The fact that mentoring is about mutual enrichment and collaboration was also evident during the interview with by Michal Čížek, co-founder and CEO of a startup GoodAccess, and by Karel Obluk, a partner at Evolution Equity Partners, a fund that helps growing companies not only through investment but also through advice and expertise. „For me, this is an interesting opportunity for Czech entrepreneurs to access information that would otherwise be harder to come by, because the local ecosystem isn’t yet interconnected and mature enough to make it completely clear who to turn to for advice—who would be not only capable but also willing to offer guidance,“ he says about Ment2Grow Karel Obluk.
The Ústí-based company GoodAccess, which has garnered attention for its globally unique approach to cloud-based VPN—which it offers for free and without data collection— won the Ynovate StartUp Challenge in June and advanced to the European finals of the EU Startup Champions League, which will take place on October 11. It’s clear that the direction Michal Čížek’s team has taken is the right one, and we’re rooting for them.
Michal, what were your expectations when you signed up for Ment2Grow? Where did you want to take GoodAccess?
I was looking forward to working with Karel as my mentor and gaining a perspective „from outside the Czech Republic“ on the investment world, because we have a global product and things might look different from the outside. I needed to explore my options. I also received a recommendation for Ment2Grow from one of the program’s alumni, who highlighted its excellent networking opportunities.
If I'm not mistaken, you've participated in another mentoring program before. Why did you decide to join another one, and in what ways was Ment2Grow different and beneficial?
I think you’re referring to the PLATINN program, through which we had access to a consultant from the South Moravian Innovation Center. It was very different. Besides the fact that Ment2Grow was conducted partially remotely due to COVID, in the previous program we only had the opportunity to speak with one person, whereas Ment2Grow offered many different perspectives and featured some great guests.
Karel, what motivated you to join the program as a mentor?
Pavel Přikryl asked me if I’d like to get involved. My primary motivation is to help. If anyone thinks my opinions and experiences will be helpful to them, I’m happy to share them in my free time. The program is interesting, held in a beautiful location—the inspiring spaces of the Opera… I participated last year as well, and it made sense to me; the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
You previously helped build companies such as AVG Technologies (now Avast). What attracted you to GoodAccess, whose goal from the start has been to create a global product with ambitions similar to those of Avast or Eset?
My interest wasn't so much influenced by my history at AVG. Our fund invests in companies focused on computer security, so we're looking for various opportunities. At Ment2Grow or at Let's do it! (another of Opera's mentoring programs, Ed.)These companies are at an earlier stage than those with which we have investment experience, but I was intrigued to see another interesting venture emerging in the cybersecurity space that aims to grow into a global player. From a technological standpoint, it certainly has what it takes. So if I’m able to help GoodAccess grow, that’s great.
Are you planning to participate in the program again in the next round and support more startups?
If there's interest, then definitely.
Michal, in early June, you and GoodAccess won the Ynovate StartUp Challenge (so you’ll be participating in the European finals of the EU Startup Champions League on October 11). Could you tell us more about this success? What does preparing for the finals entail?
The goal is to present the company in eight minutes, so I’ve rehearsed my pitch over and over—first in Czech, and now it’ll be in English. It’s hard to say everything—and nothing more—in a single sentence. I believe that the European round will open more doors for us to Western investors, whom I’ve only been able to meet online so far—which isn’t quite the same. I’m very grateful for this opportunity and will do my very best.
You have customers from more than 120 countries around the world (over 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses) and are currently focusing on the U.S., for example. Was this a topic you discussed with Karel during your mentoring sessions? Given that Karel is active in the U.S., the discussion could certainly have been very beneficial.
From the very beginning, we had global ambitions because we entered the market relatively early. We targeted the first early adopters whose needs our solution could meet, and we focused on making sure they found us. We took a blanket approach. Especially starting in 2020, this coincided with the COVID-19 situation—even small businesses began to have needs similar to those of larger companies. So far, the distribution of our customers has mirrored the global landscape; VPNs, the cloud, and similar topics are currently most prevalent in the U.S. and the U.K., where we already have more than 50 % customers. The Anglo-Saxon world is setting the direction, and that’s where most of our energy is focused right now. We’re currently working on setting up a branch office within our budget. Our discussions with Karel even influenced my family plans—we had wanted to visit California, but in the end, we decided on Boston.
One of the benefits of mentoring is mutual enrichment. Do you feel that you have inspired and enriched each other?
Karel: Definitely. For me, working with startups and mentoring—whether here or anywhere else—is fascinating. And actually, being an investor, too. It really energizes me. I get to talk to people who haven’t yet achieved success, who have a strong desire to succeed, and who come up with new ideas. It really pushes me forward, too.
Michal: I really appreciate that. From what I’ve been able to figure out so far about the VC market here, I’d ideally like to multiply that by a hundred. There’s a lot of know-how here on how to handle seed-round investments, but there’s a lack of know-how on what to do with the company next—and that’s exactly what Karel brings to the table.
Your company is based in Ústí nad Labem, and you only commute to Prague occasionally. To what extent did you participate in the M2G events that took place in person at Opera?
I have three children—one of them a newborn—and a business that demands a lot of my attention, so I had to be very selective. But in addition to most of the online events, I managed to attend about four in-person meetings, and I think I made the right choices—I was where I needed to be.
Looking back, how would you rate Ment2Grow overall, and what are your impressions of it? What else has this partnership brought you?
Michal: At first, I wasn’t sure how we’d manage to separate mentoring from discussions about potential investments, but that fear disappeared right away during our first call, when I opened up completely, didn’t put on any airs, and told him exactly where the company stood. Karel gave me advice even without us explicitly discussing a partnership related to investments.
I like the idea of really helping people. To me, Ment2Grow is a platform where people can seek advice across various fields and share their experiences with others. I just wish there had been a little more know-how on inbound marketing for SaaS.
Karel: As far as I’m concerned, this is an interesting way for Czech entrepreneurs to access information that would otherwise be harder to come by, because the local ecosystem isn’t yet interconnected or mature enough to make it completely clear who to turn to for advice, who would be not only capable but also willing to offer advice. Most of the time, these are smaller investors who are focused on seeing a return on their investment as soon as possible, or people who are very busy with other work and don’t have much time to spare. And that’s exactly the kind of great ecosystem connection that Ment2Grow is building.
Michal: I can confirm that, and not just based on my collaboration with Karel. From the people at Opera and other guests invited to Ment2Grow, I got the impression that they genuinely want to help selflessly, and that further potential collaboration isn’t their primary motivation. I really appreciate that, because I often meet people who say they’ll help, but immediately start calculating their cut.
Author: Tereza Bartošková
