Creating and starting off new ideas is my mission. Me and Petr Šídlo founded Direct People in 2010 as the first innovation agency in the Czech Republic. Since then I have worked on dozens of projects, being responsible for product results and their performance on the market. I don’t enjoy managing and implementing others’ ideas so I am behind most of the things I do from the very beginning.
My journey to Direct People
I studied functional design at the University of West Bohemia and spent nearly two years in the United States during my studies. It was there that I first discovered IDEO – and I was instantly hooked. I dreamed of working for them, but life took me back to the Czech Republic, and instead, the idea of building my own innovation company started to take root.
After graduation, I joined the IT company Cleverlance, where I spent six years and eventually became Head of Testing. Later, I switched to freelancing, until Petr Šídlo and I founded Direct People. Despite my original dream, we knew from day one that we didn’t want to just copy IDEO – they were an inspiration, but our goal was to find our own unique way to create real innovation that delivers results.
Projects I have enjoyed
Over the years, I’ve led dozens of projects across various industries. I’ve gained deep experience working on many projects and digital banking solutions for Česká spořitelna.
A long-standing and rewarding collaboration has been with Alma Career (formerly LMC), where Direct People has been the strategic innovation partner for over eight years and worked on six products. What stands out the most is Práce za rohem, a job app that we launched together, that is designed for people who want to work close to home. It became the most downloaded job app in the Czech Republic within eight months, and today generates up to CZK 100 million in annual revenue. It’s one of the most commercially successful innovations we’ve helped create.
A few words about me
I’m deeply motivated by impact. I don’t care about hours I work or how pretty the presentation is — what matters is what actually gets done. I rely heavily on intuition and a strong sense of what works and what doesn’t. I value courage, the ability to take risks, and creativity — because without creativity, there is no innovation.
Outside of work, I’m all about my family — I have four kids and we love traveling, especially to the sea. I’ve always felt that the sea is my land. I’ve also been into sports all my life — I did athletics, boxing, golf, and these days I focus on strength training. Lately I’ve been testing the limits of my body… so far, the body is winning.
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2023 Direct People
Created by Beneš & Michl
