After discovering top female entrepreneurs on the Czech Republic’s business scene, the time has come to further explore the CEE region and get to know women market players actively supporting the development of the CEE startup and VC ecosystem.
In this article, we have delved into Slovakia’s business landscape searching for the most active and inspiring women. Let’s meet them!
Maria Vircikova
Co-founder & CEO, MATSUKO
Maria Virickova is an active female entrepreneur on the Slovak business scene. She has founded the Lurity app - a company offering the advertisement on LCD screens allowing its customers to pay only when the ad is viewed. Since 2016 her work has been dedicated to the startup- MATSUKO, where she assumes the duties of the CEO. MATSUKO is a company with a mission to create holographic communication using specially designed gloves that give users the most realistic experience during an online meeting and everyday communication. Maria’s huge impact on the startup ecosystem resulted in several awards and nominations, among them the 2020 European Tech Women Award.
Andrea Zahurancová
Founder & Creative Director, eyerim
Andrea Zahurancová has vast expertise in the Internet industry. After graduating from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, she has gained years of experience in the e-commerce and marketing sectors, which allowed her to found eyerim, where she holds a Creative Director position. This optic e-shop is one of the fastest-growing startups in Slovakia, operating in 18 countries across Europe. At eyerim, Andrea is responsible for the collections’ launch by taking care of glasses models selection as well as marketing activities. Moreover, she was featured on the Slovak 30 under 30 Forbes list several times!
Petra Kotuliakova
Founder & Director, Aj Ty v IT
Over ten years ago, Petra Kotuliakova founded Aj Ty v IT, which mission is to help women discover the IT world and deconstruct gender stereotypes by offering educational workshops and supporting the broader female community. It is dedicated to the high-school girls to motivate them to choose a career in the IT sector. In the past, Petra was connected with the Confucius Institute and the Slovak University of Technology, where she held the position of the PR Manager in the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies.
Andrea Basilova
Co-founder, Sensoneo
Andrea Basilova is one of the top Slovak women listed by Forbes in 2021. Since 2015 she has been bonded with the IoT startup- Sensoneo, which delivers waste management solutions for businesses and whole cities and at the same time, helps to lower the environmental footprint. Before becoming Sensoneo’s co-founder, Andrea has formed her career path while working as a Digital Campaigns Manager at ZARAGUZA Digital- an advertising agency focused on long-term communication with great-earned media coverage.
Mirka Uhnak
CEO, Mini Tech MBA
Since 2018, Mirka Uhnak is a part of Mini Tech MBA, where she currently holds the CEO position. This company’s vision is to empower women in their professional careers by organizing workshops to gain knowledge in IT, improve digital skills and expand their network of contacts. In the past, Mirka was a Project Manager at Generations Branding Agency, where she was responsible for managing the following projects, among others Plus For Women, an initiative that enabled women in need to find support and financial help via crowdfunding platform.
Kristina Cahoj
CEO, Lady Technologies
Although Kristina Cahoj is currently working from San Francisco, her innovative solutions significantly impacted the startup ecosystem in Slovakia and Europe. This (among other achievements) resulted in top Slovak women in startups Forbes listing. Nowadays, Kristina is a CEO at femtech startup Lady Technologies, the revolutionary kegg tool creator, which is the first fertility tracking kegel device, helping women determine and keep track of ovulation.
Jana Escher
Co-Founder, Boataround
For almost five years, Jana Escher has been working in Booking.com holding positions of Operation Manager and Senior Account Manager. Eventually in 2016, she has set up her own business- Boataround- an online boat rental platform offering users easy and safe yacht booking worldwide. Currently, the company is operating on five continents in around 53 countries, including 550 destinations, even tropical and arctic islands. Moreover, Forbes ranked Jana as one of the 10 top women in Slovak startups in 2019.
Sona Pohlova
Co-Founder, Ecocapsule
Sona Poholova has gained her expertise in the design and architecture industry while working as a Co-founder at Nice &Wise and Nice Architects- architectural studios based in Bratislava. In 2009 together with Tomas Zacek, she launched Ecocapsule, a self-sustainable low-energy living capsule. In simple words, this solution can be described as an innovative house packed into a compact form, allowing self-sufficient living anywhere in the world.
Karolina Kasperova
Chairman of the Board, ZAKA
Karolina Kasperova has vast experience in the Slovakian business scene. In the past, she was a Marketing and Sales Manager and Co-founder of Soria Reality, a real estate company. However, since 2019 she is a part of the ZAKA, Slovak VC fund that concentrates on investing in pre-seed and seed startups. At first, she held a Partner position and after almost two years became a Chairman of The Board.
Valentina Kasper Rosputinska
Advisory Board Member, Magna Energia
Valentina Kasper Rosputinska after several years of presence on the Slovakian business scene assumes the duties of the Advisory Board Member at Magna Energia - a Slovakian supplier of electricity and gas. Earlier in her career, she organized Slovakia's biggest tech & innovation conference and startup competition - the Startup Awards at the same time being the Head at FutureNow. From 2020 till 2021 she held the position of Chairman Of The Board at ZAKA, what is more, Forbes listed her on 30 under 30 in 2018.
Zuzana Zamborska
Co-Founder & Partnership Director, LUMUS Investment Collective
Zuzanna Zamborska, along with Terezia Jacova, Lucia Cerchlan, Vladimira Cincurova, founded a LUMUS Investment Collective, an organization focusing on educating female angel investors and helping them find suitable investments opportunities. What is more, Zuzanna is also a CEO and Co-founder of BE-ID human, a platform enabling companies to take advantage of inclusion and diversity. Her vast experience brings a great contribution to another project- Kilta, an online network of CEE experts in the digital and technology areas.
Terezia Jacova
Co-founder, LUMUS Investment Collective
Since 2011 Terezia Jacova has constantly been present on the Slovak business scene. Among others, she gained experience while working as an External Evaluation Expert at the European Commission and Investment Manager at the Neulogy Ventures- one of the leading Slovak VC funds concentrated on early-stage companies. Knowing the importance of empowering the female community, she co-founded a LUMUS Investment Collective educating and matchmaking platform for females angel investors and startups from Central Europe.
Lucia Timek
Investment Manager, CB Investment Management
Lucia Timek has graduated from the University of Economics in Bratislava, and Saint- Louis University in Brussels and then began developing her career in the financial sector - she assumed the roles of Advisory Analyst at KPMG and Mazars. Since 2019, Lucia has been connected with CB Investment Management - VC fund supporting early stage Slovakian startups with international potential, where she holds an Investment Manager position.
Tara Lindstedt
Chairman of the Board, IPM Group
Tara Lindstedt is an experienced female entrepreneur involved in the Slovakian VC scene development, having over 25 years of expertise in venture development and management, gained mainly from projects dedicated to sustainable growth. At present, she is a Managing Director and founding member of EPGE and Managing Director of DREAM platform. Tara also assumes the duties of Chairman of the Board at IPM Group, an asset and wealth management company.
Andrea Miklasová
Head, University Technology Incubator of STU
Andrea Miklasováis has started her career as a freelance writer and editor. After several years of work, she moved to Spain and started her blog- Life is a Journey.sk, describing her travels, monuments, and tips on living abroad. At the University Technology Incubator of STU, she is responsible for supporting the establishment process of new companies and startups, HR, community building, and marketing. Currently, she works as a Head of University Technology Incubator of STU, where she can use all her previously gathered experience.
Patrícia Hirschnerová
Co- founder, Pracujúce mamy
Patrícia Hirschnerová has gained her experience while working as a translator and interpreter. Eventually, she became a Customer Success Manager at Slido- a Q&A and polling platform managing various events and meetings. At the end of 2019, Patricia with Theresa Mihálik came up with an idea to launch a specially dedicated to moms platform- Pracujúce mamy. It’s a startup helping companies to manage working mothers, driven by a vision to achieve the best possible work-life balance solution.
Veri Osvald
Co-founder & CEO, SmartHead
Veri Osvald, has been assuming the duties of the CEO and Co-founder at 8P Crown- a company investing in residential property and buildings in Slovakia. After over six years in the real estate firm, she has launched her own business- SmartHead- a cloud-based software tool for ESG & Sustainability Data Management. Environmental issues are very close to her heart; that is why Veri ensures that the startup’s vision and sustainable business growth strategy are fulfilled.
Petra Kemkova
Co-founder, Minty
Digital Product Lead, Co-founder, and CEO with several years of experience in project management and design thinking strategy implementation. Thanks to her proficiency in using UI and UX design tools, in 2014, Petra Kemkova started Minty company- a platform allowing users to connect with professional artists to order custom-made illustrations. Moreover, since 2012, she has been the CEO and Co-Founder of OWL Agency, which represents illustration and animation professionals from Europe. Moreover, Petra was ranked in the Forbes list of top women working in startups for her commitment to the Slovak startup scene.
Veronika Kolejak
Co-founder, Better Stack
Veronika Kolejak’s heart beats for software engineering, so it is not a surprise that soon after graduating from Krlova University and Imperial College London, she started working as a Software Developer and Engineer. Veronika co-founded two companies- Wallmine, a modern stock scanner, which helps investors find new investment opportunities, and Better Stack an observability tool that can monitor companys’ websites and logs.
Veronika Hudzíková
Co-founder, FaceRehab
Veronika Hudzíková describes herself as an entrepreneur passionate about creating new innovative solutions. That is why she came up with the FaceRehab solution, which help patients with facial paralysis to perform rehabilitation using the specially designed smartphone app. At the same time, she is also connected with the Deutsche Telekom IT Solutions, where Veronika currently assumes the role of Product Owner & Application Developer. Her impact on the Slovak startup ecosystem was awarded a place on Forbes 30 under 30 list.
Michaela Šišková
Co-founder & CEO, DNA ERA
Michaela Šišková is a holder of the Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year title and was ranked on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. She is an impactful female entrepreneur on the Slovak business scene with several years of business experience. Currently, Michaela assumes the duties of the CEO of the DNA ERA, a startup revealing diseases predispositions and focusing on their prevention based on genetic tests.
Katarina Hutyrová
Founder & Manager at NOSENE
Katarina Hutyrová describes herself as a sustainable fashion ambassador, because of her huge impact on the eco-friendly clothes industry. She is a Co-founder and holds the position of Manager at NOSENE, the first Slovak fragrant second-hand shop and Brand Owner of Renewals- creator of upcycled, zero waste fashion clothes. She is mainly responsible for managing the stores, community building, and marketing at her company.
Zuzana Vojtekova
Co-founder & CFO, Papaya POS
For almost 16 years, Zuzanna Vojtekova has gathered massive experience in fintech, retail tech, financial services, and healthcare sectors. For seven years she was a Senior Manager at A.T Kearney in the Czech Republic and soon after that, she worked as a COO and Supervisory Board Member at Svet Zdravia, a healthcare network of clinics and hospitals. Since 2015 Zuzana has dedicated her career to developing Papaya POS - fintech startup delivering innovative cash register solutions, where she currently assumes the CFO duties.
Simona Franková
Founder & CEO, NG Aviation
Simona Franková has dedicated her professional career to the aviation sector, in which she has been working for over eight years, starting from graduating from the Technical University of Kosice, ending up co-founding NG Aviation- a startup that offers digital software and service solutions for civil and military aviation information management.
Yassaman Omidbakhsh
Founder & CEO, eyerim
Although Yassaman has Iranian origins, she has been connected with the Slovakia business scene for several years now, assuming the duties of the CEO at eyerim, one of the fastest growing online optic shops, which operates in 18 European countries. Previously she worked as Marketing Intelligence Analyst in Lazada and Business Development Specialist at Nova Founders
*If you have any insights about the article, drop me a line!
Related Posts:
VC Transactions In CEE Report - 2021 (by Konrad Koncerewicz, Head of VC & Startups, Vestbee)
Top Women From VC and Startup Ecosystem In Czech Republic (by Aleksandra Wirth, Vestbee)
Top 25 Women In VC From Central & Eastern Europe (by Milena Gontarek, Vestbee)
