Built in Slovakia, Sold Worldwide: Founder Lessons

Every successful company starts somewhere. Often with a small team, limited resources, and more questions than answers. What happens between that first idea and building a business with international customers? How do you find your first customers, build the right team, enter new markets, and survive the decisions that don't go according to plan? Join entrepreneurs who have built and scaled businesses from Slovakia for an open conversation about what worked, what failed, and what they would do differently if they were starting today. Hear about practical experiences, difficult decisions, and the lessons that came with them. Register now and learn what it takes. What You'll Learn: • How founders got from their initial idea to their first paying customers; • Which early decisions had the greatest impact on their companies; • How to approach international markets from a relatively small home market; • The mistakes, setbacks, and difficult trade-offs that shaped their businesses; • How founders think about hiring, growth, financing, and leadership; • What they would do differently if they were starting again in 2026. Featured Mentors: • Tomáš Mašek - CEO at Vacuumlabs - Tomáš Mašek is the CEO of Vacuumlabs, a software engineering company specializing in fintech and digital financial solutions. He founded Altamira Softworks and grew it into an international software development business with approximately 150 professionals before its acquisition. He subsequently held senior leadership roles at Altamira, overseeing organizational integration, strategic transformation, and business growth. He is also a startup investor with extensive experience in technology entrepreneurship, business strategy, and scaling software companies. • Dušan Koutný - CEO at BiteBerry - Dusan Koutny is a Slovak technology entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of BiteBerry, a startup developing AI-powered software solutions for the restaurant industry. Previously, he co-founded and led OrderLord, a delivery management platform that expanded to 35 countries before being acquired by US-based REEF Technology, a SoftBank-backed company, in 2020. Recognized in Forbes Slovakia's 30 Under 30, he has more than a decade of experience building and scaling technology businesses. He brings practical expertise in product development, international expansion, business transformation, fundraising, and startup exits. • Bohumil Pokštefl -Founder at Brand Harvest - Bohumil Pokštefl is a Slovak serial entrepreneur and growth strategist, best known for scaling Kontentino, a social media management SaaS platform used by more than 6,000 agencies and brands worldwide. As CEO and co-owner from 2016 to 2022, he helped transform an agency-developed product into an international technology business and was recognized in Forbes Slovakia's 30 Under 30 in 2019. He subsequently founded Brand Harvest and Deal Harvest, helping B2B technology companies strengthen their market positioning, generate demand, and grow internationally. His expertise includes product-market fit, go-to-market strategy, SaaS growth, sales, and building scalable businesses. Who Should Attend: • Founders stuck on a specific problem they cannot solve alone; • Anyone curious about what really happens behind the scenes of building and leading a company; • Early founders with no access to experienced operators; • Anyone who gets more from a conversation than from a presentation. Additional Resources: Find more Startup Events, browse the Founder Institute Mentors you will meet, or read Reviews from founders who worked with them. About Founder Institute: The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over [total_graduates] founders across [total_countries] countries raise more than $[total_funding] in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.