#44: Stefan Surina from Eldison about expansion to US, building a tech law firm and a bowl of rice

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!

Meet Yassaman Omidbakhsh, co-founder and co-CEO of Eyerim in the newest episode of Startup Kitchen Talk hosted by Kate 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.

Making its debut at COMPUTEX InnoVEX, the Czech Pavilion features eight startups showcasing innovation in AI, smart manufacturing, robotics, space tech, and perception technology. Co-organized by CzechInvest, the Czech Economic and Cultural Office, and Startup Kitchen—with support from Startup Terrace—the exhibitors include Neuron Soundware, CogniVibe, Inovec Technology, KOMPENZO, PalmApp Tech, RoboTwin, Stellar Exploration, and XTEND DESIGN.At InnoVEX Global Demo Day, eight Czech startups stood on the stage introducing their solutions.00:00 Opening01:48 Czech Startups, the best dumplings18:40 CogniVibe20:25 Inovec21:50 KOMPENZO23:22 Neuron Soundware25:38 PalmApp26:42 RoboTwin28:29 Stellar Exploration30:03 XTEND DESIGN31:40 Closing Session

Marketa is the heart and brain behind Start it @ČSOB Accelerator which is an industry agnostic accelerator (Yes, it is named by a well known bank CSOB but still agnostic), and is accepting the applications for its 15th wave of acceleration by 30th of April 2025. They've helped more than 100 startups druing the 5 months of tailored support in the form of mentoring, coaching, workshops and most importantly more heads thinking about their emerging business with them. Among the Alumnis are companies like Resinstant AI, Moovin, MotionTrex, Zarathustra, Young link, InvestBay, YEDEM, Gamifit, Mumdoo, ReKrabice, E Cafe Bike, RoboTwin, Mamio, Marter, Twigsee, Spectoda, Pointee, Happenee, Boost.Space, Stavarion, Mebster and many others.Voluntary Quiz -> How many times does Katerina say a word "start" ?

What happens when a brilliant scientist accidentally discovers her own cancer cells while developing a cancer-detection platform? She doesn’t panic. She builds a revolutionary biotech startup instead. Meet Kinga Matula, a deep-tech founder who transformed a nightmare diagnosis into a relentless drive to revolutionize drug discovery.Her startup, Curigen, is now backed by:- Tim Draper (Draper Associates) – She won him over after surviving Navy SEAL training, pitching while building a boat, and in the end, stole his paddle – all during the Draper University Program.- Tensor Ventures- Lighthouse VenturesFrom fighting cancer to pitching her vision under extreme conditions, Kinga's journey is the one to listen to.

Enjoy our newest episode with Linn Kretzschmar from CERN Venture Connect, a program that’s mixing up startup players with CERN experts. Our co-host Kateryna Kovalenko asked all the questions about DeepTech you were always curious about but too afraid to ask. Did you know there the coldest and hottest placesoon Earth are in CERN? No? Then enjoy the newest episode!

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.