JT

Jaroslav Trojan

Managing Partner at N1

Prague

Overview

Work Experience

N

N1

  • Managing Partner

    2018 - Current

    N1 Ventures is a Prague and Luxembourg-based venture capital firm focused on investing in pre-seed and seed-stage technology startups mainly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Our team members have established strong international relationships based on friendship, partnership and previous teamwork on multiple startup investments and exits in Central and Eastern Europe with follow-on and/or co-investments from Index Ventures, Atlas Venture, KIMA Ventures, Seedcamp, Arts Alliance Ventures, Episode 1, Evolution Equity, Day One Capital, Africa Angels Network, Esther Dyson, Playfair Capital, Taukobong Pule, Reflex Capital, J&T Ventures, Y Soft Ventures, and BlueYard Capital. In 2019, we closed N1 Fund I and we are looking for startups with smart-ass teams with kick-ass products in big-ass markets. My current portfolio of companies I support: - Daytrip, https://mydaytrip.com, “Uber” for sightseeing transfers - Uget, https://www.uget.cz, marketplace platform for wholesale food - Mileus, https://mileus.com, real-time automated interoperability for transportation - Dot Glasses, https://www.dotglasses.org, durable, low-cost vision correction - Cerebrica, https://cerebrica.com, manufacturing optimization with the help of AI - Pealock, https://pealock.com, smart electronic lock for sports equipment - Digitoo, https://www.digitoo.cz, accounting automation platform - GoodAccess, https://www.goodaccess.com/, secure remote access for companies - Acreom, https://acreom.com/, the way developers get things done - Taikun Cloud, https://taikun.cloud/, the best cloud and container orchestration - DuoCards, https://duocards.com/en/, an App for learning languages using inteligent flashcards

CP

Czech Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA)

  • Member of the Board of Directors

    2021

    The Czech Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (CVCA) is an association representing the interests of companies active in the area of private equity and venture capital in the Czech Republic. CVCA´s main objective is to promote and support private equity and venture capital and its development through, among other, elimination of administrative and legislative obstacles, and to increase awareness about the possibilities and importance of private equity and venture capital in the Czech Republic. Almost all private equity and venture capital funds active in the Czech Republic are among our members (full members). In addition, CVCA has – as associated members – the companies providing advisory services in the area of private equity and venture capital as well as banks and insurance companies. CVCA is a member of Invest Europe, European association of private equity and venture capital bringing together funds and national associations active on the European market. CVCA also maintains close contacts with associations from the CEE region in particular.

D

Daytrip

  • Investor

    2017

    Daytrip connects travelers with local drivers who will take them from one city to the next. Travelers can enjoy a private transfer with native local drivers while exploring “hidden” stops and attractions along the way (otherwise unreachable by public transport).  Created a simple single-deal venture fund / investment syndicate (Select Ventures SE)  Provided a seed investment together with 6 individual investors  Continuously providing guidance and advice as needed  Promoting and making introductions on behalf of the Company  Monitoring the performance of the Company

GI

Gjirafa, Inc.

  • Member of the Advisory Board

    2014

    Gjirafa is the first search engine and news aggregator for Albanian, a lexically unique language spoken by over 12 million people worldwide.  Introduced the pre-product Company to StartupYard (SY) in 2014  Mentored the CEO and Co-founder during the SY’s program in 2014  Led the €150k seed investment round with Credo Ventures  Helped to close €1.6M series A round with Rockaway Capital  Gjirafa has reached a rapid growth of revenue and employees  Gjirafa has become the largest Internet portal in Albania and Kosovo  Continuously providing guidance and advice as needed  Assisting the Company on strategic projects as requested  Promoting and making introductions on behalf of the Company  Monitoring the performance of the Company

C

CzechInvest

  • Mentor

    2017

    CzechInvest has been operating a CzechStarter project which supports Czech startups via mentoring from experienced mentors and entrepreneurs.

S

StartupYard

  • Mentor

    2011

    StartupYard is a seed accelerator for technology startups. Its goal is to help companies build viable products, launch fast and successfully raise capital.

SI

SpaceKnow Inc.

  • Investor

    2016 - 2020

    SpaceKnow is on a mission to index the physical world. SpaceKnow empowers decision-makers with ultra large-scale planetary analysis.  Created a simple single-deal venture fund / investment syndicate (Equus Ventures SE)  Provided a seed investment together with 9 individual investors  Helped to bring a €3.6M Series A investor (BlueYard Capital) on board  Promoting and making introductions on behalf of the Company  Monitoring the performance of the Company

O

Oradian

  • Member of the Advisory Board (Observer)

    2015 - 2015

    Oradian’s user-centric core-banking product, Instafin, enables microfinance institutions (MFIs), co-operatives and credit unions to serve even the most rural clients affordably and effectively.  Led the €0.9M seed investment round with Credo Ventures  Orchestrated a seed investment syndicate  Participated in monthly Advisory Board meetings  Provided guidance and advice  Helped the Company with hiring and recruiting  Made introductions to potential partners and customers  Monitored the performance of the Company

C

Codasip

  • Member of the Board of Directors (Observer)

    2014 - 2015

    Codasip is a provider of a leading-edge IP and EDA tools to simplify adoption of ASIPs (Application Specific Instruction Set Processors). ASIPs are critical to many emerging technology areas such as IoT and healthcare, and Codasip’s unique approach makes them accessible to any design team.  Reviewed meeting agendas and supporting materials  Attended monthly BoD meetings  Wrote meeting minutes and ensured that resolutions are carried out  Helped to create a 3-year financial plan  Participated in the ongoing process of budget development  Contributed to an annual performance evaluation of the Company  Assisted the Company in hiring and recruiting  Acted as an ambassador for the Company  Reviewed compensation policies, mission and strategic priorities  Evaluated progress toward meeting long / short-term goals  Monitored monthly financial statements and the annual tax return  Actively assisted CEO to implement a fundraising plan  Served as a trusted advisor to the CEO

CV

Credo Ventures

  • VC Investor

    2010 - 2015

    Credo Ventures is a venture capital company focused on early-stage investments in Central Europe.  Joined as a founding employee  Participated in a fundraising of the 1st (€18M) and 2nd (€54M) VC funds  Co-managed 12 portfolio companies with multiple investment rounds  Worked on 3 portfolio exits (Cognitive Security, Klick2Contact, Beepl)  Prepared 20 investment recommendations  Acted as an informal observing member of the Investment Committee  Took part in Advisory Board (AB) meetings with 5 AB members  Handled reporting and management of multiple Limited Partners  Regularly reported investment results to Invest Europe and elsewhere  Helped to conduct annual VC fund’s audit  Sourced and reviewed hundreds of investment opportunities in CEE  Implemented and maintained a deal flow management software  Directly hired and supervised 11 interns out of 90 candidates  Wrote and edited press releases featured on TechCrunch and elsewhere  Organized 28 Open House events to help to build the startup ecosystem  Attended tens of startup events in the Czech R., Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, and UK as a speaker, mentor, judge, and/or panelist  Administered online marketing channels, including web, FB, TW, LI, SlideShare, CrunchBase, AngelList, F6S, and Gust

Education

Investments

GoodAccess

Seed

Total Funding: $2M

DOT Glasses

Pre Seed

Total Funding: $1M

Daytrip

Seed

Total Funding: $730K

Relevant Websites