Michal Pastier is one of the most prominent figures in Slovak marketing and innovation. He co-founded several successful companies, is behind hundreds of brands across continents, invests in startups, and wrote the bestseller The Yellow Book, which has become a veritable branding bible. In an interview for Reels Talk byAndré, he talks about why chaos can be the engine of growth, how he went from being an advertising creative to a rally driver in Africa, and why he sees entrepreneurship as personal freedom, not a status symbol.
“Every company grows thanks to chaos,” says Michal right at the start. In the beginning, you do everything yourself, you have no processes or systems. But according to Michal, there comes a moment when you can no longer overcome yourself alone and you have to learn to collaborate with others.
He further talks about how in every business, phases of creative chaos and the need for structure alternate. The ability to recognize when to stop managing everything yourself and start trusting others is the key to growth, in his view. Networking, according to him, is not just about business cards and small talk, but about the ability to expand your perspective, learn from others, and seek inspiration outside your own bubble.
“The success of a product does not depend solely on design or advertising. Context and understanding why something was created, for whom it was created, and what problem it solves are decisive,” he explains.
Instead of abstract strategies, he tries to teach people to look at business from different angles. As a result, his projects often transcend the boundaries of classic advertising and turn into stories that make sense.
“In post-socialist countries, entrepreneurship is still considered a shame,” he says. “But for me, it is a form of personal freedom. The moment when you can earn your own living, when you take responsibility for yourself and no longer have to rely on the system.”
When he embarked on the Sahara Challenge, a 4,200-kilometer long rally race of historic cars, it was much more than just an adrenaline rush. “We were the first Slovak team to finish it in the 20-year history,” he says proudly. “Without GPS, just with a paper navigation and my wife Mira by my side.”
The journey through the desert was a test of endurance and patience for him. “It was brutal. Something broke down every day, but it is precisely that discomfort that is the path to further growth,” he adds. From this experience, the Hark Brutal project was born – a community of people who consciously expose themselves to discomfort in order to grow.
His Yellow Book has become a phenomenon among entrepreneurs and marketers. It is not a theoretical manual, but a practical guide on how to think about the brand and, above all, about oneself. “I didn’t write it to be a bestseller. I wanted it to be functional,” says Michal.
Over 15,000 copies have been sold, and people may still be writing to him every day that the book inspired them to start. Some are multi-millionaires, others have just left the corporate life. But they all seek the same thing – to understand why they do what they do.
