My journey to VC and startups was completely serendipitous, and I consider myself very lucky it happened this way. I grew up in a small industrial town in Czechia and was never part of elite circles shielding a person from the reality of ordinary life. On the contrary, I was part of a community of people from all sorts of backgrounds, classes, and life experiences, which shaped my understanding of the world and my desire to improve it.

I was always curious and wanted to understand as much of the world as possible. I was especially drawn to the complex systems humans have built across society and how they interact in often unpredictable ways. To explore this, I studied International Relations at King’s College London with the aim of becoming a policy-maker. That’s where I became deeply interested in the relationship between technology and humanity, and how tech can be used as an engine for abundance and human wellbeing. I went on to work as a policy analyst and policy-maker, first at a think tank and later as an advisor to the Deputy Minister of Defence.

But I wanted to move closer to the source of innovation, and VC seemed like a natural way to do that. I started as an intern at Credo, not expecting to stay longer than a few months, but quickly fell in love with the startup world—and stayed.

I consider myself very lucky to be in VC. It allows me to satisfy my curiosity and work with exceptional people, supporting them on their journey from zero to world-changing companies. I’m a generalist investor, but I’m especially drawn to startups with ridiculously bold ambitions. True moonshots. Often these are companies operating in complex industries, requiring risky R&D, combining software and hardware. Built by intellectually curious founders who want to make a real difference in the world.

When I invest, I aim to be as hands-on as possible, acting as an extended member of the team and a sparring partner—doing whatever the founders need, not afraid to get my hands dirty. For me, these close relationships and shared journeys are the best part of the job.

Outside of work, I do all sorts of sports. I used to play tennis competitively and still play regularly. I also run, lift, do off-piste skiing, and generally enjoy anything active with friends. I spend a lot of time in the mountains, read about science, geopolitics, and philosophy, and teach at a summer academy for talented high school students every year (my course is called Technology & Humanity, of course). I’m a huge fan of Chelsea FC and watch almost every game.