Ján Kasper, PhD., MBA, PhD. — Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ZAKA.VC
Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ZAKA.VC
Ján Kasper, PhD., MBA, PhD. ranks #584 of 19,190 LinkedIn creators in Venture Capital & Private Equity. They have 20.4K followers and published 14 posts in the last 30 days at a 0.5% average engagement rate.
- 20.4K followers
- 14 posts / 30d
- 0.5% avg engagement
- 764 follower growth / 30d
The roast
Ján has two PhDs, an MBA, and over 50 companies, yet he spends his days begging for a 0.6% engagement rate on LinkedIn. It’s comforting to know that no matter how many degrees you collect, you can still graduate to being a digital panhandler.
About Ján
As the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at ZAKA VC, I manage a €17M venture capital Fund 1,vintage 2024We invest in early-stage startups with a global mindset, primarily in the healthcare, biotech, and industrial tech sectors. Our portfolio of Fund 1 currently includes 61 companies across the USA and Europe.My entrepreneurial journey began in 1988.I have built 70+ profitable companies and 20+ of them successfully sold.I have established myself as an experienced manager in various markets.From the year 2020 I have started to invest in startups. Since then I have been focusing on it full-time. First ,35 investments ,I did in family office, and then as an angel investor another 8. From the year 2024, I have been investing via Zaka Fund 1.My academic credentials include a technical diploma from the Slovak University of Technology, an MBA from Webster University in Vienna, and not one, but two PhDs — in Marketing from the University of Economics in Bratislava, and in Management from Comenius University.Aside from my professional endeavours, I was part of the original team that brought the Bratislava Jazz Days festival to life in 1974 — a cultural staple that continues to thrive. Though my marathon running days are over, my enthusiasm for sports remains undiminished, as I'm an ardent fan of both the NBA and the Champions League. I also take great pleasure in exploring the world of fine red wines.At the heart of my world are 4 remarkable women — my dear wife Alexandra and our three daughters: Valentina, Karolina, and Alexandra Jr., complemented by our son, Jan Jr. I speak 4 languages, studied at 4 universities, and ran 4 marathons. There are 4 countries I reside in – predominantly in Italy, with regular stays in Spain, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.And so it seems, the number 4 not only signifies the pillars of my life but also appears to be my lucky char
Highlights
- Big Audience — 20,395 followers · top 5%
- Consistent Creator — 9 posts in 30d · top 25%
- Top 25% in Venture Capital & Private Equity — Ranked #24 of 151 creators
- High Impact — 102 avg engagements per post · top 25%
Recent posts
What do a hole in one in golf and a unicorn in venture capital have in common? Why is this question relevant to me? Because I am co-owner of one of the best golf courses in Europe, Penati, and also co-founder of ZAKA. I get to live in both worlds. The obvious answer is that both are rare. An average golfer's odds of an ace are about 12,500 to 1. Fewer than one in a hundred venture-backed startups ever becomes a unicorn. Neither happens on schedule, and when it does, nobody in earshot forgets it. The less obvious answer is that you cannot force either. You cannot will the ball into the cup,
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Alchemists once promised to turn lead into gold. This one turns technical founders into companies that enterprises pay for, which in Silicon Valley is roughly the same trick. I was at Demo Day for Alchemist's 41st class. Over six months and more than 7,000 mentors, it works only with startups that sell to enterprises rather than consumers. The track record is real. Alumni include Onebrief, now valued at $2.15B, and MoEngage, which recently raised $100M. This class ran from fintech to food tech, with Microsoft for Startups and Rippling backing the day. What stays with me from these demo days
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The future does not always announce itself. Sometimes it just walks down the street and waves back. On a sidewalk in San Francisco, I met a humanoid robot. Its badge said Pam. It belongs to OpenMind, a company founded by Stanford professor Jan Liphardt that is building what they call the Android of robotics: OM1, an open operating system that lets very different robots perceive, reason and act, plus a protocol for them to coordinate with one another. Humanoids are not arriving in one dramatic leap. They are arriving step by step, quite literally. A few years ago this was a research video. La
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