#75: Sintija Meissner on Technology Transfer, joining Czech Technical University and building an Accelerator for Academic sphere

Miloš Sochor is an experienced investor and entrepreneur focused on venture capital, growth strategy, and investing in commercial real estate. He was part of JIC’s key growth phases and later founded two venture capital funds, one of which was Y Soft Ventures.Now he sits with our Fergus O'Sullivan to discuss the future of the Brno region, its advantages, his takeaways on the future of software and the boom of AI, and JIC Ventures' investments.

Sintija Meissner has joined the Czech Technical University as head of tech transfer and entrepreneurship after a year and a half working in venture capital. From March 2025 to last month, Meissner was the investments and portfolio lead at Czech Founders VC, which invests throughout the Central and Eastern European region, and the investments and community lead at United Founders, an early-stage pan-European fund. Before this, she founded Mámapy, which helped parents navigate family-friendly places across Prague.And now she has joined our Fergus O'Sullivan for an interview.

Richard Valtr is an entrepreneur and a recovering hotelier. Richard grew up as the son of a programmer and a hotel developer and was educated at UCL in London. Upon his return to his native Czech Republic, he became responsible for a number of property developments, culminating in the creation of the Emblem Hotel. The idea for Mews originated from his time spent leading the concept development, design, procurement, and project management of the Prague-based luxury hotel, where he first thought of the idea for a system that would seamlessly remove the friction at the front desk and automate the back office entirely.Hosted by Barbora Wermölder.

Serial entrepreneur for 19 years, founder and CEO of Time is Ltd., the world’s leading employee experience & engagement SaaS company. Prior to Time is Ltd., Jan was the CEO & Founder of Socialbakers (now Emplifi), which had a successful exit to Audax Private Equity in late 2020. Jan is an investor and entrepreneur involved in projects ranging from driving the future of work and sustainable mobility to improving air quality.FireSide Chat, accompanied by Bozena Rezab of GAMEE, who was brave enough to take over the mic and shoot questions. Thank you!

What does the journey of a Czech startup look like today, from the initial idea to entering foreign markets?This panel brings together perspectives from the Technology Incubation project, an experienced investor and mentor, a European startup platform, and a founder currently going through this exact journey. Together, we will look at what works in the Czech startup support ecosystem, where the biggest bottlenecks lie, and how startups are aided by CzechBusiness, offering a combination of incubation, acceleration, and export services under one roof.

The future of defence is changing rapidly. Advances in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, drones, space technologies and dual-use innovation are transforming not only how wars are fought, but also how nations think about security, resilience and technological sovereignty.This panel brings together investors, entrepreneurs, defence-industry leaders and experts working directly with emerging technologies to explore how the DefenceTech ecosystem is evolving — and what role Europe can play in building the technologies needed for the future.Lola Onipko from Invest In Bravery will bring an investment and ecosystem perspective, looking at how capital can help accelerate innovation in defence and dual-use technologies and how investors can support companies operating in one of the world’s most strategically important sectors. Mykyta Puz, founder of Ukrainian startup Caslog and a member of the Azov Corps, will bring a unique perspective from the intersection of entrepreneurship and real-world battlefield experience. His experience offers a direct view of how technology is being tested and adapted in a rapidly changing conflict environment — and what founders and investors can learn from it. Quentin Dupraz is a General Partner at Ilavska Vuillermoz Capital, currently investing its early-stage DefenceTech Fund across NATO partner countries. With nearly a decade of venture capital experience, Quentin has built a track record of investing across transformative sectors, ranging from energy systems to frontier technologies that support European security and sovereignty. He began his investment career in Corporate Venture Capital at Encevo, where he focused on early-stage cleantech. Together, the panel will explore where DefenceTech is heading, which technologies will shape the next generation of defence, what Europe needs to do to build stronger technological capabilities, and how startups, investors, governments and established defence companies can work together.At its heart, the discussion will ask a crucial question: Can Europe build a DefenceTech ecosystem capable of turning its innovation and entrepreneurial talent into real strategic advantage?

Fintech has fundamentally changed the way we move, manage and access money; but the next chapter may be even more transformative. As AI, embedded finance, open banking and new digital infrastructure reshape financial services, the boundaries between traditional banks, startups and technology companies are becoming increasingly blurred.This panel brings together three perspectives from across the fintech ecosystem to explore where the industry is heading — and what the future of finance might look like for businesses and consumers.William Jalloul, Founder of FLOWPAY, will bring the perspective of an entrepreneur building at the forefront of financial innovation, sharing insights into the opportunities and challenges of creating new financial products in a rapidly evolving market. Jaroslav Kravcenko from Raiffeisenbank, who will offer the perspective of a major financial institution navigating digital transformation — and the question of how traditional banks can innovate, collaborate with startups and remain relevant to a new generation of customers. And Nemika Menevse, CEO of Twisto, with 28 years of experience in financial services, including 21 years in banking and 7 years in fintech. Having held senior leadership positions at leading financial institutions, including Akbank, ING, ABN AMRO, and QNB Finansbank, she has built an extensive career spanning corporate banking, financial strategy, and fintech. Together, the panel will explore what comes next for fintech, where the biggest opportunities lie, and whether the future of finance will be built by banks, startups; or increasingly, by both working together.

Building a successful startup takes more than a great idea and a strong founding team. Behind every ambitious founder is an ecosystem of lawyers, investors, institutions, mentors, communities and public initiatives that can either accelerate the journey; or create unnecessary friction.This panel brings together four perspectives on how the ecosystem can better support founders: from the practical realities of building a company, to navigating legal challenges, to creating an environment where entrepreneurs can start and operate businesses across borders.Mats Kuuskemaa from Estonia’s e-Residency programme will offer a broader international perspective on how governments and institutions can actively remove barriers for entrepreneurs and make it easier to build and operate companies globally. Jana Sedlakova, startup lawyer and founder of SEDLAKOVA LEGAL, will bring the legal perspective — exploring the moments when the right legal advice can protect a startup, unlock an opportunity, or help founders avoid costly mistakes. Kate Simkova, Founder of CloseRocket, will share the perspective from inside the founder journey: what support founders actually need, where the ecosystem succeeds or falls short, and how networks and people can make a tangible difference when building a company. Barbora Wachtlová is Head of Startup Team at the Central Bohemian Innovation Center (SIC), where she works with early stage founders on turning ambitious ideas into viable and scalable businesses. She supports startups with business strategy, validation, operations and fundraising readiness, while connecting them with the right mentors, experts, investors and opportunities.And hosted by Jiri Vicherek, Chairman of the Czech Startup Association, who has been active in the technology sector for over 15 years; he is an expert in IT and technology communications and the founder of the agency Fenek and the Data Talk community for data professionals. Together, the panel will explore what a founder-friendly ecosystem should look like; and what different players can do to make entrepreneurship easier, more accessible and more international.

In the 90s, Lubomir Šilhavý built a company, competed with Petr Kellner, and eventually sold the business to him. That was only the beginning. In this episode: from selling copy machines in the wild Czech 90s to building a real estate business in Florida and later WorkLounge in Prague.We talk about the businesses he built, the bets that worked, the ones that didn’t, and what he learned along the way. We also get into his view on WeWork, COVID, building a family business, and what the way we work might look like 10 years from now. This episode is in Czech.

Praha Inovační: Předvolební debata​🔹 Stane se Praha konečně evropským inovačním hubem, nebo jí v souboji s kraji i Evropou ujede vlak?​🔹 Proč úspěšné technologické firmy rostou v hlavním městě spíš „Praze navzdory“ než s její systematickou podporou?​🔹 A dočká se Praha po letech debat konečně pořádného Pražského inovačního centra (PIC)?Na tyto a další otázky by měla opovědět debata politiků, kteří budou v příštích čtyřech letech rozhodovat o směřování inovací a technologií v naší metropoli.Pozvání do debaty přijali:🔹 Tomáš Portlík | SPOLU pro Prahu (ODS & TOP 09)🔹 Jan Hušbauer | ANO🔹 Jaromír Beránek | Piráti🔹 Adam Scheinherr | Praha sobě🔹 Petr Hlaváček | STAN🔹 Milan Urban | SPD🔹 Adam Paclt | Motoristé soběProgram: 🔹 17:15 | Úvodní slovo: Martin Jiránek, zmocněnec pro startupy🔹 17:20 | Welcome CzechBusiness: Rudolf Klepáček, generální ředitel🔹 17:25 | Hlas sektoru: Zakladatelé, investoři a ekosystém ▫️za zakladatele: Jan Čurn | Apify ▫️ za investory: Petr Šmíd | Rockaway Ventures ▫️ za komercializaci vědy: Tomáš Ditrych | Ambit a Jakub Nešetřil | ČVUT▫️ za inovační ekosystém: Pavel Jovanovič | SIC🔹 17:50 | Politická debata 🔹 19:00 | Q&A z publika🔹 19:50 | Závěr a poděkování