Founders Force

Petr Smid is a product and technology leader with experience at tech giants and venture capital firms. As a General Partner at Rockaway Ventures and Investment Partner at Rockaway Capital, he invests in early-stage European startups in CEE, combining technical expertise with strategic investment knowledge in enterprise software, technology strategy, and digital transformation.

At Google and McKinsey & Company, Petr has strengthened European-US tech connections through Rockaway Ventures, building bridges between European founders and US tech hubs. He facilitates knowledge exchange between startup ecosystems and serves as founder and chairman of Bator Tabor foundation, supporting children with cancer and serious illnesses.

Miklos co-founded EduBeyond, a next-gen AI startup building gamified, adaptive-learning tools aimed at leveling the playing field for underserved students. Originating in high school during the pandemic, EduBeyond grew from a volunteer tutoring effort to a tech-powered startup now advancing personalized education through NLP and pedagogy‑informed algorithms.

As a UBC engineering student and Cansbridge Fellow, Miklos has presented on global stages—including the UN ECOSOC Forum and AI for Good Summit—championing AI in education  . He’s also recognized as the youngest Director at KORIKA, Indonesia’s national AI society, and his work has earned awards from Moonshot Learning and Samsung Solve for Tomorrow.

For founders, Miklos brings firsthand experience scaling from grassroots tutoring to an AI startup with international reach, building global partnerships, and navigating the intersection of technology, education, and social impact.

Christian Lohmann is the CEO of Dixa, a leading AI-powered CX platform headquartered in Copenhagen. He became CEO in 2024 after progressing through nearly every C-level role at the company - including COO, CFO, and CRO - reflecting a rare versatility across strategy, finance, sales and operations.

Lohmann is recognized for his ability to combine financial discipline and operational excellence with a hands-on leadership style. Since joining Dixa, he has been central to the company’s acquisitions, fundraising, and strategy during volatile market cycles. Dixa’s Series C funding round valued the company at nearly $0.5bn, followed by strategic tech acquisitions in Australia, Germany, and France. Under his direction, Dixa has evolved into a category-defining AI CX platform, advancing conversational service solutions with actionable insights, AI orchestration, and seamless enterprise integration.

Beyond his operating role, Lohmann is active in the tech ecosystem. He shares insights on building resilient operating models and scaling with AI, serves as an angel investor and board member for multiple startups, and sits on the board of the Association of Danish Tech Startups, where he supports founders and the growth of the innovation community.

Mikoláš Belec is the CEO of Siesta Labs, a Prague-based innovation lab that ships AI and software across industries such as energy, fintech, and logistics. Over the past decade, his team has built more than 40 digital products, delivered projects worth over $7M, and backed international companies with scalable solutions. Today, applications developed under his leadership serve more than 100,000 users and process over $100M in transactions every month.

Alongside Siesta Labs, Mikoláš is also the Co-Founder and CTO of Lemondia, where he applies his technical expertise to building next-generation solutions in [insert one-line about Lemondia’s focus if you want me to enrich further]. His dual role reflects his ability to combine hands-on product leadership with strategic vision across multiple ventures.

With more than 15 years in technology, Mikoláš has consistently turned bold ideas into successful products. Earlier in his career, he co-founded and scaled a SaaS platform used by over 400 hotels worldwide, securing $1M+ in funding before leading the company to a successful acquisition. Beyond founding, he is an active investor, holding equity stakes in multiple start-ups and contributing his experience to help early-stage founders with product, strategy, and growth.

Mikoláš’s expertise bridges product vision, technical execution, and business strategy, making him an invaluable partner for founders seeking to navigate scaling challenges. He continues to build on his mission of empowering innovation, whether by launching digital products, supporting start-ups as an investor, or mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Frequent Locations:
• Prague, Czechia
• International (Europe-focused projects and clients)

Juraj Priecel co-founded Efficio in 2000, and over his 24 + years with the firm has been instrumental in scaling it into a leading global consulting player in strategic sourcing, supply-chain optimisation and operations strategy across EMEA. He previously had early career roles at Accenture and A.T. Kearney, where he built the foundations of his consulting expertise.

Known for his ability to translate complex procurement and supply-chain challenges into strategic outcomes, Juraj led pan-European projects delivering measurable value for both clients and suppliers.

His broad industry experience and deep operational-strategy know-how make Juraj a valuable partner for organisations or founders operating in complex supply, manufacturing or service-ecosystem environments.

Jiří Najman co-founded Betsys in 2002, transforming it from a Czech web-studio startup into the largest betting-software provider in Central & Eastern Europe.

Under his leadership, Betsys built a full-stack sportsbook platform—handling retail and online channels, with capabilities rivaling banking-grade systems—and grew its operations to serve millions of users monthly.

In 2020, the Polish bookmaker STS Holding SA acquired a major stake in Betsys, marking an important milestone in Najman’s vision of scaling globally.

Petr Hromádka, founder and CEO of Castle Rock Investments, brings over two decades of entrepreneurial experience to his real estate development company. Originally from Prague, Czech Republic, Petr has successfully launched and exited multiple startups across different sectors throughout his career.

At Castle Rock, he leads a thoughtfully curated portfolio of development projects, bringing a fresh perspective to each venture. His approach combines an understanding of the local market with international trends, creating distinctive real estate opportunities.

Petr also remains a strategic advisor on key projects at the award-winning real estate consultancy Henceforth., which he founded back in 2003. Henceforth. is a market leader in real estate advisory services not only in the Czech Republic but also throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Viktor Zeman is the founder of FlowHunt, an AI-automation platform focused on transforming affiliate marketing and related workflows. Previously he built software products at LiveAgent, demonstrating a strong technical and entrepreneurial background in SaaS and digital channels.

Viktor holds technical education credentials from Slovenská technická univerzita v Bratislave (STU) and is based in Bratislava, building products for international markets with a particular focus on marketing-tech, automation and affiliate ecosystems.

His skill set spans product leadership, software architecture, B2B SaaS growth, and go-to-market strategies for performance-driven digital platforms.

Pet Care Company Builder and Operator

Tomáš Juchelka is a Czech entrepreneur and venture builder with over a decade of experience spanning investment banking, fundraising, and startup creation. His career bridges finance and technology — from structuring M&A deals to building high-growth D2C and SaaS ventures.

He is currently the Co-Founder & CEO of Rufruf, the fastest-growing D2C pet-food brand in Central and Eastern Europe, where he leads both B2C and B2B topline growth. Rufruf’s mission is to elevate canine nutrition through high-quality, locally produced meals and supplements — a category Tomáš is helping to professionalise with data-driven brand building and efficient logistics.

Since 2017, Tomáš has also served as Managing Partner at Ranked, a Prague-based company builder specialising in SaaS, FinTech, AI, and Big-Data products. Ranked partners with strategic corporates and founders to co-launch new digital ventures, guiding them from first prototype to product-market fit and scale. Under his leadership, Ranked has incubated multiple software businesses and operates as a springboard for early-stage innovation across Central Europe.

Before entering entrepreneurship, Tomáš built a solid foundation in investment banking and venture finance. At Roklen Fin a.s., he worked on cross-industry M&A transactions and fundraising mandates exceeding €100 million, covering sectors from consumer internet to renewables. In parallel, he helped launch Fundlift, the first equity-crowdfunding platform in Central and Eastern Europe, where he designed the legal, financial, and operational framework and oversaw deal sourcing and execution.

Earlier, Tomáš gained analytical and transaction experience at Venture Investors Corporate Finance and completed internships in the Investment Banking and Top Corporations divisions of Komerční banka. These early roles gave him a deep understanding of capital structures, corporate finance, and investor relations — tools he now channels into helping startups grow sustainably.

Tomáš combines investor discipline with founder empathy. His journey from finance to fast-moving consumer tech makes him a practical mentor for founders navigating fundraising, unit economics, or scaling operations. He is known in the Czech startup ecosystem for his hands-on approach and ability to connect strategy, capital, and execution.


Frequent Locations: Prague (Czech Republic)
Industry Experience: D2C e-commerce, Pet Tech, FinTech, AI / Big Data SaaS, Venture Building
Expert Skills: Venture Strategy, Fundraising, M&A & Corporate Finance, Product Execution, Startup Operations, Leadership

Tomáš Gregor is a materials-science expert specializing in industrial crystal growth, particularly high-purity sapphire and YAG crystals used in optics, electronics, and increasingly biocompatible healthcare materials. He co-founded AT Crystals, a Žilina-based manufacturer in this field, led its rebrand and growth from 2019, and remains a shareholder today. Alongside the business, he is an active researcher, co-authoring peer-reviewed papers with the University of Žilina on improving industrial crystal-growth processes, and has spoken publicly on sapphire-based biocompatible materials for medical use.