Welcome to Startup Kitchen Talk podcasts, where we serve up a monthly dish of education and entertainment, seasoned with insights and soPHỞsticated taste. Hosted by our Katerina Syslova and other co-hosts, cooked for all startup apprentices aspiring to become Master Chefs. Join us for a flavorful blend of advice, anecdotes, and expert interviews, all crafted to help you navigate the startup world.
Bon appétit!
Štefan is a law & technology enthusiast with the vision of helping tech companies grow through the unique combination of law & technology. He’s the founder of Eldison, a company that combines legal services with its own products to deliver end-to-end solutions to key legal problems such as ESOP operation or B2B contracting. Over the years, Štefan has helped the most innovative startups in the region (such as Exponea or Mews) scale to global companies. What does he like so much about rice? Check out in our newest episode hosted by Katerina Syslova!
Yass’ journey started in Southeast Asia, where she dove into the world of e-commerce with Lazada and later helped launch more than eight startups in under a year. That early experience gave her a sharp sense for spotting opportunities—and the courage to act on them.
In 2015, together with her friend Martin, she co-founded eyerim. From the very beginning, Yass has focused on long-term strategy and building a strong foundation. She believed in the potential of digital optics at a time when few did. And she was right. Even before the launch, her pitch helped secure the company’s first major investor. Since then, Eyerim has raised over 5 million euros and grown into a company that’s changing how people shop for eyewear.
Dobrou chuť!
Don’t judge other people’s style too quickly, and maybe don’t fuss so much over coffee beans either ☕. Fashion and gastro are all about riding the trends just right—without bending too much or selling out. Big thanks to Thea Prokop from ELLE (BurdaMedia Extra) and Lukáš Žďárský (Dudes & Barbies s.r.o.) for such a fun and insightful conversation!
Tento díl našeho podcastu bude speciální, jedná o záznam z našeho eventu #Startup Cinema: Cooking The Books with Wirecard, kde jsme nejen hledali recept na úspěch, ale také se pídili po tom, jak nedopadnout jako německý FinTech gigant.
Proč se právní kanceláře jmenují po svých zakladatelích, zatímco VC fondy jsou většinou “Lorem-Ipsun Ventures”? Co dělají právníci v investorském hrnci a jak se kuchtík stane partnerem v Havel & Partners? Jaká je skutečná návratnost fondů? A není peníze někdy lepší dát do raději do spořáku? Jak rozparcelovat svůj startupový koláč , abych neodradil další investory? O tom všem a také o tom, kdy AI nahradí Jarda Baier v našem Startup Kitchen podcastu.
What on Earth are diggers doing in the startup community? 🌍🚜 “Baby, can you drive my Bobcat?” 🚗🎶 That’s what you can ask Vijay Nerva, Head of Innovation and Acceleration for Bobcat EMEA and also our newest guest.
We cannot wait to try their full-electric, cell-operated, game-like machinery! 🔋 Will Bobcat be like your next GTA car? Where’s Bobcat innovation heading? Is it going to be the next Nokia or the next Tesla? 📱🚗 What was their “innovator’s dilemma”? BTW, you wanna play with diggers most innovatively? 🔧🚧 Bobcat is the way!
What’s the role of advisors in the startup industry? How to find those really relevant? How to convince the All-Star Advisor that you are the one? This and much more in this week’s newest episode with Huyn Park, former Head of Global Offering Management at NOKIA, United Nations Startup Advisor and University of Cambridge and Stanford University Mentor who now serves as a startup advisor globally.
We discussed how to build a Global accelerator fund for passionate B2B founders, and how to distinguish the good from the empty and bloated or why is everything Startup Wise Guys related in Red Color? Enjoy our newest episode with a leading worldwide startup Accelerator and its Boss. Who likes to eat fabada.
Třetí plzeňský BIC Beat přivedl na jedno místo inspirativní VC investory a zkušené foundery, kteří za sebou mají několik investičních kol. Z Depo Ventures dorazila Kateryna Kovalenko, Tensor Ventures reprezentoval Ondřej Lipold, BIC Plzeň (a také Socialbakers) Lukáš Maixner a Delta Green David Brožík. A vše moderoval náš Tom Cironis.
She came to the studio on a scooter eventhough there is -1°C and it’s snowing outside. Linda Võeras has wet hair and a huge smile. She shakes the snow off and is ready to shoot in 30 seconds, explaining how education can also be deep tech and how advancing defense should be called “innovating peace.” 🛡️ Then she hits the sauna. 🔥
Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital – now say it three times quickly in a row! Let’s think about a bottle of gin becoming a unicorn – together with Alain Wildanger & Laurent Hengesch & OTTO. From pre-seed to series C/D – ain’t the same league; it ain’t even the same sport! Or is it? Why are grandmas important? What can Luxembourg VC bring to Czech and CEE startups? Why does a VC firm own half of the volcano? How is fundraising in the Czech Republic going? All that in the latest podcast/videocast/eruption of motivation with our Katerina Syslova.
The panel discussion titled „How to build a company culture while moving the company forward quickly“ took place, exploring strategies for establishing a robust company culture amidst rapid growth.
Lucie Brešová, SVP Groupon Operations, and Marek Vašíček, CTO, co-founder of FTMO and Vratislav Kalenda, Frontman / CEO and Co-founder of Applifting participated in the panel discussion moderated by Filip Mikschik, Founder & CEO of StartupJobs, and Barbora Kebzová, Brand & Marketing Manager of StartupJobs, who also brought an up-to-date perspective from the job market to the discussion.
Karolina Mrozkova, General Partner at Credo Ventures, & our latest master chef in the Startup Kitchen Talk! From fashion runways to startup runways and airport runways, Karolina’s trans-Atlantic journey is a hell of a flight. Why is “Respectible Fighting” crucial in the VC fund? From White Star Capital -> Credo Ventures; Does the European modesty work better than American-boosted culture? Is the principle of “survival of the fittest” more pronounced in the modeling industry or the startup world?
Why does she still feel like an imposter?
Then meet our next precious guest; Zoë Reich from Octopus Ventures in London! She’s an experienced VC investor, successfully exited her own startup (hint crypto market), did research on the Science, Research and Innovation Department at the British Government and now manages a 50M EUR fund focused on DeepTech.
That and much more in our podcast with Matous Kostlivy from CzechInvest, Jan Cizmar from Tolgee.
Tento díl našeho podcastu bude speciální, jedná o záznam z našeho eventu #Startup Cinema s podtitulem Theranos: Blood, Money and Ego, kde jsme nejen hledali recept na úspěch, ale také se pídili po tom, proč se tolik lidí Theranos polívkou otrávilo.
Do panelu přijali pozvání Honza Husták z Hustakomunkejšn (který nám podal úhel pohledu PRisty), Ondřej Zemek ze Sparring Legal (úhel pohledu právníka), Petr Štěpánek z Macromo (úhel pohledu Foundera) a v neposlední řadě také Jana Dusheke ze Seed Starteru České Spořitelny (úhel pohledu VC investora). Užijte si poslech a zjistěte si svou krevní skupinu 🙂
Managing the largest Series A-focused fund in Austria of €150m – investing in the CEE and DACH region – why didn’t they (like Pet Shop Boys) GO WEST? With several investments in Czech companies (GAMEE or TATUM) and leading a diverse team of 8 nationalities, Peter Lasinger sees the regional (startup) cooking differences. He knows who has the best food & beer.
Are we experiencing a Bear or just a Teddy-Bear market?
Who is hungrier: New York City subway’ rats or a hyped investor? Listen to our newest Startup Kitchen Talk with Adam Kocik from J&T Ventures to find out! What is J&T Venture’s relationship with their bank mothership? Do they cook independently?
We also chat about M&A, MBA, and MMA. What a podcast goal!
Poslechněte si a pak nám dejte vědět, jestli jste v tématu work-life balance spíše Kristýna, nebo Ondra Bartoš!
Do investors make “Woo” or “Baa”? ?
In Part 2 of our podcast with Ondrej Bartos, we furtherly discuss the ZOO of CEE startup ecosystems.
How is the Bear doing? Is he staying long?
How to let down your investor – examples included.
Downsizing of your fund – clever move or a lack of LP money?
How superficial is the unicorn hunt, and what rising stars is Ondrej sorry he missed?
Was it possible to “burn out” in the 90s, and what would Curt Cobain think?
Listen to Ondrej Bartos’s podcast, part 2, with our Kate Syslova.
Ondrej Bartos, the devil, and angel, the father of the CEE startup ecosystem. He doesn’t want to be called Gordon Ramsay of the Startup Kitchen and doesn’t like flat white, yoga, and European Investment Fund money.
Founder of Credo Ventures, who prefers questions instead of answering them, joined our podcast to answer some nevertheless. This episode is the 1st part of our unusually high 2-episode-long talk about CEE startup history and Ondrej’s views on life, the kitchen, and everything.
Scaling, Scaling and Scaling! Meet our new podcast guest Lucie Brešová who has a remarkable CV (Ernst & Young or JIC Brno) and is an expert on scaling tech startups. She managed the exponential growth of the travel tech disruptor Kiwi.com, taking the company from 10 to 2000 people globally and setting the financial systems to sustain growth from 0 to 1bn€ in turnover in 4 years. She’s also a Board Member at Pocket Virtuality which develops a unique VR technology.
Michael Schuster is a Former Managing Partner of multi-million dollar VC fund Speedinvest with offices in Berlin, London, Paris, Vienna, and Munich, more than 390 investments, and recently closed €500M new fund to help even more early-stage European tech startups scale to global success. In our newest Episode, hosted by lovely Kate Syslova, Michael discusses and also being a Chef or eating Bulls balls (no kidding 😀 ). What does Michael think of convertible loans? Are they as useful and powerful as Founders think?
This episode was recorded at the beginning of the pandemic, during WeAre Summit 2020. As Head of the Innovation and Ventures Office, Frank is overseeing the largest Space Entrepreneurship network in the world. His team has initiated over 360 industry transfers and supported nearly 1000 start-ups. He supports the exploitation of the ESA patent portfolio and promotes the ESA BA (Business Applications) offer of ESA which has supported an additional over 600 business cases. In the next 3 years, ESA Space Solutions will invest 220 Mio Euro in the seed.
This episode was recorded at the beginning of the pandemic, during WeAre Summit 2020. Katherine Maher is a former chief executive officer and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, positions she held from 2019 to April 2021 and from 2016 to April 2021 respectively. Previously, she was a chief communications officer. She has a background in information and communications technology.
This episode was recorded at the beginning of the pandemic, during WeAre Summit 2020. Esther Wojcicki is an American journalist, educator, and vice chair of the Creative Commons advisory council. She has studied education and technology and is the founder of the Palo Alto High School Media Arts Program in Palo Alto, CA., and the Co-Founder of TractLearning, Inc publishes the website Tract.app, a peer-to-peer, project-based, gamified learning platform for kids 8 years and over.
This episode was recorded at the beginning of the pandemic, during WeAre Summit 2020. Guy Kawasaki did not invent secular evangelism, but he popularized it. This goes back to 1983 and his work with the Macintosh Division of Apple. He is currently the chief evangelist of Canva, an online, graphics-design company from Australia.
Sometimes we are invited to talk about stuff we care about. Listen to our team members talking about what they love.
Join us for a great chat with Kate Syslova, a passionate communicator and deep tech enthusiast. As the marketing manager of Tensor Ventures and a creative force in the Startup Kitchen community, Kate brings her expertise to the conversation, making the complex world of deep tech startups accessible to all.
S Kateřinou Syslovou o zkušenostech se životem v Indonésii a Severní Americe: studium v Indonésii a nahlédnutí na místní společenské a ekologické problémy vzniklé příchodem západních společností, práce na Aljašce, pobyt v USA a setkání se s překvapující přátelskostí i zpátečnickým smýšlením.
S Kateřinou Syslovou o zkušenostech se životem v Brazílii a Indonésii: práce na Baťově farmě v Brazílii, muslimsko-česká svatba, indonéská filmová kultura, tradice mrtvých na ulici.
Státní instituce a digitalizace. Výzva sama o sobě. Nové rozměry to ale dostává pokud pracujete pro Národní muzeum. Čím je vlastně specifické a jaké zvolit obecně nástroje, aby to všechno fungovalo? Nejen o tom v dnešním díle s Adamem Cironisem z Národního muzea.
V našem prvním díle jsme si pozvali našeho staršího kamárada Huga. Stereotyp ohledně stáří programátora jsme si nevybrali jen tak náhodou, jelikož Hugo patří mezi dinosaury programování a podával si ruku se samotným Janem Žižkou při navrhování jeho vozové hradby. Z nějakého důvodu jsme se dozvěděli, že by Hugo rád chodil venku úplně nahý, ale to už si musíte poslechnout sami.
Hostem jedenáctého dílu seriálu CzechInvest Startup Backstage je masterchef Tomáš Cironis! Místo kuchyně ale tvoří divy v Startup Kitchen. A to není vše, také působí jako Director, Head of Community a boří zajeté hranice s Disraptors. Probereme s ním řadu témat, dozvíte se více o Startup Kitchen a Investiční akademii, kterou jsme si pro vás s našimi partnery připravili v CzechInvestu, řeč padne také na Disraptors a změny, kterými si prošel a zjistíte také to, jestli Tomáš má ambice založit si vlastní startup.
In this podcast episode, Tomas shares his journey and the reason behind starting the community of the Startup Kitchen, what type of services and help they are providing to founders, lessons learned from his conversations with successful people like Steve Wozniak, and his expectations towards the startup ecosystem in the Czech Republic.
Financováno Evropskou unií – Next Generation EU
