Behind flowConf: A Conversation with Uros Mikic

We attended this year’s flowConf, organized by Flow Ninja in Belgrade (RS), as a media partner with 24Creative. We spoke with Uroš Mikić, founder and CEO of Flow Ninja, to talk about how flowConf grew into something much bigger than an internal community event, why keeping it passion-driven was important from the beginning, and how a company’s culture can become part of the conference experience.

For Uroš, the moment when he realized flowConf had become something bigger came naturally - during one of the previous editions in Niš.

“It was probably the last conference in Niš,” he recalls. “At that point, completely organically, without PR or similar campaigns, we gathered 300 people in Niš at the National Theatre.”

What stood out to him was not just the number of attendees, but where they came from.

“While talking with people, I realized that there were attendees from London, Poland, and different parts of Europe, and it simply felt to me that if people were willing to fly to Belgrade, rent a car, and come to Niš just because of the conference, it definitely meant that we had created something big.”

Building a conference without profit as the main goal

Although many conferences today are built around business goals, sponsorships, and revenue, flowConf has always followed a different path. Uroš describes it as a passion project, something created because of the value it brings to the community.

“Honestly, considering that we run a successful company, any profit from the conference would be marginal compared to how much profit the company itself generates,” he explains.

For him, one of the biggest reasons behind this approach was avoiding something that is common in the industry - sponsored talks.

“The thing that has always bothered me the most is sponsored talks. So I decided that the conference itself would never be profit-oriented and that we would never allow someone to give a talk simply because they sponsored the event.”

Instead, the focus has always remained on bringing valuable people and ideas to the audience.

Choosing speakers who are actually in the industry

This year’s flowConf lineup includes people from companies such as Webflow, Checkout.com, Lokalise, and Flux Academy, alongside experienced professionals from agencies and the wider web industry.

For Uroš, selecting speakers is not just another task - it is one of the most important parts of the conference.

“I would say that this is actually my main job,” he says. “Every single speaker is either our client or my friend from the industry.”

The key thing, according to him, is authenticity.

“It is very important to me that these are people who are actually working in the industry every day and who can share something valuable and interesting with the audience.”

The changing rules of search in the age of AI

Beyond the conference, Flow Ninja has also been working on AEO - optimization for AI search engines. While AI is changing how people discover information online, Uroš believes many companies are still not fully aware of what that means.

“I think awareness is still low, considering that there are no ‘secrets’ when it comes to ranking,” he says.

A lot of companies still see optimization as something simple and quick, but the reality is much more demanding.

“Most people think it is some kind of quick optimization, while in reality, optimization for LLMs requires a lot of high-quality content and optimization work that companies usually do not have time for.”

Because of this, many businesses underestimate the role their website plays.

“Companies often underestimate how important their website is for their overall business.”

The team behind the experience

Running an agency and organizing a conference of this scale at the same time requires a strong team. For Uroš, flowConf would simply not exist without the people behind it.

“Without my team, I would not be able to do anything,” he says.

In fact, he believes his team would probably give even more interesting answers about the conference than he would.

“You would probably get even more interesting answers to these questions if you asked my team, considering that the entire conference is 80% their work and daily involvement.”

The team’s energy is also a big part of what makes flowConf different.

“We have a young team that loves what they do, but above all, they love creating something new, and because of that, the conference has a special charm.”

Turning company culture into a conference experience

A big part of flowConf is not just the talks, but the overall feeling people take away from the event. That comes from the same mindset Flow Ninja applies to its work with clients.

“We have a six-star experience motto, and because of that, we always try to go one step further with the organization,” Uroš explains.

For him, that experience is created through countless small details.

“That experience is usually created through a million small details that our team pays attention to during the conference itself, in order to leave the impression of an event that had a lot of effort and work invested into it.”

One of those details was a unique gift for speakers - a special rakija created specifically for the occasion.

“We even created a special rakija for the speakers, made from the distillery in my father’s basement, as one of the gifts.”

Why websites still matter in the AI era

With AI changing the way people search and create content, some conversations online suggest that websites are becoming less important. Uroš sees it differently.

“There is a lot of ‘false’ information online saying that websites are no longer important and that creating a website is easy today.”

While he agrees that creating a website has become easier, he believes the real challenge has shifted.

“And to some extent, that is true - it is easier than ever to create a website, but it is harder than ever to create a website that actually brings business results and generates traffic for a company.”

For marketing teams, the question is no longer just about having a website, but about building one that actually supports business goals.

Giving the team a voice

One of the highlights of this year’s flowConf was the Webflow Room, where multiple Flow Ninja team members took the stage - Mihajlo Đokić, Filip Ničić, Andrija Đurić, Tadija Marković, and Mihajlo Ivanović.

For Uroš, seeing his team speak at the conference is part of a bigger goal.

“One of my goals has always been to have a team capable of giving a talk that is even better than mine.”

The reason behind that goal goes beyond the conference itself.

“Why? Because I believe communication is the most important skill today, and that is exactly why every one of our team members communicates directly with clients and advises them on what is best for them.”

For Uroš, flowConf is ultimately an extension of the same values that shape Flow Ninja - creating something meaningful, sharing knowledge, and building a team that can grow together.