With VIVnetworks.com, I confirmed that fair business can also be profitable

I always wanted to create something. Something that people could touch, something that would really help them and improve their lives. But I’m usually interested in things that don’t exist yet.

In 2009, after returning from England, I was back at square one. I didn’t want to move to England with my family, so the investors at InSkin Media found a local sales director. I remained only as a co-founder and shareholder. I was looking for something that was missing in the CEE region—but that already worked elsewhere.

At InSkin Media, we often worked with big brands through affiliate marketing – a model that rewards real performance, not empty promises. At that time, there was no strong affiliate network in CEE. So I sat down, made a list of the biggest players in the world, and wrote to all of them that I wanted to bring their model to our region. Some didn’t respond. Others took action. In the end, we reached an agreement with CJ.com, the largest affiliate network in the world.

Together with Robert Studený, we founded VIVnetworks.com. We started from scratch. For the first two years, we didn’t take a single dollar from the company, didn’t go on vacation, and invested everything we earned in people. It was tough. But we hit the jackpot. We built the largest affiliate network in Central and Eastern Europe, with clients in 27 countries and partners who bring millions of customers to e-shops every year. In 2024 alone, thanks to our partners, purchases worth more than €400 million were made.

I have always believed that the price of advertising should correspond to its real benefit. Affiliate marketing is the fairest model in this respect. The e-shop only pays for what it earns – for actual sales that take place when the customer pays, takes delivery of the goods, and does not return them. Nothing more, nothing less. Fair for both sides.

Robert and I divided the roles. He was in charge of execution and day-to-day management of the company – he has a natural feel for it and common sense. I thought about what we would be doing in three years, sold visions, and looked for new directions. And yet we never argued. I really appreciate that and thank him for it. Our unwritten rule was: “We always leave the room on good terms.”

It required respect, trust, ethics, and the awareness that we had a common goal. Everyone who knows us knows that we are completely different – and that’s why we worked so well together. Perhaps that’s why we are an example to many people that a business partnership can work when it is based on trust, not ego.

In 2022, we sold VIVnetworks.com to the world’s largest media agency, Publicis Groupe, listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. I am not allowed to disclose the details of the deal, but it was most likely the largest media deal in Czechia that year.

It was my second big experience – and confirmation that fair business can also be profitable.