enemy (bacteria) in a high-stakes environment (the human mouth).

But instead of saving the world, we're saving smiles, one tooth at a time.

Which famous entrepreneur or public figure would you want to grab coffee with and what would you ask?

I’d love to have coffee with Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK. She has led one of the world’s biggest healthcare companies through major transformation, and I admire how she combines business leadership with a strong commitment to innovation and patient well-being.

I’d ask her: “How do you balance innovation with regulatory compliance when introducing health-related consumer products across global markets?”

As a startup working in oral hygiene, this balance is something we constantly think about.

If you could have one superpower to help you with your startup, what would it be?

If I could have one superpower to help with our startup, it would be the ability to instantly understand and speak every language in the world.

That way, we could connect directly with users, partners, and investors across all markets; no translation, no cultural barriers, just clear communication and faster global growth.

What’s the brutal truth about your startup journey no one warns you about?

The brutal truth is that building a startup is often more emotionally exhausting than financially risky. No one warns you how lonely and uncertain it can feel, how many sacrifices you’ll make, or how much rejection you’ll face, often in silence. It’s a constant test of resilience, and some days, your biggest job is simply not giving up.

If you could send a 1-minute voicemail to your past self before starting this startup, what would you say?

"Hey, this is future you. It’s going to be harder than you think; with more doubt, stress, and late nights than you’re ready for. But don’t let that scare you. Every obstacle will teach you something important. Surround yourself with the right people early, ask for help when you need it, and trust your instincts more. You’ll question yourself a lot, but keep going, because this idea really does matter, and it will make a difference. Just don’t forget to take care of yourself along the way. You’ve got this."

BONUS 🔗

Follow Neofunction's journey here & big thanks to Olga Petrovic for sharing their story with us.

Want more behind-the-scenes founder stories?

Stay tuned for the next Bonus Stage 🔓

Until then, enjoy the official trailer for the new season 🍿