While the Czech startup ecosystem is rapidly accelerating and is one of the most active in the CEE region, Czech women in tech represent around 10% of the IT workforce, falling to the last spots in the European ranking. There are only about 5% of female startup founders in the Czech Republic, and the country has had the lowest portions of VC deals involving female founders since 2017 in the region.
As a result, several organizations established initiatives to support female entrepreneurship and the role of women in tech, including #HolkyzMarketingu, Femme Palette, or Czechitas.
Highlighting the importance of women in the innovation ecosystem in the Czech Republic, The Recursive begins to map the Czech female founders.
This article presents only the beginning of mapping out Czech women in tech. Please, feel free to contact us with updates or names we should add to the list: [email protected]
10 Czech women in tech you should know about
Retail & E-Commerce
Simona Kijonková - Zásilkovna
Simona Kijonková is one of the most notable Czech founders in e-commerce and tech. In 2010, she founded the logistics platform Zásilkovna which ships goods from e-shops to customers. The company has operated under Packeta Group since 2018, present in 6 countries and delivering to 34. Before establishing her current company, Simona worked in business development and PR and co-founded a design and software development company specializing in e-commerce stores. She has been named, among others, as one of the 150 most influential women in the Czech Republic by Forbes.
Enterprise
Klára Losert - Talkbase
Klára Losert has a background in leading community, people operations, and customer success teams in various US-based startups, including Deepnote. In 2021, she co-founded a community operations platform automating the workflow of community and event builders, Talkbase. A year later, Klára’s startup raised a venture round of $2.1M led by a Czech VC J&T Ventures. She is also the founder and advisor of CzechCrunch Shine, a startup community supporting the Czech startup ecosystem.
Finance
Karin Fuentesová - Digitoo
With several years of experience in the accounting sector and as a Chief of AI dataset at a startup, Karin Fuentesová founded an AI-powered accounting platform Digitoo in 2019. As the company’s CEO, Karin aims to automate the invoicing processes and make accounting more efficient. In 2022, she raised €1.1M in seed round funding for her solution.
Eva Hlavsová - Fondee
Before founding her own company, Eva Hlavsová graduated with a Master’s in Economics from the University of Cambridge and worked at the financial services firm Morgan Stanley for over 5 years. In 2017, Eva established an online investment startup Fondee, offering anyone a simple and transparent investment solution. The startup secured over €2M in funding over three seed rounds.
Jana Večerková - BrikkApp
Jana Večerková is a seasoned entrepreneur and management professional in the FinTech and EdTech industries. In 2014, she founded Data4You z.s. that organizes a multi-awarded program Coding Bootcamp Praha. Since 2018, she has been the co-founder and growth & product manager at a real estate micro-investment platform BrikkApp. Jana graduated with an MSc in European Political Economy from the London School of Economics.
Education
Vanda Seidelová - Twigsee
With experience as a project coordinator and marketing and business development director, Vanda Seidelová founded Twigsee, a preschool management application supporting the communication between teachers and parents. Vanda established the startup in 2019 with a mission to simplify and digitize the administrative agenda, operating in Europe and Africa. Twigsee closed a seed round of over €500K in 2021.
Gaming & Entertainment
Božena Řežáb - GAMEE
Božena Řežáb is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in building consumer technology products and entertainment services. In 2014, she co-founded and became the CEO of the gaming platform GAMEE with a mission to introduce the value of blockchain to mainstream gaming audiences and to recognize and reward gaming skills, effort, and loyalty. The startup built a global gaming community of 40M users and was acquired by Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands for over $8M.
Hospitality
Eva Andrle - Keyguru
With a degree in marketing and over 10 years of experience in sales, marketing, and business development, Eva Andrle co-founded Keyguru, an automated, self-service solution for handing over keys or cards from hotel rooms using self-service boxes. As the startup’s CEO, Eva aims to support guesthouses and hotels of any size, cut labor costs, and provide guests with contactless solutions. The solution includes an online check-in app and is integrated within PMS.
Jarmila Kowolowská - Grason
Jarmila Kowolowská has over 10 years of experience in GE Money in senior project and product management positions. From 2017 to 2020, she was the co-founder and CEO of a modern workforce marketplace platform, Grason. The startup supports businesses such as restaurants in connecting with labor on a part-time basis. Jarmila has an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business and currently works at PwC as an independent consultant.
Healthcare & Well-being
Linda Šejdová - snuggs
With previous experience as a marketing manager at tech startups, including LidskáSíla.cz, Productboard, and BudgetBakers, Linda Šejdová co-founded snuggs, innovative period underwear, in 2018. The startup gained a community of 150.000 customers across Europe, presenting an advanced technology of a sustainable, quickly-drying, absorbent, and impermeable material. Earlier in 2023, snuggs secured a VC and angel-backed $5M investment, the largest funding for menstrual underwear in Europe.
