Simona Kijonková — From zero to a major business

We had the honour of welcoming Simona Kijonková, founder of Zásilkovna and one of the most prominent figures in Czech business, to ITG.

Although her recent, widely reported exit might have seemed the obvious focus, our students showed they wanted to go much deeper. They surprised her with perceptive questions that went straight to the heart of modern entrepreneurship.

The topics that resonated most:

Building a company from scratch

The world of investment

Artificial intelligence

Family life

Many thanks to Simona Kijonková for her remarkable openness and willingness to share her hard-earned practical experience. Our final-year student Veronika Bechynská also deserves enormous credit for moderating the entire discussion with professionalism and confidence. Special thanks go to Mrs Olga Lehárová, the mother of one of our final-year students, whose initiative made this excellent talk possible. We showed that ‘we teach differently’ really does apply at ITG.

From Simona's LinkedIn:

Today I was asked a lot of searching questions.

Not by the media, but by final-year secondary school students.

💡 If you could give your younger self some advice for life, what would it be?

👉🏻 Study abroad and learn business from the best. Speak English like a native. Build your own business; only give away management shares. Do not wait for anything: start your business earlier…

💡 What is your view on investing, particularly in shares?

👉🏻 We invest in shares indirectly through ETFs. In effect, we delegate part of our smaller portfolio to professionals. We also buy shares directly and trade through Interactive Brokers. That means taking full responsibility and risk for your decisions.

Diversification and a long-term approach are important! If you have X, never put all of X into one asset class…

💡 What advice would you give young people who want to start a business?

👉🏻 Work in a field you understand and love

👉🏻 Look for a gap in a rigid market

👉🏻 Design a product customers want and need, and that you use yourself

👉🏻 Surround yourself with people whose strengths and experience complement yours

👉🏻 Scale, adapt and do not fear change

Three of the dozens of questions students at ITG | 1. IT Gymnázium asked me today. They were not afraid to ask difficult and personal questions. We discussed new technologies, AI and their effect on business and our lives. The most passionate discussion was about investing and entrepreneurship.

One of the students moderated the session, and I take my hat off to her 🎬 Veronika Bechynska 🙌

I rarely give talks these days, mainly because of my busy schedule. But when it comes to meeting students, I am happy to make an exception if my calendar allows. For students thinking about business or investing, it is often their first opportunity to speak openly with someone with years of practical experience. I share the harsh realities of difficult beginnings very openly, as well as how exhilarating building your own company can be. If I plant a seed in just one student and they try business or investing, I have achieved my goal ✨

What surprised me most? The students were less interested in my exit than in investing: my approach, the sectors that interest us at JSK Investments, how to find their own direction in business or investing, and what makes a successful founder in an investor's eyes…

Thank you for a lovely morning. I wish all the students good luck when they draw their questions in the school-leaving exams, which are just around the corner 🍀

A big thank you also to headteacher Markéta Fibigerová for organising the event and for the warm welcome in the school's beautiful premises.