The Czech hosting market has seen WEDOS in 2010. The entire market was already divided and the competition laughed at us, saying we had no chance of even surviving.

Within 31 months we became number one. Since then we have been growing and currently, more Czech domains are directed to our two private data centres than to the next three competitors combined. Globally, we have almost 310,000 customers from 150 countries.

How did we manage that?

We knew that most of the competition was stagnating.

For a customer to switch to us and be satisfied, we will have to deploy quality services. Furthermore, a service with parameters that they need not only now but will also be sufficient in a few years. Something that will not only win them over to us but also make them a fan.

We resolved the quality issue thanks to our industry experience. We knew what hardware to choose, how it would scale in the future, and what its strengths and weaknesses were. Of course, this meant not only visiting manufacturers but also thoroughly testing everything ourselves.

Our team consists not only of experienced IT professionals who gained experience in the 1990s, but also of young people who follow trends and enjoy trying new things. We knew the communities of potential customers, we knew what they used and what troubled them.

To attract attention, we exploited the biggest weakness in the market at the time, which was that nobody dared to show how it was actually done. Everyone guarded their know-how, didn't want to show their behind-the-scenes workings, or appear much in public. We approached everything as a big reality show.

However, all of this is not enough. You need to get people to try you out. Here, we gambled on price. We calculated how much turnover we needed to achieve with 20,000 services for it to make sense. We reduced the price by choosing suitable technologies, which are more expensive but more economical, and by automating processes.

The result of this was a revolution in the Czech hosting market. We concentrated on further growth and cost optimisation.

We **own** everything, including the infrastructure, buildings and the people who manage them. We also have our own kilometres of optical fibre routes, which we dug and blew ourselves. We designed and built the second data centre ourselves. To save on cooling, the servers are cooled in oil baths and the waste heat is used to heat the building, car park and a nearby municipal swimming pool.

And we will repeat all of this globally with our WEDOS Global network, which protects millions of websites from attacks for a few hundred crowns per month.

Fingood It is the fastest-growing P2B crowdfunding platform for retail investors. It enables them to finance small and medium-sized enterprises at a fixed interest rate of 8–12 %. For businesses, it is a way to raise capital quickly.

Fingood's growth took off in 2019 when the entire company was taken over by new management and owners. In this new beginning, 26.5 million CZK flowed through Fingood across 12 projects.

Now Fingood Around 100 projects are offered annually. Entering the new year through this platform, people invested 1 billion Czech crowns in 170 individual projects. Remoska came here for money for a new production line.

“A billion crowns is a huge result for a three-year-old start-up, but it's not the primary goal. In the first phase, it's absolutely crucial for Fingood to maintain a healthy credit portfolio during such dynamic growth and to continue to offer investors an unparalleled ratio between return and security. You'd be hard-pressed to find a similar investment tool on the market right now.” commented Jan Horák, managing director Finger food.

This is simply proof that investing through crowdfunding is growing in popularity, offering an alternative to the banking sector. Over 8,000 people are already investing through Fingood, with a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. We find students investing 1000 CZK, as well as wealthier clients whose investments range from hundreds of thousands to millions.

An important aspect for investors is risk assessment. “In the P2B system, where retail investors invest in corporate loans to small and medium-sized Czech companies, the Fingood platform plays a key role, particularly in assessing potential risk. Thanks to a two-stage assessment process, only sound projects make it into the loan portfolio, and the default rate currently stands at under 3 %,” Adds Horák.

Fingood is planning an expansion into other European countries this year. This will be aided by its acquisition of an international European crowdfunding licence from the Czech National Bank. This year alone, it aims to introduce projects worth another billion Czech crowns, particularly from development and manufacturing.

The success of investment portfolios significantly depends on the information available to the manager. Investors are inundated with vast amounts of data daily, Excel's capabilities are insufficient and inefficient, and services like Bloomberg or Refinitiv are expensive and do not meet the specific needs of some investors. CCFR has therefore launched a platform aimed at providing data and investment tools for professional investors or portfolio managers.

Czech company CCFR believes that machine learning and automation are the future of investing and hopes its application Analytical Platform, which it is developing in cooperation with Mendel University and Masaryk University, will be part of it.

The current version of the platform has several functional applications designed to support investment decisions. The latest published application for users Portfolio Manager It is intended for effective management of existing portfolios, or for the creation of new ones. The application is built on an approach to portfolio creation using Markowitz's theory of optimal portfolios, and in the case of creating a new portfolio, the application is capable of suggesting a set of optimal portfolios from a given basket of shares that have the potential for the highest returns with the lowest possible level of risk.

StockPicking Lab The application allows users to apply pre-prepared investment strategies to their accounts. At the core of the application is a scoring model trained on historical data, which can value presented stocks and determine characteristics such as quality, value, and momentum. The model ranks a list of stocks according to their valuation, and the portfolio is then constructed as a combination of undervalued and overvalued stocks.

PatternLab It is an application for finding patterns in price data. Within the application, it is possible to select price patterns, set parameters for entering and exiting the market, and run a simulation of trade progressions on historical data for the compiled strategy. For a successfully tested and deployed strategy, the application subsequently sends signals at the moment a price pattern occurs. For further support of investment decisions, the Summary of Financial Articles application is available for simple consumption of information from global investment-focused media. The application extracts sentiment from articles published in the media and also generates a summary of the given article for quicker acquisition of important information.

Invest in secured loans

Shares, unit trusts, ETFs, cryptocurrencies and other similar investments are constantly fluctuating in value. Whilst bonds promise the return of the principal and a fixed yield on top, the rate of return is not usually very attractive when risk is taken into account. You can secure a fixed return of up to 17 % per annum by investing in secured loans on the platform BONDSTER.

BONDSTER is a purely Czech investment platform based in Prague. It has been on the market since 2017 and allows people to Invest simply in secured loans with a current average return of 13.6 % per annum.

Currently, the platform is used by almost 17,000 registered users from the Czech Republic and abroad. Since the launch of the platform, investors have earned over CZK 150 million in interest, and the total volume of loans invested has exceeded CZK 3.8 billion.

How does this investment loan marketplace work?

Very simply. Millions of people worldwide borrow money. For example, for a new home, a car or to study abroad. In order for financial companies providing loans to have enough money for their development, they offer approved and disbursed loans to investors on the BONDSTER platform. And you can easily invest in them and get a share of the interest income.

The main advantages of Bondster

• Czech investment platform
• Fixed dividend
• Loan security
• Wide range of investment loans
• Thorough vetting of credit providers
• High investment liquidity
• The option of a pre-set or custom investment strategy

Thousands of investment loans on one platform

On BONDSTER you can to invest in crowns and euros. There are thousands of loans on offer from over 30 providers worldwide. Several types of loans are available, differing in repayment period, security method, and yield. Compared to buying bonds, investments in loans can be much better diversified. Furthermore, you can exit the investment at any time. Simply offer the loan to other investors on the secondary market.

You can invest in individual loans from as little as 100 CZK or 5 EUR. The low minimum investment amount allows you to better diversify your investment portfolio.

The offer in Czech crowns consists mainly of property-backed investment loans. These primarily suit more conservative and beginner investors who prefer greater security. Investment loans can also be secured by other tangible assets or cryptocurrency.

In most European investment loans are their providers giving the so-called repurchase guarantee. In the event that the loan becomes overdue (note: more than 60 days), the provider will return the invested principal and interest for the entire period of holding the investment. Therefore, you will receive interest even for the entire period of repayment default.

For beginners and experienced investors alike

BONDSTER is designed for both novice and experienced investors. If you are just starting out with loan investments, you can use one of pre-set investment strategies. Their advantage is that they automatically diversify the portfolio and you don't have to waste time manually selecting individual investment loans.

More experienced investors can manually select individual loans or Set up a personalised investment strategy. Loans will be selected in this case, for example, according to yield, maturity and other criteria set by you.

XTB is an online broker that provides its clients with access to a wide range of markets and instruments for trading and investment, from stocks and ETFs to forex and cryptocurrencies. The company was founded in 2002 and has since grown to operate in over 18 countries worldwide. XTB has been operating in our region since 2007.

One of XTB's greatest advantages is their xStation 5 platform, which is very intuitive and easy to use, offering a wide range of features for technical analysis and automated trading. This makes the platform suitable for both beginners and advanced traders.

Besides quality business services, the company is also known for its analytical and educational activities. It offers its clients a large amount of educational materials, including webinars, videos, e-books, and articles, which help traders and investors develop their trading skills and knowledge. You can find more information directly on XTB website.

At the event Global Investment Summit 2023 The Chief Commercial Officer will present for XTB Vladimír Holovka with a lecture on the topic of Trendy v investičních službách v roce 2023 and also the lead analyst Jiří Tyleček, who will participate in the panel Stock and capital markets in 2023.

You've certainly experienced this before yourself. You're writing to a client, or following up with a potential customer. However, you don't receive a reply. Then, you find out your contact is working somewhere else. What is their new email address? And who has replaced them at the original company?„Pipebooster “It monitors all contacts, immediately alerts you to similar situations, and instantly finds new contact details. All we need is a name and company name," says CEO Vlastimil Vodička.

Nowadays, it's a problem for everyone who is in contact with clients or users. Those who were buying a few months ago have gone silent. Users who were active have vanished overnight. There are no new orders. And only after several months do you find out it's because your key contact has long been working elsewhere. The platform is now intended to help with this and more. Pipebooster from the workshop of the company Leadspicker.

„Based on a person's name and company name, Pipebooster identifies anyone who is traceable on the internet. If someone in your database changes their workplace or job position, the system will notify you. Pipebooster also finds new contact details and, if you use any of its integrations, it updates and records everything directly in your CRM (customer database). It will even draft an email for you, allowing you to congratulate that person on a promotion or wish them good luck in their new job, thereby continuing your previous communication,“ lists Vlastimil Vodička, outlining the platform's key features.

The technology's applicability is broad. It primarily focuses on the area of sales and marketing, but it also registers interest from companies in the HR/Recruitment segment, or even from investment funds that want to be informed, for example, when a former employee of a tech unicorn changes their job position to „founder“ or „CEO“ at a newly established company. However, Pipebooster can also be used simply to enrich a database with missing data or to find contacts for people you want to meet, for instance, at a startup conference.

Successful projects often start with someone embarking on something that doesn't exist in the market or doesn't function according to their expectations. Is Pipebooster this case?

„Every week, when I looked at our reports, I wondered how come companies who always bought from us at this time of year suddenly wanted nothing. How come I wasn't seeing any invoices? Where were they? When we investigated what was happening, my sales colleagues and I found out that the contact persons who had gone quiet had already listed on LinkedIn that they had been working elsewhere for even half a year. …“

Which happens quite often, doesn't it?

„Yes, nowadays people change jobs more often than ever before. And if you can't pick up on this in time, you risk losing a customer. At the same time, a person who already knows you and has moved to a new company is a huge opportunity to gain a new client. So we thought we would combine these two things – we will pick up on changes in time to prevent customer loss, and at the same time we will take advantage of the fact that it is much easier to reconnect with people who already know you at their new work email address. All salespeople know that even B2B sales are still about relationships and people.“

However, doesn't Pipebooster take their valuable contacts from successful sales managers?

„It would be great if someone could use our tool and immediately become a top-tier salesperson. But I think there are more factors involved. Nevertheless, you're hitting on the right thing – the best salespeople already operate this way. They maintain their network of contacts, and as soon as they need to get into a company, the first thing they check is whether they know anyone there. Essentially, we've just automated a well-known and proven process that until now was manual and time-consuming work, involving spending a huge amount of time searching on LinkedIn.“

So you'll do it for them now?

„We've automated this process, added email retrieval, and ensured it's scalable and integrable with the tools you already use. It's important that a company can start using Pipebooster without having to learn a new tool or change its existing processes.

Pipebooster, however, doesn't only focus on people who have left companies, but also on those who have stayed or newly joined the company. We call this „account tracking.“ It works like this: when you as a salesperson want to get into a company, there are various routes. The best is to contact someone who already works in that company and knows you. The second-best option is to approach someone who doesn't know you that well, but has worked in a company that is or was your client, and the third option – and in our opinion, the most common one – is that you don't know anyone in the company, but you find someone who is new to the given position.“

What's the advantage in that?

„Starting a new job presents a unique opportunity to gain a new client. Such a person is often full of enthusiasm, and if it's a new manager, for example, they are also open to trying new things, changing outdated processes, and often have their own budget allocated for it.“

What about when I want to reach the person who manages the salespeople at a company? But there are a lot of people working there, and it's not easy to find their contact details through open sources. What do I do?

„You just need to define the types of companies and job positions that interest you, and new leads will be sent to your CRM with information on whether they are a former client, someone who has recently been promoted, or someone who is completely new. This will allow you to find out, for example, if you have any mutual contacts or past connections within the target company.“

Does your work end here?

„No. If our user connects Pipebooster to their CRM system and email, they can further automate their work. For example, when identifying a contact who has changed jobs, Pipebooster can immediately assign a task for the responsible salesperson to get in touch with them. Furthermore, we are able to immediately create a personalised message in the email using a template, which the salesperson can simply check before sending.“

And what if LinkedIn doesn't work? Do you have a problem?

„I understand where you're coming from… From the user's perspective, Pipebooster works such that you don't even need a LinkedIn account. Regarding the source of information about current employment, our technology is largely based on searching through search engines like Google, Bing, etc. Essentially, we've automated the same process that people do today – entering a first name, last name, and company name into Google and seeing what comes up. Today, the most up-to-date information about who works where can indeed be found on LinkedIn, so if LinkedIn and Google were to disappear, that would be a problem, but only until someone new replaced them.

How complex is it for a company or an average person to start using Pipebooster?

„Very simple. It's a SaaS (Software as a Service) product, so anyone can try it out for free immediately without any implementation. The cheapest subscription starts at just $39 (approx. 900 CZK), with the final price depending on how many contacts and how often you want to track. We've gifted new users their first 250 credits for free.“

According to JanuaryThe cryptocurrency space is becoming a popular source of investment opportunities for young women, according to a survey by financial company eToro. So fartraditionalclasses of assets are unable to attract women in the long termis a public, it seems, cryptocurrencies, have captured attention, aroused interestand found the recipe for success.

Cryptocurrencies are currently rapidly becoming one of the most popular investments for young women. Digital currency, created and managed by blockchain technology, is gaining popularity as an investment option due to its potential for high returns and its decentralised nature. Furthermore, it provides a much-needed alternative to traditional investment tools and offers access to investment opportunities that previously seemed distant and complicated.

The popularity of crypto is growing fastest among women.

Despite cryptocurrencies being labelled as the worst-performing asset class over the past year, the number of investors holding cryptocurrencies rose from 36 % to 39 % quarter-on-quarter, according to data from eToro. Among young women aged 18–34, the figure even rose from 29 % in the third quarter of 2022 to 34 % in the last quarter. Cryptocurrencies have thus become the second most widespread asset class among women, just behind cash. When comparing the same period for men, cryptocurrency ownership in this group rose by only 1 %.

The eToro survey was based on the results of a statistical survey of 10,000 retail investors in 13 countries across 3 continents.

Why is crypto so interesting?é for women

Cryptocurrency is particularly appealing to young women who often feel excluded from traditional investment activities. In addition to a lack of access to financial services, young women have a greater aversion to risk and appreciate the low-cost, low-risk entry point that cryptocurrencies offer. As cryptocurrency continues to gain traction among investors, more and more young women are leveraging its potential to create their more secure and profitable financial future.

Cryptocurrencies are also derived from new technology, which means they are particularly appealing to the entrepreneurial demographic. All that’s needed is internet access, money to invest (even from small amounts), and anyone can become part of the crypto community. All these factors combined create a particularly attractive investment option for young, budding investors who are entering the financial markets for the first time.

Tips for investing in crypto

Like any other investment, crypto also carries an element of risk. However, if you invest correctly, crypto can be a lucrative addition to your financial portfolio. When investing in cryptocurrencies, there are a few things to keep in mind: Do your research and try to understand the different cryptocurrencies available. Consider their potential use cases, get to know their community, which companies use these cryptocurrencies, and finally, what technology, i.e. technical background, the cryptocurrency has.

Choose a cryptocurrency that you believe is worth your long-term investment and a platform that facilitates the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies. Research, follow the market, and keep up with cryptocurrency news.

How and why you should also invest in crypto

In addition to the potential for high returns, particularly compared to traditional investments such as stocks and bonds, cryptocurrencies offer diversification benefits as crypto is not closely correlated with traditional markets, and decentralisation benefits as crypto is not controlled by any government or institution, there are far more reasons to pay attention to crypto.

If you want to learn why crypto should be a given in every investor's portfolio, what opportunities exist in this market, and how to best utilise them, come to our lecture on Stage 2 at 2:00 PM. The lecture will also include specific examples from our extensive experience.

Peter Dendis, CMO, Opportunity Fund

Oportunity Fund is an alternative investment fund that functions as a global fund of funds with monthly liquidity. We invest in a diversified portfolio of digital asset managers.

The year 2023 will be very specific. Recession will enter the economy again. Some people are even afraid that it will be a global recession. It's been a long time since that. At the same time, high inflation will remain.

Interest rates from the world's key central banks will continue to rise, although they will be nearing their peak. This will be a complex moment for central banks. On the one hand, they should be raising their interest rates to stifle inflation, but on the other hand, they will not want to raise rates, as this would only prolong the recession. And so they will be flailing about, and investments will be more uncertain than usual.

Furthermore, global developments will be added to this. Many people think that the war in Ukraine will end soon because the West will wear Russia down with sanctions and arms supplies to Ukraine. However, this is a rather uncertain scenario. Russia has a large economy and is used to hardship. Ukraine could end up like Afghanistan. This means that Russia will eventually withdraw, but it will take a long time. In my opinion, this is a more likely scenario than the scenario that the war will end in 2023.

Shares should not react to such a situation with growth, although we saw it in the first half of January. In my opinion, shares should only start to grow when there is light at the end of the tunnel. This would slightly precede the economic cycle, but their growth would be based on rational expectations. That is not the case today. Today, shares are only growing based on the US central bank's announcement that it will slow interest rate hikes. In my opinion, this is not enough.

2023 should be an interesting year for gold. The fact that the geopolitical situation in the world is very uncertain and unclear should favour it. Central banks are therefore buying the most gold since 1967. Naturally, small investors are also buying gold in large quantities. We saw the fact that gold is a safe haven when the Russians attacked Ukraine. Stocks and cryptocurrencies went down. On the other hand, gold soared above $2000 per ounce, which was the second-highest rate in history. I wouldn't be surprised if gold jumped above $2000 per ounce again this year.

The year 2023 is also favourable for corporate bonds. These reflect the recent rise in interest rates. Their yields have risen above the usual levels. A corporate bond with a yield above 11 % is no longer the exception. Given that the Czech National Bank does not appear set to raise its interest rates this year – and indeed there is scope for a rate cut in 2024 – bonds offer an opportunity to lock in an unusually high yield for the coming years as well. Many people are therefore flocking to them at present. Naturally, the higher the yield, the higher the risk. However, this can be mitigated if the bond is secured. A secured bond with a yield above 11 % sounds very attractive to me. Personally, I will therefore be keeping a close eye on the price movements of gold and bonds this year.

Welcome again to my lecture on this topic on stage 2 entitled „How to invest during a recession. Bonds and gold are the solution.“

Vladimír Pikora, chief economist at investment group CFG and Dluhomat, vladimir.pikora@comfortfinancegroup.com

A Czech biotechnology startup is focusing on the unfairly overlooked nettle and plans to produce food, textiles, cosmetics, and biofuels from it. All with the aim of healing people and the planet, thus circularly and sustainably.

Why nettles, when they grow on every corner? Precisely because of that. Nature cleverly offers us what we need most for our health. This herb can tackle civilisation diseases caused by modern lifestyles.

Diabetics lowers and stabilises blood sugar levels in the blood. Thanks anti-inflammatory effects It is a great help with autoimmune diseases such as asthma, allergies, or rheumatoid arthritis. Workaholics can reduce their stress levels with its regular consumption. Nettle naturally detoxifies the body, which is exposed daily to polluted air, processed food, and harsh cosmetics.

The potential of nettles extends to other sectors. From the strong fibres in the stem, a durable, high-quality fabric and ropes can be woven. Nitrogenous substances are suitable for biogas production, which is an alternative to expensive and environmentally unfriendly natural gas. Further uses for nettles are constantly being researched Nettle Smart startup under the leadership of Radomír Eliáš, a business strategist and cryptocurrency expert.

“The biggest challenge was finding someone who would give me their full trust and the necessary resources. I have to say, the acceleration programme at Impact Hub was something amazing, comments the CEO on the period when he decided to go all in. Although the leap from high-tech to bio-tech entrepreneurship is a big one, his experience and contacts make it significantly easier.

He has now found partners for research, aquaponic growing, drying, and blanching, and in collaboration with them, they are succeeding in utilising the entire plant from roots to the very last leaf. The first finished product is a genuinely wholesome Nettle syrup and other products from Jeseníky won't be long in coming.

If you no longer want to overlook nettle and are enjoying its renaissance, follow the steps of Nettle Smart at LinkedIn.