Hustá, which is Czech slang for cool, seems to embody its name. Unlike almost any PR firm out there, it does not advertise for itself – it doesn’t even have a website. Its client base comes purely from word of mouth, yet everybody in Czech tech knows of it. It’s a sexy look for a publicity firm, and one that was built up slowly by Husták since starting the company in 2017.
PR with a twist
When asked why a PR firm seems shy of publicity, Husták, dressed in a CzechCrunch hoodie for the occasion, answers confidently. “I’m not following any guidelines on how to make a PR agency; I’m an entrepreneur who happens to be working in public relations. For me, being a PR partner is about understanding the business and the drive of entrepreneurs, to become recognized for our skills and results, not because we know how to get into the limelight. ”
“Since our focus is on companies with a modern and collaborative mindset, I try to listen to what they’re saying and to pick the best from their mindset and implement it into my company.”
When asked to further explain the difference between Hustá and more traditional PR firms, Husták thinks for a second. “They do everything because they want to get your money and I don’t believe they care enough about relevance. For example, if you won a prize for sheep shepherding in Kazakhstan or whatever, the company and the agency will prepare the press release; it makes sense from the company’s marketing perspective.”
“However, the journalists you send it to will tell you ‘this is shit. I can’t use this’ because nobody cares about shepherds or Kazakhstan. If you don’t understand how media works, you will never be able to establish genuine relations. It is all about finding topics of mutual interest for both business and media.’”
“What the agency should have done is say ‘this is great. Congratulations for being the best shepherd of Kazakhstan. This is great LinkedIn content, but that’s it.’ We can mention it in the next interview but as a stand alone press release it doesn’t make any sense. They don’t say that, because they can’t lose the client.”
Creating trust
His aim, Husták says, is to instead create an atmosphere of trust, where he tries to foster honest communication, one where you make sure the best information goes into the world. “If we don’t have that chemistry with a client, we’re not the right agency.”
This trust extends within his own company, too: “we are hiring people who love freedom. We give them freedom and they get a huge responsibility in return. This is the trade off. Total freedom for total responsibility. Because companies usually want you to take full responsibility but with a ton of rules.”
Growing a community
It’s not just a willingness to turn clients away, or speak against their wishes, that sets Hustá apart. Another is a willingness to invest in the local community, in more ways than one. “ I feel if we really want to be part of the community that we came from we should be giving something back.”
“We believe that those who want to change the world should have the loudest voice, which is why we support the startup ecosystem and want to help it to grow and become one of the pillars of the Czech economy. If there’s a way to help them at the beginning, to help them succeed and maybe even become the next Czech unicorn, we will. We have the relationships, we know how the media works.”
As a result, Hustá offers some of its services for free to organisations which are shaping the local startup scene, since, in Husták’s words, “I believe we should be an agency that supports this ecosystem if we want to be the agency of choice.”
It’s clear that Husták is driven, and when asked why he doesn’t hesitate: “I believe that the startup community is really unique to the Czech Republic. I really believe it. We work in Slovakia, too, and the community is not as strong there, even though it’s a smaller market.”
He also lauds the attitude of Czech business. “I think that the most successful entrepreneurs coming from the Czech Republic are those who can blend the American approach of great salesmanship with this Czech nature of having to have shit done before you sell it.”
Skin in the game
On top of that, Husták has, in his words, “skin in the game” by investing company money in a handful of VC funds. When asked why, the reasons are in part to support the community, though there’s also some good old-fashioned self interest at play.
”When there was a gold fever, those who were selling brandy and the shovels got the richest, not the guys digging for gold. Bourbon and shovels and accommodation are just infra, and we help to build the infrastructure. This was my intent from the beginning. I don’t have the skillset to start my own startup, and I know it. I’m not a product person. We never were a startup. We are not disrupting anything. More like lawyers, providing a service.”
Husták thinks for a moment, then continues: “I’m good at getting to understand the motivation of all the people in the room and find the way how to work with it and to make everyone happy. I’m basically a lobbyist or strategist.” He’s quiet for a moment, then gives me a grin. “In the end, though, I will always be a punk who wants to deliver results.”
