Upterdam 2026 was great. And a little different from the previous ones. It was my third time there, and once again I was filming a vlog, interviewing partners and networking. But this time I was there as an ambassador, and for the first time, completely sober.
The road trip with Radovan
I drove to Bratislava in a car borrowed from Radovan Grežo, founder of the creative agency Somebody&Somebody. This time he came along, because he was running a workshop at Upterdam. We used the two hours on the highway for an interview about Apple, the Dedoles hamsters and his new book. You can read the whole thing here: Radovan Grežo: I almost turned down Apple because I thought it was HP.
Day 20 of 70
If you’ve read my reports from previous years, you know Upterdam has never been just about the conference for me. In 2024, the VIP dinner turned into getting-to-know-each-other until 1 a.m. Last year, the afterparty ended at Braňo’s car, after every other place had closed.
This year, I’m in the middle of my personal challenge, 70 dní čistá hlava byAndré (70 Days of a Clear Head). Since August 28, I’ve been training every day, watching what I eat and not drinking a drop. The VIP dinner fell on day 20, the conference on day 21. My first big event of the challenge, and a real test.
The dinner: welcome everyone, then don’t kill the vibe
On Wednesday evening, around 100 partners, speakers and VIP guests got together. Last year I hosted the whole dinner, and the plan was the same this time. In the end, Jakub and I agreed we didn’t want to kill the vibe.
So I simply welcomed everyone and reminded them why they were there: “Let’s eat, let’s have fun, let’s meet each other.” Anyone who needed a hand with networking had us ambassadors around: Imrich Kovaľ, Katarína Ďurčová, Kristína Kráľová, Martina, Ondra and me. The room had real energy, and people kept meeting each other until the very end.
Sometimes the best hosting is the kind that lasts two minutes.
Day 21: over a thousand people at Refinery Gallery
On Thursday, September 17, Upterdam took place at Refinery Gallery for the second year in a row. Tickets were sold out, and as Jakub told me, this year’s novelty, a paid livestream, was selling well too. Over a thousand people from e-commerce in one place.
I had two jobs: shoot content with partners and interesting guests, and network. The perfect combo. You talk to people, you’ve got a cameraman from Fremlos Media with you, and you’re surrounded by a KOMUNITA of people who love to chat, share know-how and grow their businesses.
I caught Jakub at half past four in the afternoon, and he was calm. He described the day as smooth, with no major fires to put out. So why does he actually run Upterdam?
“For me, Upterdam is a little less of a commercial project and more of a value-driven one. It’s about giving back to the community and cultivating it here.”
Between the booths, I interviewed Upterdam partners from 24pay, Blueweb, Alma Career, ROIVIS, FedEx, Tatra banka and Ui42. I asked each of them how networking helps them, and they all agreed on one thing: this is where the best of Czech and Slovak e-commerce comes together. Jakub even gave me last year’s Meet&Deal as an example. He met people there and put together a talk he hadn’t planned at all. The shortest answer of the day came from Ján Ličko of FedEx: “Networking makes business.” And the most honest one from Andrej Kajan of Ui42, who keeps coming back for the great atmosphere and the great catering.
The Dedoles hamsters were born thanks to networking
Jaro Chrapko, co-founder of Dedoles, has been going to events for twelve years. When I asked him about the best thing networking has ever given him, he didn’t have to think long. At his very first conference, he approached a speaker, Peťo Šebo. Peťo sent him to Ríša, and Ríša sent him to Radovan Grežo. The result: the famous dancing hamsters in colorful socks.
And Radovan? He’d been sitting next to me in the car the day before. I asked him what it’s like to be “the hamster guy” for years. You’ll find his answer in the article about Radovan.
How many likes will it take for GymBeam to take me on their teambuilding?
I asked Dalibor Cicman, CEO of GymBeam, how many likes it would take for them to invite me on their company teambuilding. His answer: 7 billion 326 million. When I asked him to be a bit more realistic, he knocked it down to one billion.
So I went to Martin Anderko, Performance Marketing Director at GymBeam. He said 10,000. And the final word came from CMO Beatrix Vojteková: 15,000 likes.
The challenge is live on my Instagram. Will you help me out?
More guests
Michal Pastier was surprised by the sheer size of Upterdam this year. To him, networking is a superpower, a safety net and a key to doors that would otherwise stay closed. His latest proof? A contact to the director of Breitling, through just one person. His advice: don’t judge people. The one you think is a weirdo might turn out to be a genius.
Katarína Ďurčová, Axim lives and breathes networking and loves connecting people. Now they want to connect communities across Slovakia, and then in Czechia too.
Matt Rybanský When I asked him about the best thing he’d seen at Upterdam, he pointed at the Meet&Deal banner. The juiciest networking in town. Thanks for the very objective interview.
Ivo Mrena CMO of Shoptet, on his way out. The best thing networking ever gave him? His wife. He hasn’t revealed which brand he’ll be with next year. Guesses go in the comments, apparently.
Upterdam Awards
In the evening came the Upterdam Awards. The Voice of the E-commerce Community award went to Dalibor Cicman of GymBeam, and the E-commerce Discovery of the Year to Róbert Palka of GAMS products. Dajana Varga Rodriguez of Dajana Rodriguez and Ondrej Prokša of Muziker were also among the winners. Congratulations!
See you next year
Upterdam 2026 was a great event. Lots of people, lots of business conversations, plenty of new contacts and more proof of why networking matters. And day 21 of 70 is done. I’ve now tested firsthand that it works without a drink in your hand, too.
In the evening, I asked Jakub what went best this year:
“I see it positively as a whole. We sold out, quality people came, and the first reactions are positive. That’s what gives me the biggest reason why we do Upterdam.”
The issues people have already reported, he’ll first go through with his team, and for now they’re keeping them to themselves. To close the vlog, I asked him for one sentence to the camera: “Be there and network.”
Jakub, thanks for having me, and congratulations to the whole team. See you in 2027.
And where can we meet sooner? On November 5 at Meet&Deal vol13 Lucky 13 Edition in Prague. That’s also the day my 70-day challenge ends.
Curious what Upterdam looked like before? Check out Meet&Deal continues to expand to Slovakia. What was Upterdam 2025 like? and I visited the largest e-commerce conference in Slovakia. What was Upterdam like?, or watch the vlogs from Upterdam 2024 and Upterdam 2025.
