Young people are a symbol of the future for me.

Yes, I see my philanthropy as an investment. So I take it seriously and want to see the impact of my donations. I evaluate this investment like any other. The big difference, however, is that the resulting benefit is not back in my account or a measure of my personal improvement, but rather the impact on society. In the case of the Kamdu project, which I support, these are the specific life stories of young people who have found their potential and, often for the first time in their lives, have been able to say, “I know what I want to be, so I know where I’m going.”

My younger son struggled greatly with the state education system in high school. For the teachers, the students were annoying insects who were always asking questions, and they were the target of ridicule and subjugation in their school kingdom. My son read a few books by Kiyosaki and suddenly realized that going to a business academy where there are more questions than answers didn’t make sense to him. There were many high school graduates in his class who had attended school but didn’t actually know anything.

In our companies, we are often the first employer, and anyone who knows this will surely agree with me that young people’s ideas about working life and our ideas as employers about their readiness for work are incredibly far apart. The frustration on both sides is great. But where are young people supposed to get this idea? The Czech education system is failing to innovate in practice and continues to teach old things and focus on rote learning rather than on linking individual sciences, contexts, reasons why, and the practical application of acquired knowledge.

For me, young people are a symbol of the future. They are the future voters and those who will influence the direction of our country. I want to live in a democracy, in a market economy, in freedom, and with economically educated fellow citizens.

I didn’t want to start a new non-profit organization, so I tried to find one that was already functioning and fulfilling the improvements I mentioned above. The only one that meets this goal is Kamdu. Introducing professions and fields, unlocking the potential of young people through morning workshops led by highly respected experts in various fields is, in my opinion, the most effective way to introduce young people to working life. This allows them to decide in time which field to focus on, and often even get in touch with their future first job.

After the initial period, when I financed the organization together with Pavel Řehák from Direct Family, I realized that if the organization was to grow and thus help as many young people as possible in the future, we had to introduce standard management practices similar to those in a company. So I spent a large part of 2024 professionalizing the organization, introducing an orgboard, hats, and manuals. Today, the organization functions like a young company.

I have always felt deep down that I have succeeded thanks to society and that I owe it something in return. That is why it makes a lot of sense to me to invest in society, in the future of young people. Through Kamda, I am repaying my imaginary debt to society.

Many of my principles, values, and goals come together here. My experience with the mainstream school system, my experience as a first employer, as an entrepreneur, and as a democrat.