Now that another year of Ment2Grow has come to an end, we’re pleased to see how each participant has grown. One of them is the co-author of the solution WisePorter Lenka Michalská. In this interview with her, you’ll learn how mentoring from Lukáš Foglar helped her and how she benefited from specific program events, such as a trip to London that took place thanks to our partnership with the British Embassy.
To start with, could you tell us a little about WisePorter?
WisePorter is part of OpenWise and is designed for modern product management. Every company today sells or buys something. WisePorter is software that allows companies to edit their product offerings, define product parameters, and upload images and text. The software also supports simple and automated integration with the surrounding market—that is, with suppliers the company works with and the sales channels through which it offers its goods.
Simply put, we're building a dashboard for product managers that allows them to handle all their daily tasks in one place.
Could you describe your role at the startup?
I am one of the three co-founders and I’m in charge of everything related to business development. I seek out clients and define the product… The other two founders are technically oriented. One handles WisePorter’s architecture, and the other focuses mainly on projects for our clients.
What were your expectations when you signed up for Ment2Grow? Where did you want to take your startup?
We had previously participated in another accelerator program, and it really helped us move forward. That previous program focused more on the early stages of a company—product definition, target audiences, and go-to-market strategies. We’ve already moved past those early stages; we have our first major clients on the Czech market and are now working on international expansion and scaling up. What caught my attention about the Ment2Grow program is precisely that it focuses on this growth phase.
The main goal we had when we joined the program was to get help with the transition from individual sales to content marketing, to working systematically with the sales funnel, and, in general, with all related topics that we IT folks aren’t very familiar with.
Another ambition was that the program would help me build international connections, since a strong network is one of Ment2Grow’s greatest strengths.
Were your expectations and goals met?
About 120 %.
The Ment2Grow program, as the name suggests, is, among other things, about mentoring. You’ve spent several months working with your mentor, Lukáš Foglar (co-founder of LutherOne). Would you say this pairing was a good match?
Lukáš and I met as two polar opposites. I have rules, plans, and templates for everything, and he’s a marketer who showed me the side of things I was missing. Sometimes it was fun to see how we viewed the same thing in completely different ways. Working with him taught me a lot.
What did your partnership with Lukáš bring you, and how did your collaboration go?
At our first meeting, he told me I didn’t have a clear vision and encouraged me to define it. Once I defined the purpose of what we do, it really simplified the discussions within the company. I was able to draw a lot of inspiration from how things work at his company, LutherOne, and I think that saved us a lot of time.
During the program, you and your colleagues participated in various workshops. Looking back, how did they benefit you?
The workshops covered a variety of topics—some focused on building a business and protecting know-how and intellectual property; those were very useful to me because this is all completely new to me. A lot of time was also devoted to content marketing and social media—I mainly invited my colleagues to those workshops, since that falls more within their area of responsibility. They were very satisfied.
During Pitch Night, you had three minutes to present your startup to about seventy guests. What was it like to stand on stage in front of potential partners or clients?
It was my first time speaking into a microphone and speaking in English. Since then, I've done something similar three more times, and it was much easier by then.
Another activity was the Speed Business Meeting, where you met with about twenty guests from the corporate and investment communities in just under two hours. Did you make any useful connections through this event?
Definitely. We’re still in touch with three investors. I also found a business partner through networking. I’m glad I participated.
As part of the program, thanks to one of our partners—the British Embassy—you traveled to London with the other participants. What did you experience during that trip?
The networking event organized by Opera was most valuable to me because it helped me figure out the best approach to finding international contacts. They paid us a lot of attention, especially in London. Over the course of two days, they explained how to set up a representative office there, find a workspace or office, obtain a business license in the UK, understand the relevant legislation, and conduct market research, among other things. For me, the most valuable part was that I didn’t have to figure it all out on my own. To this day, I’m still benefiting from the contacts I made there.
To wrap things up, how would you rate Ment2Grow?
As I said, every company goes through phases that can be relatively easily categorized. Ment2Grow seems ideal to me for companies that have a defined product and are starting to grow. The topics covered align perfectly with what the company is dealing with at any given moment, and the support is very hands-on and practical.
