Edi Budimilić (also written Edi Budimilic; online as edifreak) is a Croatian entrepreneur and software engineer. He is the founder and director of Exevio, a Rijeka software company that builds custom corporate systems, mobile apps and web products, and a co-founder of WhoAPI, a domain-intelligence startup that won the Geeks on a Plane Eastern Europe pitch in Zagreb and entered the 500 Startups accelerator in Silicon Valley in 2012.[1][2] He was among the initiators of Startup Inkubator Rijeka and has mentored founders there since it opened.[3]
Early life and first companies
Budimilić is from the Opatija–Pobri area of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on the northern Croatian Adriatic, with the main seat of his company in nearby Rijeka.[4] He has described a path that ran from a games association, through a web-development craft business, a U.S. company, and then back to Croatia to found Exevio.[5]
Game development
He began in game development, after first writing code on a Commodore 64.[19] Through GenerationStars, an association he founded, he and collaborators shipped personal-computer games in the early 2000s. MobyGames credits him on Snakey (2002), Raklem: War on Earth (2002 — “everything you can think of”), Guess it not (2003), Speedy Lander (2005) and 1Key Rocket Launcher (2005), several of them listed under the GenerationStars contact [email protected].[6][20] His personal site later put the count at more than 15 games shipped and described a revival of GenerationStars “one retro game at a time.”[19] A 2011 TechCrunch profile of WhoAPI noted that Budimilić and longtime partner Goran Duškić “enjoyed the creative process of making games” as kids, then moved into web development, hosting and online marketing.[7]
edifreak
Online he has gone by edifreak since the late 1990s. In those years he built custom maps for [[Quake II]] and published amateur work from the personal site edifreak.com. The handle stuck: GenerationStars credits used [email protected], older game directories still list [email protected], and the Gmail address built on the same nickname remains in public use.[20][21]
The domain is still his. The current edifreak.com is a personal page — framed as a “temporal uplink” to 2054 — with a chatbot that answers from his own knowledge (the CRT-styled EDITRON console). A quieter homepage, edi.budimilic.com, carries the same bio in a more conventional form.[19][21]
GEM Studio
With Duškić he ran GEM Studio, a Rijeka web-development and hosting company that grew to more than 500 clients. They sold the business to Avalon, then among the largest competitors in Croatia, in order to concentrate on WhoAPI.[6][8] Domainchy, a branded iPhone app for registering and managing domains and hosting, and WidgetPush, a zero-configuration live-chat widget, date from this period.[9]
WhoAPI and Silicon Valley
WhoAPI is a platform that supplies bulk domain availability, structured WHOIS and related domain intelligence over APIs. Budimilić and Duškić started with a landing page and pre-orders around 2011, drawing on years in hosting and online marketing; a Startit interview later described them reaching early traction with about US$20 using lean-startup methods.[2][7][8] In October 2011 they presented at HackFwd in Croatia and were named by TechCrunch as a likely addition to that programme.[7] An early Croatian angel round of about €40,000 came from Mihovil Barančić of the CRANE business-angel network.[8]
In 2012 they won the Geeks on a Plane Eastern Europe conference in Zagreb. On the same podium were Mate Rimac (Rimac Automobili, third) and the Salepod (later Repsly) team (second). Dave McClure of 500 Startups invested US$50,000; WhoAPI was valued at about US$1 million, and the founders left for San Francisco / Mountain View on U.S. visas for a three-month accelerator. Follow-on industry angels included Isaac Saldana, co-founder of SendGrid, and Ben Welch-Bolen. The company was formed as WhoAPI Inc., with an address at 800 W El Camino Real, Mountain View.[1][2][10]
WhoAPI is still operating, led by CEO Goran Duškić; Budimilić remains listed as an equity holder.[6] In 2013 he organised the WhoHack series in Rijeka — including a one-day event in October and a two-day international hackathon on 23–24 November at STEP RI, backed by the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb, Vipnet and Netokracija. Press put attendance at about 60–70 developers from Croatia and abroad (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine, Nepal and the United States). Budimilić sat on the jury; Netokracija quoted him saying he had “seen the greatest talent right here,” after hackathons “from home to Silicon Valley.”[9][16]
Exevio
After returning from the United States, Budimilić founded Exevio d.o.o. (full name: EXEVIO društvo s ograničenom odgovornošću za proizvodnju softvera, obradu podatka i ostale informacijske uslužne djelatnosti) on 20 June 2013. He is the sole founder and the director authorised to represent the company; the registered seat is in Rijeka.[11] The firm first operated as an IT agency building custom corporate software, business iOS and Android apps, websites, ERP-class systems, and work in AR/VR, machine learning and smart-city technology, and holds ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certificates.[3][5][17]
The company has existed for 11 years and we have been growing the whole time. We have a little over 30 employees, we plan further growth and we are looking for extra office space. We do a range of IT work — websites, mobile apps, various ERP systems, corporate solutions in general.
- In February 2024 Mayor Marko Filipović and the City’s economy department visited Exevio as a beneficiary of Rijeka’s small-value grants to local firms (about €3,630 used for equipment and certification).[3][5]
- Public filings compiled by CompanyWall put 2024 revenue at about €1.48 million (26 employees) and 2025 revenue at about €2.49 million.[11] Headcount has moved with the project mix; press in 2024 cited “over 30” people.[5]
- Exevio was a user of the Torpedo service-business incubator run by Rijeka development agency Porin.[3]
- In October 2018 Exevio shipped the Tower Center Rijeka mobile app (iOS and Android), a shopping and loyalty product with a digital membership card, store map and push offers for the city’s main mall.[15]
- The company later described itself as a venture builder: client earnings are reinvested in in-house products that are meant to leave as independent companies. The public portfolio lists NiMote, QckPay and LogBook as spun out; PassWork as serving first clients; and DCMS as approaching launch.[17]
- Exevio partnered with the CroCube mission. On 21 December 2024 Croatia’s first satellite, a 1U CubeSat, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg; Exevio said it contributed hardware on board and the public tracking app.[17][18]
Other ventures
Beyond Exevio and WhoAPI, Budimilić has founded, invested in or operated several products:
- NiMote — enterprise digital signage at scale; listed on Exevio’s site as a departed (independent) company, and in Budimilić’s X bio.[13][17]
- QckPay — retail, online and fintech payments / device and transaction monitoring; likewise spun out of Exevio.[13][17]
- LogBook — centralised hospitality management; Exevio lists it among companies that left the studio.[17]
- PassWork — “the digital workplace, all in one place,” described as in orbit (first clients).[17]
- DCMS (Deploy apps without a terminal) — a container/app-deployment product Exevio lists as on the pad, approaching launch.[17]
- Naviself — listed as CEO on his public founder profile.[6]
- Drinkagon — a drinking board game. In May 2017 an Exevio team launched a Kickstarter seeking US$5,000 and reached about half of that in under 24 hours. Netokracija called Budimilić one of Croatia’s most active crowdfunding backers.[12]
Startup ecosystem
When the City of Rijeka launched Startup Inkubator Rijeka in 2013, Budimilić was one of the main initiators, together with then head of the entrepreneurship department Andrija Vitezić and Mayor Vojko Obersnel. The city put almost half a million kuna into fitting out space in Ružićeva Street. He has been a mentor in the incubator from the start. The City of Rijeka later described him as one of the most active members of the local startup community.[3]
Personal life
He lives in the Opatija / Pobri area and works primarily in Rijeka.[4] He speaks Croatian and English.[9] Public interests include indie game development (pixel art, sprite sheets, multiplayer systems), progressive-overload strength training, and electric vehicles. In May 2024 he publicly listed a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD with Enhanced Autopilot, remaining a Tesla owner with a Model Y.[14] He is active on X as @edibudimilic, where his bio quotes Elton John’s “Rocket Man” and lists NiMote, Exevio and QckPay.[13] The long-running personal handle edifreak still lives on edifreak.com, which hosts a chatbot trained on his knowledge; a quieter page is edi.budimilic.com.[19][21]
See also
References
- Goran Duškić, “How WhoAPI got into 500 startups. From Croatia.” WhoAPI, 4 December 2012.
- “Silicon Valley Bound Croatian Startup Company Crack It,” Croatia Week, 6 October 2012.
- City of Rijeka, “Obilazak riječke tvrtke Exevio, korisnice gradskih nepovratnih subvencija za poduzetnike,” 27 February 2024.
- Public statements by Budimilić on residence (Opatija / Pobri) and Exevio’s Rijeka seat; company register lists Vukovarska 6, Rijeka.
- Aneli Dragojević Mijatović, “U 11 godina tvrtka Exevio stigla do više od 30 zaposlenih,” Novi list, 27 February 2024.
- “Edi Budimilic,” F6S member profile (GEM Studio, WhoAPI, GenerationStars, Naviself).
- Mike Butcher, “Eastern Europe creates waves at HackFwd event,” TechCrunch, 3 October 2011.
- Ivan Vesić, “Kako je WhoAPI… sa samo $20 došao do trakcije,” Startit, 10 May 2012.
- LinkedIn profile of Edi Budimilic (projects: WhoHack, WidgetPush, Domainchy; languages).
- WhoAPI, “About Us” (500 Startups, Isaac Saldana, Mountain View address).
- CompanyWall, “EXEVIO d.o.o.” — incorporation 20 June 2013, director Edi Budimilić, financial summary.
- Jasmina Kolić, “Riječka društvena igra Drinkagon u manje od 24 sata do pola cilja na Kickstarteru,” Netokracija, 24 May 2017.
- X profile @edibudimilic (bio: NiMote, Exevio, QckPay).
- Edi Budimilic, public Facebook post, 4 May 2024, listing a 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD + Enhanced Autopilot (“Prodajem. Ekstremno zadovoljan, ostajem korisnik”).
- “Tower Center Rijeka lansirao vlastitu mobilnu aplikaciju u suradnji s riječkom informatičkom tvrtkom,” Riportal, 11 October 2018.
- Marija Butković, “WhoHack hackathon u Rijeci okupio 70 ‘hakera’…,” Netokracija, 25 November 2013; see also Budimilić’s recap of WhoHack #3, Netokracija.
- Exevio, official site — venture-builder positioning, portfolio (NiMote, QckPay, LogBook, PassWork, DCMS), ISO 9001 / 27001, CroCube partnership.
- CroCube mission, “Uspješno je lansiran CroCube, prvi hrvatski satelit,” 21 December 2024.
- Edi Budimilić, personal homepage (Commodore 64 first code; 15+ games shipped; GenerationStars revival).
- “Edi Budimilic,” MobyGames credits (Snakey, Raklem: War on Earth, Guess it not, Speedy Lander, 1Key Rocket Launcher; GenerationStars / [email protected]). See also Arcade-History listing as Edi Budimilic ([email protected]).
- edifreak.com — personal site and knowledge chatbot (EDITRON / “transmissions from 2054”).