Blog

Rohlik is one of the Europe’s fastest-growing online grocery platforms. Founded in Czechia, the company now operates across several markets and continues to scale fast and employee ownership has always been a core part of Rohlik’s culture.

What happens when one company ends up seeding half an ecosystem? PayPal, Skype, Exponea, Mews. Every startup hub has a handful of companies whose alumni go on to found, fund and run the next wave. We call it the "startup mafia effect", and the usual take is that it's a happy accident. We don't think it is.

AI Act deadlines & Rohlik's ESOP story: an ESOP success, compliance tips, and the people behind Eldison.

The European Commission’s Digital Omnibus on AI is designed to simplify the implementation of the AI Act and reduce unnecessary compliance burdens for businesses. It introduces measures to make compliance more practical and proportionate in relation to high-risk AI systems.

CloudTalk is a next generation calling software helping businesses connect with their customers. CloudTalk strongly believes that customer experience can give businesses a crucial competitive edge. It also believes that ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) is a key component to having a dedicated and engaged team.

Let's bring the light to your case: Valuation. A simple way to set a defendable valuation, whether you're pre-revenue or already selling.

The Eldison ESOP event featured a panel discussion with founders who actively live ESOPs in practice – Richard Valtr (Mews), Petr Irikovský (Exponea / today Bloomreach), and Richard Malovič (Whalebone). Here are a few thoughts from the discussion:

Velaris is a smart customer success platform helping B2B companies grow, retain, and deepen customer relationships. It combines data, automation, and collaboration in one place so teams can reduce churn and maximize long-term value.

In the fast-changing world of hospitality, Mews is not just taking the travel experience on next level but also finding new ways to involve its employees. At the heart of this transformative journey is its CEO Matthijs Welle whose belief in the power of employee ownership drives the company's core values. Dive into their story of starting the ESOP, with all its ups and downs."

If something breaks in a startup, you can usually fix it. Product, pricing, strategy. You adjust and move on. But a messy cap table is different.

If a fundraising round slows down after an investor shows interest, it’s usually not because of one big issue. More often, momentum gets lost in the basics that were not fully ready yet.

Starting a company means making decisions you’ve never faced before. In Founder’s Edge, we break down the legal and operational ones that actually matter, with clear context, real examples, and advice you can use right away.

Starting a company means making decisions you’ve never faced before. In Founder’s Edge, we break down the legal and operational ones that actually matter, with clear context, real examples, and advice you can use right away.

Employee stock option plans (ESOPs) are the go-to tool for startups worldwide to attract and keep top talent. In Czechia, though, the system hasn’t worked. That changes in January 2026. A long-awaited reform finally introduces qualified employee options with clear rules and major tax advantages.

You don’t raise a Series A to play it safe. You raise it to grow fast, sell more, and prove you’re ready to conquer the world. But bigger goals bring bigger challenges, and your legal setup needs to support growth, not block it.