Marijan Filipovic

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Marijan Filipovic Partner at Spika. I talk about business, sales and distribution.

We help manufacturers find, qualify and sign distributors in new markets
See how we work 👇
https://start.spikasolutions.com/about-you-page

03/10/2026

Blockbuster had the chance to buy Netflix for $50 million.

They said no.

Back in 2000, Netflix was still a small DVD-by-mail company.

Its founders approached Blockbuster with a deal: buy Netflix for around $50 million and let them help build Blockbuster’s online business.

Blockbuster passed.

At the time, it probably seemed logical.

Blockbuster had thousands of stores, millions of customers and dominated movie rentals.

Netflix was tiny.

But the way people watched movies was changing, and Blockbuster was too slow to change with it.

At its peak, Blockbuster had around 9,000 stores worldwide.

By 2010, the company filed for bankruptcy.

Today, only one Blockbuster store remains.

Netflix, meanwhile, became one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world.

A $50 million opportunity that turned into one of the most famous missed opportunities in business history.

01/10/2026

Manufacturers keep going back to trade shows even when they know the results haven’t been great.

And part of the reason is simple.

They’re trying to do everything in one place.

Meet existing distributors. Find new ones. See what competitors are doing. Build relationships. Collect new contacts.

The problem is that meeting a potential distributor is only the beginning.

Most distribution deals aren’t signed at the booth.
They happen afterwards.

And this is where a lot of manufacturers lose opportunities.

They collect a stack of business cards, send one or two emails after the show, get no response and move on.

Good follow-up keeps the conversation alive until the timing is right.

Because sometimes the difference between a business card and a new distributor is simply what happens after everyone goes home.

28/09/2026

Michelin created the world’s most famous restaurant rating system… to sell more tires.

Back in 1900, there were very few cars in France.
And that was a problem for Michelin.

More driving meant worn-out tires, and worn-out tires meant more business.

So the Michelin brothers created a free guide for drivers.

It included maps, mechanics, hotels, gas stations and places to eat, giving people more reasons to get in their cars and travel.

As cars became more popular, something unexpected happened.

The restaurant section became one of the most valuable parts of the guide.

Michelin started hiring anonymous inspectors and eventually introduced its famous star system.

One star meant a very good restaurant.
Two meant it was worth taking a detour.
And three meant the restaurant was worth making a special journey for.

More than 100 years later, Michelin stars are among the most prestigious awards a restaurant can receive.
All because a tire company wanted people to drive more.

Pretty genius.

25/09/2026

Ferrari will literally charge you extra… to pick up the Ferrari you already paid for.

It sounds ridiculous until you understand what they’re actually selling.

Ferrari offers customers the option to collect their new car directly from the factory in Maranello, Italy.

You travel to the home of Ferrari, visit the factory, and take delivery of your car where it was built.

And Ferrari turns that moment into part of the product.

Because when someone is spending hundreds of thousands on a car, they’re buying more than transportation.

They’re buying the story, the history and the feeling of owning a Ferrari.

So even something as simple as handing over the keys becomes another premium experience Ferrari can sell.

It’s a great example of how luxury brands think differently.

The product doesn’t end when it leaves the factory. The entire experience around owning it becomes part of what people are willing to pay for.

24/09/2026

James Dyson somehow made vacuum cleaners cool.

And the crazy part is, it took him 5,127 prototypes to get there.

Dyson wasn’t originally trying to build a global brand.

He was frustrated with one simple problem: vacuum cleaners lost suction as their bags filled up.

So he spent years developing a completely different system that used cyclonic separation instead of a traditional bag.

But building a better vacuum was only half the story.

Dyson also changed what a vacuum cleaner was supposed to look and feel like.

Instead of hiding the technology, Dyson made it visible.

Bright colors. Transparent dust bins. Futuristic shapes. Products that looked completely different from everything else sitting in the appliance aisle.

Over time, that same thinking expanded into fans, hair dryers, air purifiers and other products.

Dyson showed that even a boring everyday product can become desirable when engineering, design and branding all work together.

Pretty impressive for a company built around vacuum cleaners.

I love finding stories like this and breaking down how companies turned simple products into massive brands.

Follow for more business, marketing and brand stories like this.

16/09/2026

RED BULL DOESN’T JUST SPONSOR CHAMPIONS. IT HELPS CREATE THEM.🏆

Most brands wait until an athlete becomes famous and then pay to place their logo beside them.

Red Bull finds athletes earlier, supports their development and gives them a platform to grow. Its Formula 1 system gave Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen a path to the main team before they became world champions.

By arriving before the attention, Red Bull becomes part of the athlete’s story instead of another sponsor added after the success.

Send this to a friend who still prefers Monster.👇

16/09/2026

RED BULL DOESN’T JUST SPONSOR CHAMPIONS. IT HELPS CREATE THEM.🏆

Most brands wait until an athlete becomes famous and then pay to place their logo beside them.

Red Bull finds athletes earlier, supports their development and gives them a platform to grow.

Its Formula 1 system gave Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen a path to the main team before they became world champions.

By arriving before the attention, Red Bull becomes part of the athlete’s story instead of another sponsor added after the success.

Send this to a friend who still prefers Monster👇

15/09/2026

KODAK INVENTED THE FUTURE THAT DESTROYED IT.📸

In 1975, one of Kodak’s own engineers built the first digital camera.

Kodak invested in the technology and even became successful at selling digital cameras. The problem was that every improvement made its highly profitable film business less valuable.

By 2012, Kodak had filed for bankruptcy.

They saw the future coming because they helped create it. They just made too much money from the product it was replacing.

Send this to someone who still has old Kodak photos somewhere.👇

01/09/2026

DON’T ASK A NEW DISTRIBUTOR TO BUY TEN MACHINES.🚫

If one machine costs €10,000, asking them to buy five units means asking them to risk €50,000 on an unproven market.

Let them purchase one demo unit and credit the cost back when they place their first real order.

One machine is manageable risk. Ten machines are a gamble.

Would you offer this deal to a new distributor?👇

19/08/2026

YOUR MOQ MAY BE KILLING THE SECOND ORDER.📦

Minimum order quantities protect production efficiency, but they force a new distributor to take a huge risk before the product has proven itself.

Use the first order to create proof. Once the product sells, larger volumes and stronger margins become easier to justify.

Comment “MOQ” and I’ll send you the first-order structure that replaces it.👇

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