After selling his successful information technology and cybersecurity company Preemo, South Florida serial entrepreneur Ivan Mladenovic continues to partner and launch a wide range of new ventures including a digital marketing agency, French brasserie, cigar bar, and Greek restaurant.
He credits having a close family of peers in Entrepreneurs’ Organization South Florida (EO SOFLO) to share experiences, inspiration, and support as a critical element in this professional/financial success and urges all business owners and prospective entrepreneurs to collaborate and join a community to achieve their own goals.
Mladenovic co-founded a series of companies before launching Preemo on his own in 2009. He built it into a leading South Florida IT and cybersecurity company, with 25 employees specializing in providing cloud-based solutions to more than 200 professional service firms in the legal, medical, and financial services sectors.
Late in 2021, he was introduced to Rob Stephenson, CEO of Thrive, , a much larger global technology services provider based in the Boston area that shared his vision, values, goals and commitment to Preemo’s existing clients and staff. Thrive acquired Preemo in early 2022 and brought Ivan aboard as a Managing Partner.
In the tech space, Mladenovic continues to serve his clients at Thrive, , as well as for PROPER, a digital agency he co-founded with Michael Loman, who is a member of EO SOFLO’s Accelerator program. Proper is scaling quickly, and focuses on both paid and organic search optimization, development of custom websites, and marketing strategy.
Mladenovic’s newest ventures are in hospitality. He partnered with seasoned veterans Michael Beltran and Andrew Falsetto to open Brasserie Laurel, with upscale French-inspired Miami cuisine, and El Vecino cigar and cocktail bar with Michelin Guide-caliber service in downtown Miami. Their latest project, a Greek restaurant dubbed Eva, is opening soon in Coconut Grove.
During the entire course of founding, managing, expanding and selling his own businesses, and transitioning to new ones, Mladenovic says EO SOFLO has been instrumental in finding balance and success. Has been part of the organization for seven years and currently serves on the group’s board of directors as membership committee co-chair.
EO SOFLO is one of the world’s largest EO chapters, with 300 business owners who share peer-to-peer experiences, support one another and foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development throughout Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. EO SOFLO member companies account for over $3 billion in yearly revenues and 11,000 jobs in the tri-county area.
“Having access to the expertise and support of a mastermind collection such as EO SOFLO is like lighter fuel in your entrepreneurial journey,” says Mladenovic. “Being part of it changed my life for the better in so many ways. Every entrepreneur and business leader would benefit from joining EO or finding their own peer and support group.”
The benefits go beyond business. Mladenovic says EO and his EO Forum have helped him become a better person and father. In addition to his new tech and hospitality ventures, Mladenovic is focusing on his own health, fitness and role as a “Super Dad” to his two young children. He also supports a number of community and civic causes, including serving as a Tocqueville level member at United Way Miami, and as a former board member at the 200 Club of Greater Miami.
“Ivan is a tremendous example of the creative, collaborative, and leadership mindset of EO South Florida,” said Lil Roberts, current president of EO SOFLO and founder of Xendoo online bookkeeping and accounting platform. “He’s a phenomenal human being and champion for our organization and the entire South Florida entrepreneur community.”
Visit www.eosoflo.com for more information.
