Startup Kitchen Talks

Paweł Michalski is a co-founder and CEO of VCLeaders, a platform that helps European VCs build future-proof VC firms, additionally serves as a Venture Partner at World Fund one of Europe's largest Climate VC Funds and seeks visionary founders who can help save the climate! Also, Pawel is a hobby cook so who else should be the first guest of 2025 in our Startup Kitchen Talks talking about Climate, fundraising, solo GPs, their role in the ecosystem, and much more! Orchestrated by our co-host Andrew Gray.

Jess is an Investor at Planet A Ventures, a leading European Climate VC fund. Jess is an active member of the climate ecosystem, leading several local community initiatives in Berlin. Before joining the climate startup and investment space, Jess studied Politics and International Relations at Cambridge University and worked as a Climate Innovation Researcher for the United Nations Development Program. Recently, Jess and the team at Planet A teamed up with SpeedInvest and Norrsken VC to write the Climate Hardware Scaling Playbook - a comprehensive guide for hardware founders to navigate the complexities of scaling their technology, in the context of climate change.  Today’s episode is being recorded at the Slush conference in Helsinki by our Guest Host Andrew Gray. Slightly shorter and faster-paced and for the hardcore hardware founders out there. We will talk about navigating the challenges of scaling hardware, and touch briefly on the current state of climate innovation in the wake of recent political developments (being recorded in November 2024).

Ondrej is a Head of Sparring CZ Office, helps startups in early stages and VC funds, and aims to explain legal terms in human language. Enjoy the newest episode with our host Kate Syslova about the origin of Sparring name, functional ESOPs, Angel Investors, or IPOs. And guess Ondrej's favorite food.

Ory Weihs, an Israeli living in Prague, Ory is an experienced founder turned investor. He is the founder of XLMedia PLC & Team Odeon, an early investor in companies such as Mews, Medorion, 4Trans, Legly, Scaut, Bridgify, EverBlue Labs, CzechFounders VC and more. Ory is an avid supporter of the startup community and leads several philanthropic activities, in the newest episode by Andrew Gray.

The first guest of our new co-host Andrew Gray is a serial impact and climate tech founder and investor, Ryan Grant Little!Ryan's work focuses on removing animals from the supply chain and reducing climate impact. At the age of 20, he founded the charity Canada Helps, which has facilitated more than $3B of donations to Canadian charities over 25 years.  He has had two very different entrepreneurial journeys which have both resulted in successful exits, and is a prolific climate investor. Most recently, Ryan has mobilized extensive resources in support of Ukraine’s resistance against the Russian invasion. And of course, Ryan hosts the enthusiastically named podcast “Another Climate Tech Podcast”.Enjoy!

Tématem dalšího plzeňského BIC Beatu byl DeepTech. Jan Romportl, CEO plzeňského startupu Elin.ai, popularizátorka AI Sara Polak a Petr Ulvr, zakladatel českého deep tech fondu Tensor Ventures si povídali o české deep tech scéně. Vzniká v Česku dost kvalitních deep tech startupů? Jak jsou podporovány a co jde dělat lépe? Jak pomoci DeepTech startupům? Je zde dostatek DeepTech investorů? To a mnohé víc v následující diskuzi, která je záznamem živého eventu v Plzni, díky inkubátoru BIC.

The Fall of the Year will be fully packed with Startup Events and we can't wait! With the upcoming highlist event for investors ENGAGED Conference by DEPO Ventures, let us revisit the discussion we had last year with Jan Krahulik and Marvin Liao from Diaspora Ventures.  We discussed CEE startups still aspiring for the “big fish in a small pond” award, why Marvin thinks VCs didn’t learn a thing or what are the unsexy verticals VCs overlook. Hosted by our Katerina Syslova.

Hostem této epizody je Jaro Horváth, který je ředitelem oddělení Strategie, Change Management, Research & Development v Raiffeisenbank. Kromě toho, že občas zamíří vypomáhat na pobočku banky, tak se také (kromě rodiny) věnuje cyklistice, běhu a turistice. Je náruživý čtenář a jako informační jídlo považuje "písmenkovou polévku". Chytré, že? Stejně jako celá epizoda. Dobrou chuť!

In short; Tereza is a SuperWoman. Adding a few more words; Tereza was the first member of People Operations at productboard, and helped to scale this tech Unicorn from 24 employees up to 140 in a year and a half. Then helped PortComps in a leading European VC Fund Credo Ventures, was Head of People in Deepnote, and now in Attio in London. Besides building a love brand from productboard, Tereza co-founded DisruptHR Prague, mentors in the FemmePalette, co-founded Hirin-On-Ramp, loves horses and bicycles. And the list of accomplishments could go on. What's the weirdest food she's ever eaten? This and much more in our latest episode.

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. Thea gave us a peek into how Elle navigates between fleeting hypes and lasting trends, balancing the brand’s path in a world where everyone praises sustainability 🌱, yet fast fashion still dominates. Can we enjoy the hype without losing sight of its impact? Lukáš shared how he’s taken punk energy and turned it into thriving businesses like Kavárna co hledá jméno, Radlická Kulturní Sportovna, and Gram, all while keeping that original spark alive 🔥. Big thanks to ⁠Thea Prokop⁠ from ELLE (⁠BurdaMedia Extra⁠) and ⁠Lukáš Žďárský⁠ (⁠Dudes & Barbies s.r.o.⁠) for such a fun and insightful conversation!