Ivan Jelušić
Chief Sales Officer and co-founder of Orqa. Studied electrical engineering at FERIT Osijek before leaving after his second year to pursue business full-time; co-founded u:Plug LTD (CEO, 2014-2017) and Tenzor, a hardware-engineering-services company that spun off into Orqa in late 2018. Named European Founder of the Year (2019) at the Central European Startup Awards; 2017 YTILI fellow (a U.S. State Department-funded, German Marshall Fund-administered program).
Born in 1991 in Kaptol, near Požega, Croatia, Ivan Jelušić left his electrical-engineering studies at FERIT Osijek after his second year to focus on business full-time. He co-founded and ran u:Plug, a USB-enabled electrical outlet startup backed by the Bulgarian accelerator Eleven, from 2014 to 2017. Through that project he met Srđan Kovačević and Vlatko Matijević, and the three co-founded Tenzor, a hardware-engineering-services company, which spun off into Orqa — a Croatian FPV drone-goggle maker — in late 2018. Orqa drew Pentagon interest at CES 2019 and has since become a significant EU defense-drone supplier to Ukraine; Jelušić serves as Chief Sales Officer, leading commercial and business development.
Overview
- Role
- Chief Sales Officer & Co-Founder, Orqa
- Based in
- Osijek, Croatia
- Prior experience
- u:Plug LTD (CEO), Tenzor (Co-Founder)
- www.linkedin.com/in/ivanjelusic/
Affiliated funds0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- Who is Ivan Jelušić?
- Born in 1991 in Kaptol, near Požega, Croatia, Ivan Jelušić left his electrical-engineering studies at FERIT Osijek after his second year to focus on business full-time. He co-founded and ran u:Plug, a USB-enabled electrical outlet startup backed by the Bulgarian accelerator Eleven, from 2014 to 2017. Through that project he met Srđan Kovačević and Vlatko Matijević, and the three co-founded Tenzor, a hardware-engineering-services company, which spun off into Orqa — a Croatian FPV drone-goggle maker — in late 2018. Orqa drew Pentagon interest at CES 2019 and has since become a significant EU defense-drone supplier to Ukraine; Jelušić serves as Chief Sales Officer, leading commercial and business development.
- What is Ivan Jelušić's role?
- Ivan Jelušić is Chief Sales Officer & Co-Founder, Orqa, based in Osijek, Croatia.
- Where did Ivan Jelušić work before?
- Ivan Jelušić's prior roles include u:Plug LTD (CEO), Tenzor (Co-Founder).
Sources & citations6
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Ivan Jelušić was named European Founder of the Year at the Central European Startup Awards 2019 finale.
Netokracija: Zaključeno je CESAwards finale: ORQA-in Ivan Jelušić osnivač je godine!Verified2019-01-01 - 2
Ivan Jelušić is listed as a 2017 YTILI fellow (Croatia).
YTILI Fellowship Program: YTILI AlumniVerified2026-08-07 - 3
Ivan Jelušić was born in 1991 in Kaptol near Požega and studied electrical engineering at FERIT, University of Osijek.
EFOS (Ekonomski fakultet u Osijeku): Ivan Jelušić - Cjeloživotno učenjeVerified2026-08-07 - 4
Jelušić left his electrical-engineering studies after his second year; he and Orqa co-founders met through the u:Plug project and first co-founded Tenzor before spinning off into Orqa, which drew Pentagon interest at CES 2019.
tportal: Naočalama za dronove zaintrigirali Pentagon...Verified2019-02-09 - 5
Ivan Jelušić co-founded u:Plug, a USB-enabled electrical outlet startup, and secured funding through the Bulgarian accelerator Eleven.
Netokracija: u:Plugov Ivan Jelušić o Elevenu, brkovima i konkurenciji u svijetu USB utičnicaVerified2014-01-01 - 6
Ivan Jelušić is described as Orqa's director of sales and business development amid the company's pivot to supplying military drone components to Ukraine.
Total Croatia News: How Osijek Company Orqa Became Croatian Military AssetVerified2026-08-07