KAREL ZHENG Role: Manager, Founder Area: Technology Startups, Finance Employer: Accomango, BCG, KAYA (Enern), Twisto What can I help my mentee with? realizing a startup with only an idea (funding, work team, clientele)

Karl's career kicked off before he started university, when he began flying to China as a translator for large Czech companies. Through his translation work, he gained insight into the field of business and entrepreneurship. While studying at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University, he worked as an intern at BCG and subsequently joined the venture capital fund Enern (now KAYA) as an analyst. The fund invests in start-ups–this is how companies such as rohlik.cz, Slevomat or Footshop grew. When Karel decided to try the other side and started working in a young company called Twisto, where he helped with fundraising and smart growth, he soon realized that he wanted to build a company himself. He and his friend Patrik Havlíček then put together several ideas, which after four failed attempts resulted in Accomango.

At Accomango, they are trying to improve the process and quality of employee accommodation for industrial companies and recruitment agencies. They have developed a platform that simply connects companies looking for accommodation for their workers on the one hand and lodging houses on the other. "It may not sound like the sexiest business, but we're working with some awfully smart people on this, and it's a big market that no one is paying attention to." The company has received backing from several large investors. Karel was primarily responsible for building the technology team, taking care of fundraising, setting strategy and building the product.

His activities have led to his inclusion in the Forbes '30 under 30’ in 2021. You can hear more about the things he enjoys and is passionate about in the podcast below. Karl himself has been fundamentally influenced by several mentors he has had in his life. "You know you can talk to someone, and it's not part of some hidden agenda when someone gives you advice. That's the philosophy - if the people around you are successful, you can be successful too, because of them and with them."