About the company
Founded in Zagreb, the Museum of Illusions began as an inventive mix of science, fun, and imagination — a place where perception becomes experience. What started as one location has become a global success, with museums across four continents and presence in major cities throughout the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Through its immersive exhibits and educational approach, it has become one of the most recognizable experiential concepts worldwide. On top of that, it’s the first globally scalable entertainment franchise born in Southeast Europe.
The inflection point
By the time Invera engaged, the Museum of Illusions had a proven model, strong unit economics, and a globally recognisable brand. But rapid growth had outpaced structure: decision-making was centralised, data scattered, and systems unable to support scale.
To move from an inspired idea to a professionally managed global platform, the company needed governance, analytics, and corporate infrastructure. Invera saw this turning point as an opportunity: we aimed to preserve creativity while building resilience and structure for the decade ahead.
Strategy and transformation
The basis for our approach was trying to combine operational discipline with entrepreneurial empathy. To do that, we focused on six parallel initiatives:
- Business-model pivot - balancing corporate and franchise growth while ensuring brand consistency.
- Globalisation & valuation — establishing a U.S. headquarters to elevate visibility and investor access.
- Consolidation — acquiring the second-largest global competitor to unify the “illusion museum” niche.
- Organisational scale-up — expanding from 7 employees to 450+ by 2025, across operations, marketing, and R&D.
- Digitalisation — integrating AI, machine learning, and big data into site selection, pricing, and visitor analytics.
- Innovation infrastructure — creating an R&D centre in Croatia to drive concept development and technology.
We put AI-powered cameras, heat-mapping, and visitor-flow analysis to work, and used them for site selections, exhibit layouts, and operations. Once we began turning data into advantage, analytics became part of the company’s DNA: management teams interpret data, model outcomes, and adapt in real time.
The Croatian R&D centre anchors all the innovation, developing interactive technologies and enhancing the visitor experience. That’s how we ensure that data and creativity coexist by design. All of the above transformed the company from an intuition-driven growth model into a data-driven organisation capable of informed, scalable decisions, but compromising its creative essence. And the results followed soon after!
The outcomes, and the long road ahead
The partnership redefined the illusion-museum segment and set new global benchmarks.
- From expansion to leadership: The company has evolved into a fully integrated enterprise, and the world’s #1 brand in its category.
- From instinct to precision: AI and analytics improved ROI and shortened payback periods for every new location
- From people to organization: The team grew from 7 to 450+ professionals across multiple continents
- From opportunity to value creation: The acquisition of its main competitor confirmed scalability and market dominance.
With further growth now resting on structure, insight, and culture, we have established a model for how global experiential brands are built. The collaboration continues, and the company is expanding into new markets and technologies — launching next-generation exhibits, refining its franchise model, and merging science, art, and digital experience.
With a Croatian R&D hub, a U.S. headquarters, and teams operating across time zones, the Museum of Illusions is poised to define the future of experiential entertainment, as a global brand built from local imagination.
