Euro–Czech Forum

EU affairs Euro–Czech Forum AReform of Bankruptcy Law and Commercial Registry in 2004

Foto: Zdeněk Tichý

The Euro–Czech Forum (ECF) viewed the 2004 as a year of prospects for positive changes in terms of reforms of legal–business environment in the Czech Republic, and its representatives were convinced that the reforms simplifying the creation and extinction of business entities would be successfully accomplished at last. For representatives of European investors and business circles the reform of the Commercial Register and of bankruptcy law became one of the main priorities, and ECF stressed this in its key document of recommen–dations called Agenda 2003. However, looking back at 2004, I must express Euro–Czech Forum’s disappoint–ment that our hopes did not fully materialise.

To tell the truth, commercial registry matters has been favourably solved by the Draft Amendment to the Commercial Code, prepared by Civil Democrats (ODS) deputy and Shadow Justice Minister Jiří Pospíšil. As a step in the right direction, European investors view an introduction of short obligatory periods for judges, during which they will be bound to decide on an entry into the register if the submitted form is filled in pro–perly. I consider the existence of transparent forms for the particular types of entries into the Commercial Register as an important innovation, which will help facilitate the registration proceedings.

While I regard the reforms of commercial registers as satisfactory, situation in bankruptcy law deserves much more severe criticism. I dare say that business circles and investors view the situation surrounding the insolvency law as literally critical. For a long time, ECF has been pointing out the current unacceptable situation, which governments have been trying to put right by an endless number of specific amendments. However, these amendments often had negative rather than positive effects in terms of the interpretation of individual law provisions. The bankruptcy law was also repeatedly criticised by renowned international institutions including the OECD and the European Commission. The validity of the criticism is clearly documented by the World Bank’s latest report, which indicates that the Czech Republic is the very last in the list of evaluated European countries as for the length of bankruptcy proceedings (which last incredible 9 years on average).

The failure of the pro–reform bridging amendment (“Amendment 635”) to the Act on Bankruptcy and Settlement in the Chamber of Deputies is literally tragic news. The main purpose of the amendment was to eliminate the most urgent problems of bankruptcy law until the new re–codification comes into force. Unfor–tunately, the voices opposing the reform of bankruptcy procedures prevailed in the Chamber of Deputies and blocked the modernisation of Czech insolvency law. The last version of the proposal, which was submitted for a final vote (and was subsequently rejected), differed completely from the text introduced by the MPs in the first reading because it had been modified by anti–reform amendments. The new version of the proposed bill actually preserved the current unsatisfactory situation and could not logically be approved by the MPs representing the right–wing and centre parties.

ECF supported the amendment in a version that was very similar to the one passed by the Chamber of Deputies in its first reading, which aimed to strengthen creditor rights in the entire bankruptcy process, mainly through the appointment of bankruptcy administrators and the extension of the powers of creditor committees. The result of the vote seems to be further proof of the impossibility of reforming Czech bankruptcy law, which will undoubtedly have a negative impact on the Czech economy. Why? For example, the insufficient satisfaction of secured creditors will continue to be allowed. In effect, this provision leads to the banks’ seeking additional security for the loans they grant, and this negatively influences the availability of loan money for enterprises. Expensive loans have the worst impact on small and medium–size enterprises, and it is precisely these companies that form the basis of all modern economies.

Another step made by the government in this legal area must be the introduction of a high–quality re–codification draft of the insolvency law. The new re–codification must particularly reflect the needs of business and industrial circles. These require modern, transparent and effective enactment, which will lay emphasis on economic aspects of bankruptcy law and respect the rhythm of modern eco–nomies and the business world. I must say, however, that the current version of the bill, which was submitted for comments in January 2005, can hardly have the ambi–tion to become a real re–codification of bankruptcy law.

What leads me to a proposition like this? The draft is again based on the dominant role of court and the super–fluous extent of the powers of insolvency administrator, altogether to the detriment of the position of creditors and their bodies. Although I appreciate the introduction of so–called reorganisation, as a non– liquidation manner of carrying out recovery measures while maintaining company’s activities, I strongly disagree with its regulation in the draft code. I assume that the basic principles of reorganisation are not complete, there are no statutory limitations in the framework of the reorganisation process that may result in inefficient and application of reorga–nisation in practice.

Another serious drawback of the proposal is the way the appraisal of collateral by expert is regulated. I also perceive the financing of an enterprise during the insolvency proceedings, including the preferential participation of secured creditors, as a serious problem. The draft regulation, while generally describing the basic institutes, is absolutely inadequate and again docu–ments the underestimation of the economic context of insolvency law by the authors of the Draft.

Furthermore, I do not consider certain provisions of the Draft rendering legal acts in commercial relations ineffective to be beneficial, as they limit the legal certainty within established legal relationships, even though these were concluded in good faith and under legitimate terms. In accordance with modern European and world trends, I think that enacting the assertion of the inefficiency by an administrator’s counter–plea would be more appropriate. I am also convinced that the draft, in many regards, denies creditors the rights which they should have during the proceedings due to their receivables and values of assets. Given the experience with the performance of some bankruptcy judges, I believe that a decision on the actual manner of insolvency should be made by the creditors provided that a decision on a certain approach is made by a majority of both secured and unsecured creditors.

Moreover, I think it would be standard and desirable if the decision–making on appointment of the receiver should be entrusted primarily to the creditors body where, save for a few exceptions, the chairman of the court would respect the person identified in the proposal.

This article includes a lot of critical words about the reform of legal–business environment in the Czech Republic. Nevertheless, ECF strongly believes that it will be able to say about 2005 that it was a year of the imple–mentation of the major reforms governing business activities at last. European investors are convinced that the Czech Republic can no longer afford to continue to lag behind the neighbouring EU countries because this might have really serious consequences for it. By Jan Mraček, ECF Legal Analyst ■

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THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY of Česká spořitelna Expat Center

Martin Howlings, Director Expat.cz and Eva Christiansen, Contact Manager Expat.cz From left: Jiří Hrbáček, Director, co–head sales financial markets Česká spořitelna and Christopher Moor, Publisher Finance New Europe From left: Nils Silfverschiold, President Swedish Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic, Erik Best, The Fleet Sheet, Martin Levey, Principal Partner Moores Rowland and Thomas Mershon, Director Katz Graduate School of Business

Barbara Verbe, wife of Carl Williams, President Muzo Petra Fischer, CEO Laufen, Wilfried Elbs, CEO Autoleasing and Ingrid Sieder

Saturday Night Fever at Intercontinental Hotel

From left: Pavel Riegger, Ernst & Young, Lenka Tučková and Přemysl Pela, Managing Director Central and Eastern Europe Ariba

Martina and Roman Stupka, Kateřina Šuláková, Credit Suisse, Peter Žaluda, General Manager Credist Suisse and Gabriela Pecinová Manfred Franke, Chairman and Director, East European Missions, with wife Heidi From left: Václav Kadeřábek, Director of Quality, Security and Program Office Eurotel, Miroslava Kadeřábková, PR and Marketing Manager Miracle and Ing. Ilja Mráček, MBA, Gentest s.r.o., with wife Liana

From left: Philippe Riboton, Prague Tribune Publisher, with wife Cathrine, Jean-Pierre Hottinger, President of the French-Czech Chamber of Commerce, with wife Elena

Charles Parchment and Laurie Spengler, CEAG, and ▲ President of American Chamber of Commerce

Avelino Sorgato, Owner Don Giovanni Ristorante and this evenings host in a welcoming speech With Mezzo–soprano – Edita Randová Violin virtuoso – Jaroslav Svěcený Pop singer – David Mattioli DJ – Massimo Canni Moderator – Michal David

FIRST ANNIVERSARY GALA EVENING OF FIRST ANNIVERSARY GALA EVENING OF GUSTO ITALIA CLUB GUSTO ITALIA CLUB

From Left H.E. Giorgio Radicati, Ambassador of Italy and Avelino Sorgato, Don Giovanni Ristorante and this evening host

Comtesse Mathilda Nostitz and Jarmila Vodičková, Šťastný Jim From left: Worldwide known photographer Rossano Maniscalchi with wife Asolka and Jan Vrátník, Director CDI Corporate Advisory

From left: Kateřina Kreuzerová, Banketing Boscolo Hotel, Martina Stará, PR Manager Boscolo hotel and Antonio Sferlanno

From left: Milena Stránská, Report’s Fashion and MUDr. Dana Jenšovská, Private Medical Center From left: Sandro Biancc, Chief Operating Officer Živnostenská banka and Benke Aikell, your Publisher

LaScéne The spectacular new split-level La Scéne restaurant and club boasts interior images from the renowned photographer Rossano Maniscalchi and 1 star Michelin Chef de Cuisine Georges–André Rognard, which helped draw hundreds of invited people to the grand opening.

Milada Karasová, Director Czechoslovak Models and Daria Hrubá, Czech TV

On visit from Sweden for business and investment From Left: Jan Länsberg, Lars Schönhult, Ulf Johansson and Tommy Larsson Helena Kroftová–Leisztner, Design – Living Art and Kateřina Braithwaite, Mary Kay Pavel Remeš, Business Manager Dukát and Petra Remešová

Ing. Vlastimil Tlustý, CSc., Member of Parliament CR,with Eliška Hašková–Coolidge, Coolidge Consulting Service

ATalk with Chef Georges André Rognard, Prague's Cuisine Master

A Star Chef in Prague

Georges André Rognard, executive chef of La Scene, is anything but average. At 53 years old, the Lyon–born French chef has accomplished more than most do in their entire lifetime. After studying at France’s top hotel school, Rognard spent years training in New York, and eventually opened up his own restaurant in France which was awarded the Michelin Star. Today he can be found at Prague’s La Scene, where he manages a full staff as they prepare such delicacies as filet of lamb with a gingerbread crust and Pan fried Foie Gras with rhubarb and orange confites. He recently spoke with Club Magazine about becoming a chef, moving to Prague, and an evolving dining scene.

When did you decide to become a chef?

I think very early on because my mom had a restaurant. As a result, I was always running about the kitchen. My mother was also a very good cook. I’m from a family where we love good food.

What type of training did you go through?

I went one of the best hotel schools in France, in Grenoble. At the time there were only five hotel schools in France and this was one of the oldest and largest. It was in the French Alps. I went to school at 17, which was the minimum age to enter the school. But before all that I started training in the kitchen during holidays when I was only 14 years old.

Which restaurants have you worked at?

At the beginning of my career, I was working on cruise boats and I traveled all over the world. After that I worked in France, in Lyon, in a very good house.

I also had two different businesses in France. The first was in the French Alps, in the winter resorts. After that I had a business near the Spanish border. But after that I quit and went to New York in 1996 or 1997 and spent four years there. Working in New York was a great experience because New York is a fantastic city, and Americans like French cuisine. French gastronomy in New York is different and I learned a lot in New York.

How did you end up in Prague?

When I came to Prague in 1999, it was a little bit by chance. I came back from New York and was working in connection with Intercontinental, getting ready to open something in Belarus. This work was infrequent, so I ended up waiting there. Then I saw in a professional newspaper one ad for a French chef in Prague. So I applied and I got it. I had heard Prague was a beautiful city, but in some ways my moving here was by chance. I did not plan anything special for coming there. I Just wanted to see Central Europe since I had already seen Western Europe already through my travels.

Do you cook at home?

At home, it is different. If I have friends coming, yes, I will cook. It is not problem for me to cook at home. I know most of my colleagues don’t like to cook at home or just for themselves. And to cook at home you need a well–equipped kitchen. But we can always arrange this, and with a lot of items we need, we can deal with everything.

What’s an average day for you at La Scene?

It depends. I’m usually here at 9 a.m., I work and take a short break for one or two hours in afternoon, and I’m back here until midnight. It's a hard job and it is no secret that if you are not in your kitchen, things are not working so good. I am not the kind of executive chef that just hands out paper orders. I need to be in kitchen to cook, touch the food and be there. I’m not meant to be an executive chef in a big hotel with 10 or 20 people, questioning the need to be there. I need to be here, and touch the food, to cook. I know I have some colleagues that are executives who don’t have this need. But I am not that type of chef. Any particular ingredients that you’re in love with?

I like everything, no special ingredients. I love whole ingredients, but I can cook fish meat, whatever.

How easy is it to get the ingredients you want in Prague?

In Prague, it is still actually a problem. One of the main problems to make great meals is the quality of ingredients. Here, it’s also hard to find a good cook with experience in gastronomy.

Which languages do you speak?

I speak French, English, and I was speaking German but I forgot everything. I also speak Italian and Spanish too, and I’m around 80 percent fluent with Czech. My Czech is not very good. I used to have good Czech language in the kitchen. I learned Italian in France. I learned Spanish in New York. But it is a big problem, big bother, because I don’t speak these languages correctly. It’s just too much, all these languages. But I still try to speak them.

Who are some of the famous people you’ve cooked for?

A lot of people in New York and France, and in France, I was awarded the Michelin Star. [Former president] Francois Mitterrand was my neighbor and customer as well in France. I’ve also met so many people in New York, I’m friends with Bruce Springsteen, and I’ve cooked for Liv Tyler and Whoopi Goldberg. I also prepared a wedding dinner for David Duchovny and Tea Leoni.

Do you have a family?

I am divorced since 1996, that’s why I quit France to go to New York. I needed some distance. My daughter is now 22 years old, my son is 16, and I have a good relationship with my ex–wife. We have a very good connection and a very good relationship now, and it’s no problem now. There is tenderness with the children.

What do you like to do with your spare time?

I’ve been traveling a lot and there is always some place to discover. I love to travel, its always great experience, you can meet so many different people. People have to travel a lot to have an open mind, to understand this little world around you.

In what way can the Czech dining scene be improved?

There is still a need for better gastronomic education. One part of Czech society is the need to appreciate and educate on French gastronomy. It is coming slowly, but it will still be a long time before many people here know French gastronomy. We still need to educate and test people.

By Jennifer Anne Perez ■

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On January 12th, in the premises of Svatý Norbert restaurant christening of the newest expert publication took place under the auspices of Mr. Pavel Bém, the Mayor of Prague, Mrs. Bára Štěpánová, a known actress and presenter, and Mr. Petr Svoboda, the president of AstraZeneca. Authors of the book – reputable experts Pharm Dr. Lenka Práznovcová, Ph.D. and Doc. Ing. Ladislav Strnad, CSc. – welcome their readers to join the world of a new scientific discipline connecting the fields of medicine, pharmacology, and economics. „The new publication supported by our company should help professionals to increase investment efficiency in health–care, optimize medicament policy of institutions, and facilitate determination of corresponding pharmacotherapy for clinicians,” Mr.Petr Svoboda explains.

UNIQUE CHRISTENING OF A PUBLICATION UNIQUE CHRISTENING OF A PUBLICATION „FARMAKOEKONOMIKA” „FARMAKOEKONOMIKA”

From left: MUDr. Bohumil Seifert, Institut of General Practice, First Medical Faculty of Charles University in Prague, Jarmila Seifertová and MUDr. Aleš Kmínek, Business Development & External Affairs Director AstraZeneca

MUDr. Eva Gottsteinová, AstraZeneca and Karel Němeček, VZP PharmDr. Petr Svoboda, President AstraZeneca Czech Republic, Lenka Bartáková and her husband Dr. Jaroslav Barták, General Secretary Lions Club Prague Eagle and President Poliklinika Modřany

Mgr. Michal Kostern, Business Development Manager AstraZeneca and Eva Hlaváčová, Business Director AstraZeneca

Bára Štěpánová, Moderator From left: Mgr. Jiří Kotlán, Pharmacist, Eva Gottsteinová, AstraZeneca, Eva Maštálková, Ministry of Finance and Ing. Jindřich Graf, Czech Medical Chamber

A talk with Petr Sýkora, CEO, PAPIRIUS

GOOD IDEA+COURAGE = SUCCESS

Petr, what would you say are two or three of the key success factors in your efforts to build PAPIRIUS?

The first thing, in my opinion, was to pick the right partner. It is something I take for granted now but I think it was one of the keys. Jan and me started together and it has worked very well.

The second was that the timing was right. It is not that I was so smart, I think, but rather, that the time was right. We acted and it was possible to build the company. In 1993, many markets were beginning to open, not just ours. There were more opportunities than there are now.

At the beginning, and at the present time, we have been extremely focused not only on what we sell–paper, etc.–but on what customers really want. At the beginning, it was sort of unconscious. We realized the customers were saying, “we want paper,” but in fact they wanted something slightly different. They wanted paper to be on their table fast and with good service.

I have heard some entrepreneurs say that from the very beginning they had a clear company strategy. I do not think this is usually the case. For us at PAPIRIUS, it was only after five or six years that we were able to really specify our mission statement because we thought it was really important to tell our customer and ourselves what we really do. What PAPIRIUS provides is savings in time, stress and costs for its customers, related to purchasing office products. It seems natural, but still it is very important to keep telling it to our people. The new hires may think that we sell office supplies because this is what appears to be on the invoice. In reality, we sell convenience, brand names, reliability and lower costs to large corporate customers. Petr, you are being humble about your beginnings and the timing. If you didn’t see the opportunity and grasp it, somebody else could have. You were very courageous and brilliant to see it where others might not. This is not quite the case. At the beginning, we did not see the size of the market at all. In 1993, our dream was to get one van and to have 10–15 orders a day. I remember it was our vision and we didn’t really see beyond it.

I do not really think that it was about courage at the very beginning. When we started we had no costs, we were eighteen years old and had nothing to lose, so we were not scared. After a year or so we started to take it very, very seriously.

How would you describe your management style?

Optimistic, very demanding, results and people oriented. I do trust my people and try to give them enough space to grow.

Do you think you were inspired by a role model or was there something that inspired you?

From the time I was ten years old, I admired many different people for their style and character, but I didn’t pick one who I wanted to resemble. Many people have some quality that appeals to me. For example, in your case it is how you deal and speak with people. It is your big strength. It is great to observe.

Later on I developed my own style that makes me feel comfortable. I try to deal with different people in different ways, and sometimes I make mistakes. Take, for example, what I did two weeks ago. One of our managers has an unusual work schedule. He is mostly working on different projects on his own time. I am an early bird and consider my approach to be professional, so I wanted this person to do the same. I was afraid that this habit might spread across the company. What I didn’t realize was that he is very different from me and that he works 10 to 12 hours a day mostly independently. In this person’s case, it does not have any impact if he is here at 10:00, 9:00, 11:00 or 8:00. When I tried to impose my approach, all I did was de–motivate him, of course. So it was obviously not the right thing to do. Fortunately, I have a very good partner who saw it from the outside and told me to re–think the situation. In this case, I failed to apply a different style to a completely different person. It is amazing to see the number of mistakes that I make. Hopefully good things will prevail, since we have managed to create about 700 jobs in Central and Eastern Europe.

Perhaps what truly helps is that I try not to be arrogant and see what I can learn so the next time I do better.

One of the things you mentioned is what you learned listening to your partner, and being willing to admit your mistakes. I think there is a tendency, especially when you have achieved a certain amount

of success, to listen less or think we are right. One’s ability to admit mistakes is a significant skill.

I have no issue with this. I respect the people around me and many of those with whom I interact from outside the company. When I make a mistake, I can easily admit it without losing face. My task is to make our people feel motivated and secure.

What have been the greatest challenges in achieving your success?

I now consider the successful expansion of the com–pany in Central and Eastern Europe to be our greatest challenge. We are present in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and from the beginning of this year, also in Lithuania. We are still planning to enter new markets in this region. Our goal is to be number one in the office supplies business in Central and Eastern Europe and this is what we find really challenging.

To achieve this, I think, the crucial element is having enough smart people around us and in the company. The biggest barrier for the development of this company is not financial resources or the competition, it is just our ability to have a critical number of great people who do it right. It is my number one priority to have them around. It is a very rewarding experience to work with these people. Some of them are so great that it is beyond all my original expectations.

Let’s talk about the external environment. What have been your experiences in terms of working with financial institutions and looking for new capital?

I am an optimistic person, and maybe even slightly idealistic. We asked for our first loan after five or six years in the business and we got it. Of course, the banks at that time were very, very careful. As PAPIRIUS was a small client, the terms were very strict and the fees were high. Since then the situation has continued to change year after year. The power has shifted from the banks to us. They are our suppliers like other companies. The only difference is that they supply us with money and services instead of products. It is only a question of costs and the quality of their service.

How about government support?

We have always been more focused on our custo–mers than on government support. We did not spend much time thinking about taxes and the external environment, and I would encourage other entrepreneurs to do the same. As entrepreneurs we want things to be as simple as possible, such as obtaining the trade license quickly, having simple tax laws, trade laws etc. Some of the laws are obviously very complex here. They have changed many, many times. But we have learned to deal with it. It is similar with EU subsidies. PAPIRIUS is for some of them too big and for others (such as our investment in Hungary) too small.

If you could ask something of the government, what would that be?

More flexibility in the labor code.

What have you learned over the past 10 –12 years?

The answer is simple: everything. When we started PAPIRIUS, I was 18, now I am 30. It has been 12 long years. At the very beginning, I knew nothing about how to do business. I even asked Jan how to do the invoicing. We started to learn how to do the finances and manage people, strategy, logistics, and customer relations.

Please talk about your strengths and your partner Jan’s in the beginning. What did you bring to this organization?

We have very different strengths. Jan is more systems oriented and a bit more analytical than I am. He is formally in charge of logistics, IT, and customer service and he is focused even more on the strategy than I am. I am more on the people side, focused on human resources, sales, marketing and finance. I have more people formally reporting to me. That is how we share it. On the other hand, we discuss more or less everything, although I tend to ask a bit more for Jan’s opinion. When I have an idea or question, I like to have it challenged by his ideas. It works very well for us this way.

What can you suggest to other entrepreneurs?

I don’t have a favorite business quote. I think it really doesn’t matter if you are a businessman, a teacher, president of the school or an artist – as long as you find the right fit for yourself and your natural talents. If you do it, you succeed and you enjoy it. I tend to compare the company to the human body. You have to do quite a few things to keep it going well. The body is complex as an enterprise, but most of us have learned how to “manage” it. I believe it is important to “be yourself,” which means that you should be involved and try to learn new things. I have also learned that people don’t change signifi–cantly and that it is a waste of effort to try to make them change.

A couple of days ago I bought a book of 350 short essays called “Everyday Drucker.” At the beginning, there is an interview with Peter Drucker. He is obviously very old now, I think about 93. What is striking is the fact that he is always learning. I think that’s the key. During the last couple of years I have been fortunate to meet, talk and share ideas with a couple of inspiring people. Of course you learn by doing and through feedback from your colleagues. On the other hand, your decisions regarding with whom you spend your time, including free time, are very important for your development. The people around me are what make me “rich.”

In addition to people, I would like to emphasize the necessity of consistence and reliability. These are the qualities which PAPIRIUS is also based on. The customer is used to a certain quality of service that you are obliged to keep, and you may not allow yourself to disappoint him or her. I also believe in the importance of social responsibility which we have towards the environment where we undertake our business. I expect this to become more and more important.

We all know what our mistakes have been. Do you want to talk about one or two and what you learned from those experiences?

I made this one several times: firing weak people too late. It is the one I am aware of and it is still hard not to repeat it. Usually it starts when you feel some uncertainty that keeps coming back and back again, and at the end, turns out to be quite expensive. A long time ago, we hired someone who was a key manager. After some time, he had some minor discrepancies in his receipts. I noticed it but did not follow through. It was at the time when we were operating at a loss and we needed that person because he was in finance. Now I know I should have fired him on the spot. I think there should really be zero tolerance for fraud and lies. I can tolerate it when you screw up a tender or lose a customer, as long as you do not do it the same way again. But there should be no questions when it is about integrity.

How do you perceive the future? What will be some other challenges you would like to embrace or goals you have?

First of all, I believe strongly in a balanced life. By balanced I mean including work, reading, family, free time, traveling, etc. I like very, very much what I do. It is my passion. On the other hand, if I look at our company from a global perspective and then take the additional perspective of time, it is just “a piece of sand”.

So let’s do it well, make customers and people who work with us happy and get great results. The freedom my work gives me is probably what I value the most.

I tend to tell my people that I would be glad if PAPIRIUS was third place in their list of priorities. I do not like to have workaholics around me. Outside the company I like to wear more hats on my head. I like different sports, music, traveling, and reading. For instance, this weekend I went cross–country skiing, which I love very much, and next weekend I may go flying. I can do some outdoor sports fairly well, like extreme skiing and ice–climbing.

Talk a little bit about the company’s growth. You can give me specific numbers or you can talk about percentage of growth.

Last year, PAPIRIUS sales were just below 40 million Euros and this year we hope to add about 8 to 10 million Euros more. We have about 700 people in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia. We see the main growth opportunities as being outside the Czech Republic. Because we have a certain market share here we can grow around 10% in the Czech Republic but probably not more. It is much easier for us to grow 30 or 50% in the new markets.

Is there anything I haven’t asked you that you’d like to say, maybe something you think is interesting to give as a topic in entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship is based on the importance of freedom and responsibility, which go together, although responsibility is something very personal, as well as the chance to bring people together to create new things. It is a lot of fun.

by Peter R. Loewenguth ■

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