So I built it. Not a single worker. Basically a whole team. Its name is Edwin, and it lives on one small computer at my place. A few years ago, unthinkable. Today, an everyday part of my work.

This is the story of how it all came together, what it can do, where I got burned, and what it cost me. Because it wasn’t and isn’t all sunshine. You’ll also find out why it’s useful for you too, and how you get to something like this even if you’re not a developer. Because I’m not either. Not even close.

It Started with Frustration

It began with boredom and frustration at the same time. I’d sunk hundreds of hours into vibecoding and figured out one thing: AI tools like Claude Code can write code, text, whatever. But every single time, you have to kick them into gear. Open, prompt, wait, close. Over and over. You’re basically a dispatcher who’s not allowed to leave the desk. Sooner or later, that drains you.

And I wanted the exact opposite. I wanted things to run while I’m asleep, at an event, or grabbing lunch. I wanted stuff to be done by morning that I only handed off the night before. Nice idea, right?

I kept thinking: what if AI wasn’t a tool I have to hold by the hand, but a team I just brief, and it handles the job itself?

That’s how Edwin was born.

Meet Edwin, Who Never Sleeps

Edwin isn’t a cloud or magic. It’s a plain Mac Mini M4 Pro with 24GB of RAM sitting at my place, running nonstop. I killed sleep mode for good, so it never dozes off. If the power cuts out, it boots itself back up. It’s a little black box, and I’ve moved a whole crew of agents into it.

Why my own machine and not just the cloud? Two reasons. First, privacy. Part of Edwin’s brain runs locally, right there on the box, so sensitive data never leaves the building. Second, I wanted something that’s mine and, more importantly, always on. I didn’t want a service someone could shut down or jack up the price on tomorrow.

And now the best part. The team.

A Copywriter? Sure. Plus a Designer, a Developer, and an Assistant

Every agent has one role and one name. I didn’t try to build a single super-smart robot that does everything. In most cases, that doesn’t work. Instead, I’ve got a crew of specialists where each one does its own thing. Just like a real company.

I talk to them through Slack, like I’m messaging coworkers. I drop a brief into a channel, and it happens. No praying to the gods.

FORGE is the developer. I tell it “change this on the website” or “add a button there,” and it codes it, tests it, and ships it. Without it, every little tweak would mean an external dev, a budget, and at least a week of waiting.

Dan 2.0 is the copywriter. It writes posts, emails, texts. And here’s the important part: it writes in my voice. It learned my tone from dozens of my old articles and posts, so when it writes something, it sounds like me, not like some robot off the internet. It effectively replaces my human copywriter, which makes life easier for both of us.

ORACLE is the conductor. It sits above everyone else, hands out the tasks, and makes sure nothing collides. When I drop a vague brief, ORACLE decides who on the team should take it and passes it on.

ALFRED is my personal assistant. It watches the calendar, the reminders, the inbox. In the morning it tells me what the day has in store.

SENTINEL is the watchdog. Every few minutes it checks whether everything’s fine, whether anything crashed, whether Edwin is overheating. If something’s off, it pings me right away. Security is number one for me, because the moment you start giving agents access to your data, you need to be sure nothing’s happening behind your back.

And then I’ve got a few more that showed up along the way. STUDIO does the graphics. HERMES sends out the mailings. Down the road I’m building NEXUS, a brain sitting on top of my CRM, and HERALD, a voice agent that’ll be able to make phone calls. But that’s still down the line.

Every day at 8 PM, the whole team sends me a diary. Who did what, how many tasks got done, whether anything’s acting up. So I’ve got the full picture, even if I don’t check in all day. No silent moves. I hear about everything.

It Sounds Great, But the Road Was Rough

I won’t pretend it just happened on its own. That wouldn’t be me.

Right at the start I accidentally deleted a file with an important config. One wrong click, and I spent half an evening piecing back together what was supposed to be there. Lesson: before you run anything for real, have backups. Always.

Then one agent started crashing in an infinite loop. It kept restarting, kept crashing, flooded my logs. It took me forever to figure out the culprit was some tiny thing buried deep in the libraries, the last place you’d look. Lesson: when something acts up, hunt down the cause, not a band-aid. Working around a problem always comes back to bite you.

And the third classic: authentication. The agents kept dropping off and I couldn’t figure out why, because everything looked set up right. Turned out it was an expired credential that needed a different way to verify. A few hours in the trash, but once you crack it, you get peace of mind.

Let’s be real, half the work wasn’t building. It was debugging. And that’s exactly what nobody tells you in those hyped-up AI videos.

What It Cost Me

Now for the numbers, because I like those specific.

Time? I’ll probably never track that one down, because I don’t log everything. It wasn’t one big push. It was a pile of small evenings where I added an agent, tuned something, fixed something. But I already know it’s going to land in the high hundreds of hours.

The Mac Mini as hardware, plus a Claude Code subscription. And a few dollars a month for other small tools. Part of the brain runs locally and for free. The one-time hardware cost stung, but it spreads out over time. And the monthly running costs come to a few thousand crowns.

Sounds like a lot, maybe. But now compare it. If I hired people for this, we’re talking a developer, a copywriter, an assistant, and a designer. That’s tens to hundreds of thousands a month. Edwin works 24/7, never gets sick, never complains, and I don’t have to pay it vacation.

How It Actually Helps Me

And now to why the whole thing was worth it.

The biggest win was time saved on the repetitive stuff. Instead of opening five tools, I write one message in Slack and it happens. A website tweak, a social post, a mailing, a check on whether something’s stuck. Things that used to eat hours, I now handle in a single sentence.

The second thing is that it runs even when I don’t. I wake up in the morning and there’s finished work I only handed off the night before. Edwin grinded all night.

But heads up, there’s a paradox waiting for you. You don’t actually save that saved time. You immediately pour it into new ideas and projects you never had the capacity for before. So instead of more free time, you end up with more things you can pull off. And honestly, that’s the most fun part.

Where This Is All Heading

This isn’t a finished thing. It’s a living organism. I’m always adding, always tuning. The next big step is wiring Edwin into my CRM so it helps me with contacts and relationships too, which is the whole foundation of networking. And then the voice agent that can pick up the phone.

But the main point isn’t how many agents I have. It’s the shift in my head. I stopped treating AI as a tool I have to hold by the hand, and started treating it as a team I brief, and it delivers.

And the best news? You don’t have to be a developer for this. I’m not. You just need the itch to try, the patience for tuning, and the willingness to get burned. The rest you pick up along the way.

Building something similar, or thinking about it? Let me know, I’m happy to talk shop. This topic really fires me up.

The post I Built My Own AI Team. It Works 24/7, Even While I Sleep appeared first on André Kohout si píše.

You can negotiate anything. Except the weather.

When J&T Banka and I shook on it that the eleventh Meet&Deal would take place on their rooftop terrace, I was thrilled. June is almost a sure thing for summer weather, but you can’t bet on it.

The event hadn’t even started and we were already down two tents thanks to the strong wind and rain. And on top of that, the whole building had to be evacuated that morning because of an alarm. Just great.

As the start time crept closer, I got more and more nervous. But the moment the first guests arrived, so did perfect weather. The tables turned. So much so that I spent half the event in a t-shirt and shorts. Sunshine, warmth, a view over Prague. What more could you ask for?

Sure, it cooled off again later in the evening, but we had a few gas heaters ready for exactly that, and they ended up doubling as networking points.

The most nourishing networking, with a program to match

150 people from the Czech and Slovak business world made it onto the J&T Banka roof with a shared goal. To talk business and life, make new connections, and deepen the ones they already had. The terrace gave people plenty of spots to talk openly, as well as enough privacy to fine-tune the terms of a deal.

Our connectors helped guests find and link up with each other, and our traditional 1to1 rock-paper-scissors tournament served much the same purpose. For a moment it looked like history would repeat itself and Kazimír Krysta would walk away with another title, but in the end it was Marcel Lukačka, Co-founder of go4.sk & go4.cz and a member of our Meet&Deal KOMUNITA, who claimed it.

Meet&Deal vol11 was actually the first event since we launched KOMUNITA. So guests had the chance to talk through the value of KOMUNITA with a number of members who came along.

A raffle with valuable prizes from our partners is an integral part of our program. In cooperation with the Kubova English Foundation, this time we raised money for Džony, who lives with cerebral palsy. Together with Kuba Čáslava, he put together a guitar performance that was as entertaining as it was moving. DJ Akvamen joined them on the sax, then took care of a fantastic atmosphere with his set. We raised a little over 30,000 CZK toward Džony’s spa stay. Every crown counts.

For the first time, we sold raffle tickets through the vibecoded admin of the Meet&Deal website, which also ran a fair draw for the main prizes. There’s definitely room to improve, but this is the path we want to keep walking, step by step.

Guests could enjoy a rum tasting paired with select cigars, as well as a Neapolitan pizza-making workshop with Pizza Therapy. They could also tuck into Alkonuky (non-alcoholic version included), great catering, and select drinks led by Jakub Krejčí of JK Spirits & Love, who’s been pulling this along with us from the very start. Thanks for that.

The feedback didn’t keep us waiting

I could sing the praises of my own event all the way to the moon. But what always interests me is how the guests see it. After all, we do this for them, and their feedback is what helps us keep pushing the events forward. So how did people like it this time?

“What did I like? Everything. A perfect event, great people, excellent service, amazing bites, the pizza workshop was a highlight. The rooftop has its own magic and the networking up there was brilliant! Hats off, really. A 100% well thought-out event,” wrote Martin Vašulka, Business Development Manager at Business Factory.

Peter Brejčák, an editor at CzechCrunch, summed it up very briefly: “For me, probably the best Meet&Deal there’s ever been.”

Eliška Škatulová from Modrý koník most appreciated “the openness of people to talk, to get into business and ideas, and a lot of valuable new contacts.”

Petr Zahradník, a physiotherapist from Spinezio, wrote to tell us he liked “the organization. Everything worked, the relaxed atmosphere, people’s willingness to meet and talk, the variety in the program, a live DJ, catering, and helping others.”

We’ve got things to improve too, of course. Some people missed a cloakroom for their things, some didn’t manage to eat properly before the catering vanished. Some didn’t sign up for the pizza workshop or the tournament in time, and some were simply cold by the evening.

Thanks to the partners who help us push it forward

I’d really like to take this chance to thank our event partner, J&T Banka. I chatted with some of the bank’s people right there at the event and they were genuinely excited. I appreciate that, because they don’t usually open their space up for events.

Thanks also to Shoptet Premium. Btw, at the bar guests could grab their special drink with a big ice cube stamped with their logo. That was cool. Thanks as well to RTB House, who’ll be with us right through to the end of the year, MOVit Energy s.r.o. for their energy, SkvělýTisk.cz for printing our materials and our new merch, Pizza Therapy for the pizza and the inspiring workshop, and Fremlos Media for the photos and videos we’re now flooding the socials with.

Thanks for the great shots to Erik Dao and Jirka Zamazal from Fremlos Media.

Thanks too to our raffle partners, whether that’s Furiosa, Cuppka, Spokojený Pes, Tomas Arsov, Kubova English, Trenýrkárna, Mixit, or Masáže Michal.

How it ended, and what’s next

At midnight we had to clear the terrace, but we carried straight on to the afterparty. That didn’t stay in one place either, we worked our way through a few more. No wonder, given we wrapped up close to five in the morning.

I have to say, Meet&Deal vol11 Rooftop Edition is up there with the very best Meet&Deal events. We raised the bar again. And I can’t wait for the next one. We’re heading back to Bratislava, this time onto a boat called Sundeck. August 27. So expect summer vibes and a great atmosphere.

Want to be there with us? Grab your ticket in the first wave at the lowest price on the Meet&Deal website.

The post Meet&Deal vol11 Rooftop Edition: When You Host an Event on a Roof, Order the Weather to Match appeared first on André Kohout si píše.

February: Pilsner Urquell, ScaleupBoard and the first Vibecoding session

I didn’t start hitting events until February, because Terka and I spent the beginning of the year in Thailand and China, which I wrote about on the blog.

So the first event of the year was a tasting of the new menu at Pilsner Urquell Experience on Wenceslas Square. A more intimate format, but the networking was all the richer for it. And that’s exactly the thing I keep repeating. You don’t need to be at the biggest event in the country to meet interesting people. Sometimes a smaller space, the right context, and people who didn’t show up just to collect business cards is all it takes.

In the second half of February, right after launching Meet&Deal KOMUNITA, I dropped by ScaleupBoard, which Kryštof Kulan hosted at his law firm. Another intimate event, another slightly different angle on what a community can look like.

And then came the thing I’m probably enjoying most right now. On 23.2., I organized Vibecoding session vol1 under Meet&Deal KOMUNITA, where Michal Presse let us in on how to do it, what to watch out for, and everything they’re building with vibecoding. From the Vibecoding session, I headed straight to an informal beer before COE, which followed the very next day. I shot a reel about it, you’ll find it on my Instagram.

And yes, vibe coding has gradually been bleeding into pretty much everything.

Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu

Příspěvek sdílený André Kohout | King of Networking (@jajsemandre)

March: GECOM never again, Obchodník roku yes please, and Hustler Con oh those kids

At the start of March came GECOM, where I’d already been five times. And I have to say, this year was one of the worst I can remember. Few people, everything just about partners, and the afterparty was a complete embarrassment. Two boxes of wine and a plastic bottle of Coca Cola at an event where they want 15 grand for a ticket? Yeah, no.

On 11.3., Retail Summit was in full swing, which I skipped, but what I couldn’t miss was the Obchodník roku award ceremony organized by Mastercard. Great event, new contacts, quality networking. Now that’s more like it.

On 13.3., Terka and I went off to celebrate her birthday in Marseille, where we managed to cram in a ton of stuff in just 24 hours, which I wrote about in the usual fashion in the Marseille: 24 hours with a backpack in the rawest city in France article.

Right after coming back, I changed at home and headed to Hustler Con, which is an event primarily for young people. I didn’t see much of the event itself, but I chatted with several people at the afterparty and I have to say, this approach really isn’t my thing. I was young and dumb too, but you need to look at business long-term. At 16 you shouldn’t be a mentor, and if you’re already selling content to a client for 30k a month, you should be focused on what it actually delivers for them. That’s the whole reason the client is paying.

On 18.3., we ran Vibecoding session vol2, and that was also the first official event of our Meet&Deal KOMUNITA. I’m mainly glad that Eva Šťastná, as someone who doesn’t understand code, managed to build her own website and basically got three years of membership value back in one session. That’s exactly why we’re doing all of this.

On 19.3., I stopped by Michal Presse’s vibecoding workshop to soak up more on how to really do it right.

On 25.3. there was Síťovka over at the DAMI guys, their own community event. And once again, vibecoding was the main topic. Coincidence? I think not. After years away, I sat through a few talks and even took something away from them.

On 26.3. came ShopRoku, a real favorite of mine. An event I always look forward to and always thoroughly enjoy. And who knows, maybe something more will come out of it. Stay tuned.

April: Meet&Deal KOMUNITA in full swing, 3 events in one day and dinner with Brand Class

On 1.4. we had our first KOMUNITA session with an expert. With Honza Bartoš we went deep on performance marketing in a tight circle. You can read about what we covered in the article When ads aren’t working, look for the problem somewhere else. Here’s what you’ll take away from the mastermind with Honza Bartoš on the Meet&Deal blog. The article came together largely thanks to the PLAUD AI voice recorder. You can grab it at Tygotec.cz with a 10% discount using the code ANDRE. You’re welcome.

But Meet&Deal KOMUNITA isn’t just about education, it’s mainly about networking and relationships. So on 9.4. we went to play some pool and knocked a few balls around.

On 10.4., Petr Mára, Lubo Šmíd and Jaroslav Beck hosted Fantastic Future LIVE #2, recording another episode of the podcast at STRV. I dragged my feet on it, so I only made the recording and missed the dinner with them. I’ll make up for it on 25.6., when they’re recording again, and this time I made sure to grab my dinner ticket.

On 15.4., Holky z Marketingu held their warm up party before the conference. A nice smaller event, and mainly the lead-in to my hell day, when I pulled off three events in a single day.

On 16.4. I started in the morning at the HzM conference. After lunch I moved over to Eshopista, where I had two meetings lined up. Then a quick stop at Brand Class by Jakub Kantor and back to the HzM conference. And to round out the day, dinner with Jakub, Matt Davis, and other people from Brand Class. I wrapped up the day (maybe unnecessarily late) with Sam Sádovský, but it was worth it. These are exactly the kind of days that require at least one day off afterwards. No people, no communication, and usually no work either.

On 20.4. we ran Vibecoding session vol3, because it’s not just the people enjoying it, I am too. Having time to work, vibe code, and most of all swap advice and share the highs and lows.

On 23.4. I went to a GARAGE22 event at Vnitroblok, with ramen, a bunch of interesting people and friends I hadn’t seen in ages. The after at Dva Kohouti delivered exactly what you’d expect in summer weather. We met loads more people from both business and e-commerce.

May: time for ideamaking and vibecoding, a big reveal, and piloting a plane

On 6.5. we tackled ideamaking with Daniel Klečka at Meet&Deal KOMUNITA. A great day full of ideas and frameworks you need to keep an idea afloat and actually carry it through to reality. You’ll find the article An idea is just a pretty thought in a drawer if it doesn’t solve a real problem on the Meet&Deal blog.

Right after that, I went to a fashion show where Terka was performing. Even at events like that you can network, you just need to “hunt” a bit harder for the business people.

And now the best bit. The most demanding week of the season. Five events, one after another.

It kicked off with the Grand Opening of WorkLounge Event House. Right after that I moved on to the BRAINSTORM unveiling, where Žufánek, Janecký and Černý revealed a new bottle of premium absinthe.

The next day I powered through seven interviews, because we’re hiring our future CMO and COO. And by the way, seven interviews back to back is in some ways tougher than running an event for five thousand people.

On Thursday I lined up two more events and honestly didn’t feel like going to either. It started with E-commerce Hangár, organized by Ecomail in partnership with Retino, Shoptet and GLS. And yes, I piloted a plane. More on my Instagram.

Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu

Příspěvek sdílený André Kohout | King of Networking (@jajsemandre)

Right after the official kickoff I moved over to the launch of the Cuppka app, where I’m a proud ambassador. Another great event packed with interesting people, and above all confirmation that Cuppka is going to be with us for a long time and its goals are more realistic than you’d think. There’s a reel about it on Instagram too. It was absolutely worth it.

I closed out the week at the board meeting of Hospodářská komora Praha Jihozápad. A more intimate event, getting to know the members and defining what’s actually going to happen next. But more on that another time.

The last event I’ll mention here is Vibecoding session vol4 for Meet&Deal KOMUNITA. As usual it was worth it and I’m already looking forward to the next one. And if you want to join in, you either need to become a KOMUNITA member, or buy a Sample, which gets you not just entry to the event but also one warm intro.

28 events in just under 5 months

That’s not a bad number at all. And I should probably start saying I’ve got 600+ events under my belt. Because I’ve been saying 500+ for about two years now, and this tally has clearly pushed past it.

Where do we meet next?

Quickly, what’s coming up:

• 3.6. Forbes Business Fest in Prague
• 11.6. Meet&Deal vol11 Rooftop Edition at J&T Banka, going to be seriously top tier
• 23.6. Meet&Deal KOMUNITA session with Jakub Kantor: branding and strategy
• 25.6. NBCU Summit, where I’m helping with the organization (more on LinkedIn) plus dinner and the recording of Fantastic Future LIVE #3
• 7.7. Vibecoding Session vol5
• 15.7. Meet&Deal KOMUNITA session with Jakub Čáslava: business English
• 5.8. Vibecoding Session vol6
• 12.8. Meet&Deal KOMUNITA session with Eliška Jana Auer: socials and virals
• 27.8. Meet&Deal vol12 Summer Edition in Bratislava
• 7.9. Meet&Deal KOMUNITA session with Ruslan Skopal: leadership
• 16.9. Vibecoding Session vol7 in Bratislava
• 17.9. Upterdam
• 6.10. Meet&Deal KOMUNITA session with Petr Vojnar: communication and psychology
• 21.10. Vibecoding Session vol8
• 11.11. Meet&Deal KOMUNITA session with Lukáš Pítra: CRO & UX
• 18.11. Vibecoding Session vol9
• 2.12. Meet&Deal KOMUNITA session with Michal Bílka: marketing is getting expensive
• 4.12. Vibecoding Session vol10

And that’s nowhere near everything. With KOMUNITA we’ll be meeting up at informal sessions over beers and sport too. Basically doing what networking is all about.

Joining KOMUNITA?

You can hit a lot of these events for free and a whole bunch more at discounted rates. Plus you can keep learning and growing with us on the regular.

Membership in Meet&Deal KOMUNITA currently runs 24,000 CZK excl. VAT per year, or 2,900 CZK excl. VAT per single session.

Joining us?

The post Tour de networking vol12: 28 events and one of them had me piloting a plane appeared first on André Kohout si píše.

AI is Unstoppable, and That’s Awesome

The world of AI fascinates me every single day, and I try to keep up with its incredible progress. I spend hours vibecoding daily, using various tools, and striving to streamline my workflow. Thanks to AI, I can bring my ideas to life almost instantly.

But I also spend a ton of time in meetings, calls, workshops, and masterminds that I host within the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY. And this right here is an absolute goldmine for my blog and social media content.

I’ve been using Plaud for a while now. It’s a voice recorder that snaps onto the back of your phone via MagSafe. It records everything anyone says around you, and thanks to the app, it can generate a verbatim transcript along with various types of summaries. You can export these outputs, share them, or integrate them into other apps.

Recordings are stored locally right on the device. Transcription and summarization happen in the cloud via an encrypted enterprise API, meaning your data isn’t used to train AI models. It’s ISO 27001, GDPR, and HIPAA certified for those who care about the technical details.

The AI engine is powered by GPT, Claude Sonnet, and Gemini. The battery lasts for up to 50 hours of continuous recording and 60 days on standby.

All of this is great, but normally, you’d still have to process those outputs further. Well, not anymore. With the new Plaud Note Pro, I set up a workflow, and instead of just getting mastermind notes or a transcript, I get a finished article alongside a ready-to-go social media post.

And that changes the game entirely.

How It Works in Practice

This is where your average voice recorder ends and Plaud begins.

Inside the app, you set up your own templates. A template is essentially a prompt that defines exactly what you want out of the recording—the structure, the tone, and the length. You create it once, and then you apply it to any recording with a single click. Pretty neat, right?

How do I handle this during Meet&Deal COMMUNITY masterminds? I always record the entire session. During the recording, I just press a button to mark a key moment—a feature called Press to Highlight. When the session ends, the recording automatically syncs to the app. I apply my article template, and moments later, I have a finished draft. I then drop that exact same content into my LinkedIn template.

Normally, this would take me hours. Now, it’s a matter of minutes and a few minor tweaks.

Here’s the template I use:

Prompt: Create a structured article in Czech from this Meet&Deal COMMUNITY mastermind recording. Ignore small talk, logistical notes, and technical issues. Focus exclusively on business insights. Structure: > 1) HEADLINE (catchy, 6–10 words) 2) LEAD PARAGRAPH (2–3 sentences, main idea) 3) BODY (3–5 sections with subheadings, 100–150 words each, specific insights from the discussion) 4) KEY TAKEAWAYS (3–5 bullet points) 5) CTA (linking back to the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY). Tone: Expert yet accessible, aimed at entrepreneurs with 10M+ in revenue. No fluff, just concrete facts.

One recording. Three outputs. Done in a few minutes.

As of 2026, they’ve added a new layer called Skills. These are complete AI workflows saved as a single click. You trigger them using a slash command directly in the interface. There are 15+ built-in skills, plus room for up to ten custom ones. No more rewriting prompts from scratch every time.

But What’s the Catch?

The transcription isn’t 100% perfect. If there’s a lot of background noise in the room or someone has a thick accent, errors can pop up in the transcript. You have to expect that.

Another thing is that Plaud runs on a subscription model. It processes 300 minutes a month for free, but after that, you have to pay. For some, a monthly payment model might get annoying over time. However, if you don’t want to be locked into one platform, you can always export the audio files and process them in a different AI tool.

And one last thing people often ask me about: In the Czech Republic, Act No. 127/2005 Coll. applies. Recording a call or meeting without the other party’s consent is a legal issue. I always state that I’m recording upfront, and I’ve never had a single person object to it.

Want a Plaud Too? Get It with a Discount

Plaud probably won’t transform your business overnight. But if you’re in meetings every day and attending various workshops, it’s a fantastic way to instantly extract concrete outputs based on a workflow you design yourself.

Make sense? If this sounds good to you, use the code ANDRE on the tygotec.cz website to get a 10% discount on your Plaud. Or check out my Instagram, where I’m currently running a giveaway.

The post Thanks to Plaud, I Have a Mastermind Article Ready Before I Even Get Home appeared first on André Kohout si píše.

Meet&Deal vol11 Rooftop Edition

After our epic December Christmas party (Meet&Deal Vol. 10 Xmas Edition), things went a bit quiet. But that doesn’t mean nothing was happening behind the scenes. My team and I have been hard at work on the next event and, as I mentioned in the intro, a few other parallel projects.

And now is the perfect time to let it all out. All at once. Naturally.

Why a Rooftop Edition for vol11? Because everything looks better from above. When you have a bird’s-eye view, interesting things happen. I’ve struck a deal with J&T Bank, and Meet&Deal Vol. 11 Rooftop Edition will take place in Prague, right on their private terrace.

When? On June 11th, 150 professionals from the CZ & SK business scene will gather. Over drinks, in a casual atmosphere with panoramic views of Prague, we’ll be discussing deals, collaborations, shared interests, and everything business (and non-business) related.

We’ve just launched the first wave of ticket sales, but I can already confirm you’ll be rubbing shoulders with Tomáš Braverman (CEO of Slevomat), Ondra Klega (CEO of eRockets), Josef Ošlejšek (CEO of go4.sk & go4.cz), Matej Karaba (Co-founder of Opinest s.r.o.), and a ton of other fascinating people.

The event partners are Shoptet Premium, RTB House, Movit Energy, and J&T Banka. A huge thanks to them—I’m incredibly excited for this.

Pro Tip: I highly recommend grabbing your tickets during this first wave, because prices will go up in the subsequent tiers. It’d be a shame to miss out, right?

Get Your Tickets on the New Meet&Deal Website

Alongside the event announcement, I’m launching a completely revamped Meet&Deal website. I ditched Wix and spent dozens, maybe hundreds, of hours vibecoding. The result is a fully custom solution that… well, why just describe it? Check out the website yourself and let me know what you think.

As you probably know from my articles and social media, vibecoding currently makes up a huge part of what I do. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, check out the article I recently wrote on vibecoding.

But it doesn’t stop there. I’m currently working on a user dashboard that will give registered attendees their own admin panel. You’ll be able to track your orders or even generate custom Meet&Deal graphics for your social media.

The goal of the website was to build a sophisticated, automated system that also carries the core message of Meet&Deal:

• COMMUNITY
• Events
• Partnerships

Meet&Deal is no longer just a few events a year. It’s a comprehensive ecosystem where the highest value lies in interpersonal relationships, networking, and personal growth. I’ve already written about the COMMUNITY here on the blog. It’s the next level that seamlessly connects to our events. And partnerships? That’s what this is all built on. With the right partners behind you, you can achieve things that might otherwise just stay on paper.

P.S. You can also find other upcoming events on the website that we are planning for after Vol. 11.

Multifunctional Merch. Wait, What?

You might have spotted me wearing Meet&Deal merch at the Vol. 10 Xmas Edition, or maybe you even won some there. But that was just a teaser.

I’ve taken this to the next level too, creating a limited-edition run of multifunctional merch. What does that mean? On the t-shirts and hoodies, alongside our brand claim, you’ll find a pre-printed name tag that you can actually write on.

When you show up to an event wearing the merch, you won’t even need a physical lanyard or badge. Besides the tees and hoodies, I’ve also designed a snapback cap featuring the Meet&Deal logo and claim.

Check out the photos shot by Polly Raye and let me know your thoughts. And don’t forget—you can add merch directly to your ticket order and pick it up at the event, at one of our Meet&Deal COMMUNITY sessions, or I can ship it to you by arrangement.

That’s a Lot to Digest, Right?

This isn’t the end; it’s just the beginning. I highly recommend not dragging your feet on tickets, because they are already starting to disappear. The merch won’t be for everyone either, as each drop is strictly limited edition.

Grab your ticket on the new Meet&Deal website

Want to be part of Meet&Deal outside of the events? Join our COMMUNITY, where we meet regularly, learn, connect with a top-tier network, and push each other forward both professionally and personally.

Even before vol11, we’ll be meeting up on April 20th for Vibecoding Session vol3, April 30th for Driving Rohan, and May 6th for an “Ideamaking” mastermind with Daniel Klečka. After the Rooftop Edition, we’ll see each other again on June 23rd for a “B2B Strategy and Branding” mastermind hosted by Jakub Kantor.

See you there?!

The post Meet&Deal vol11 Rooftop Edition is Here: When, Where, and How? appeared first on André Kohout si píše.

So, what exactly did I achieve from the other side of the world in just two months?

Vibe… what? It All Started with a Problem

In the beginning, there was no grand vision of me pumping out functional apps from the beach in a matter of hours. It started with a simple, annoying problem.

For our Meet&Deal project, we needed a way to bulk-remove backgrounds from photos of people attending our events. Graphic designers were quoting absurd prices for this routine task, and I started getting frustrated that I had to keep paying someone for something so trivial.

There had to be a way to do it quickly, cheaply, and ideally, automatically. So, I decided to try building my own app for it.

We were in Thailand at the time. I had free time, a solid internet connection, and AI tools. Within a few days, I realized two major things:

1. It’s actually possible.
2. Once you start, a whole new world of opportunities opens up.

From that moment on, I went all in on vibecoding.

Hundreds of Hours and Multiple Projects

Over the last two months, I’ve “vibecoded” for hundreds of hours. The result isn’t just one experimental project, but several fully functional assets that, until recently, would have required weeks of developer time and budgets in the tens of thousands of crowns (and I’m probably underestimating that).

The Transformation of My Personal Blog My website andrekohout.cz went through a massive overhaul. I made it completely bilingual, which included translating and indexing over 120 blog articles. The whole process took a few hours of my time and a couple of dollars in AI API calls.

Redesigning NetworkingAkce.cz on a Dime My other project, NetworkingAkce.cz, has a similar story. The original version of this site cost roughly 40,000 CZK to build. Thanks to vibecoding, I managed to:

• Completely redesign the platform.
• Rebuild the functionality for paid users.
• Add advanced search features.
• Create a custom admin dashboard.
• Automate the aggregation of new events.

Today, the system automatically checks over 120 sources daily to pull in new networking events. All of this costs me just a few hours of my time and a few bucks a month.

Meet&Deal is Changing the Game

Another thing I’ve wanted to do for a long time was transform our social media strategy and the entire concept of Meet&Deal.

I didn’t want our content to just be boring announcements that an event is coming or an event happened. I wanted to turn it into a real media platform for business professionals.

Vibecoding allowed me to build an internal app that monitors dozens of media outlets every half hour. If news drops about a deal, investment, or acquisition, the AI automatically rewrites the article into our brand’s tone of voice. After I approve it, the system generates the graphics and the social media copy.

The next step? Publishing it across our networks with a single click.

Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu

Příspěvek sdílený Meet&Deal ~ Next level networking 🚀 (@mitdyl)

The Backend We Always Needed

Speaking of Meet&Deal, I’m also working on a brand-new website.

It won’t just be a simple frontend for buying tickets. I want a robust backend to manage guest lists, graphics, content, and all the other moving parts we currently have scattered across different tools. When is it dropping? Stay tuned. You’ll hear about it soon.

The Biggest Shift: Who Are the Developers Now?

The most important takeaway here isn’t just one specific project. It’s the shift in mindset.

In the past, I was 100% reliant on developers for websites and apps. The moment I wanted to tweak or build anything, I had to message someone, wait for their availability, and pay a hefty invoice.

Today, that 100% has dropped to about 5 to 10%. And even then, it’s mostly just when I want support from someone who has tackled a highly specific, complex issue before. I handle the rest myself with AI.

I don’t know how to code. But when I don’t know something, Claude Code does. I work with it locally in my terminal and use it to build everything from websites and automations to small internal apps.

Will Vibecoding Save You Time? Well…

Vibecoding has one very interesting paradox. We all assume it’s going to save us time. But that’s not entirely true.

The time you save using AI is almost immediately invested into other things you want to streamline, automate, or build. Instead of having more free time, you suddenly just have more projects running.

But honestly? It is one of the most fun and creative ways to work I’ve experienced in years. You should try it, too.

Start Vibecoding Today

If this topic sparks your interest, I have one simple recommendation for you: Start small.

Build a simple website. Or a tiny app for a task you do every day. Once you grasp the basic principles of communicating with the AI, you’ll naturally start adding more features and tackling more complex builds.

Suddenly, you’ll find yourself accessing data and possibilities you would never have reached on your own.

While it might not replace standard SaaS tools completely, vibecoding absolutely changes the rules of the game and how we think about development.

How to Get Started? Here’s a Guide

During our last vibecoding session in the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY, we realized something. Wait—Meet&Deal COMMUNITY? I hinted earlier that Meet&Deal is changing the game, and this just proves it.

I built the community website using vibecoding, too. The COMMUNITY is made up of people who share one common trait: they want to learn, grow personally and professionally, and are deadly serious about their business. Check it out. It might be exactly what you’re looking for.

But back to the point.

The biggest hurdle for beginners isn’t the vibecoding itself. Most often, the biggest bottleneck is just getting Claude Coderunning locally on your machine. That’s why I put together a simple, step-by-step document that will guide you through it.

👉 You can find the guide here: mitdyl.cz/vibecoding

You might just discover exactly what I did: once you start vibecoding, you completely change how you think about what is possible to create.

Either way… Go for it.

The post Vibecoding as an Idea Factory: Will It Actually Save You Time? appeared first on André Kohout si píše.

But what if we could go deeper?

• What if you had 24/7 access to the most powerful business network in the country, complete with warm introductions and seamless matchmaking?
• What if you could join an inner circle to learn about highly curated topics and meet up between the main events?
• What if you could surround yourself with ambitious, like-minded professionals who are just as driven to grow as you are?

Welcome to the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY.

Beyond Events: It Has Always Been About the People

When I hosted the very first Meet&Deal event in 2023, I knew it wouldn’t stop at just one night. But eventually, I realized it shouldn’t stop at just events, period.

Meet&Deal has always been about putting the right people in the right place at the right time. But why wait for the next event to make that happen?

The Meet&Deal COMMUNITY was created as the natural evolution of the entire project. It’s a space where you stay connected with others between events. But it’s much more than that. Imagine an environment where you are constantly surrounded by people tackling the exact same challenges you are—building companies, hunting for new partnerships, scaling marketing, driving sales, implementing tech, or growing a team.

• Sometimes, you just need a quick piece of advice.
• Sometimes, you need a recommendation for the exact person who can help you push your project across the finish line.
• Sometimes, you need to reach someone who is normally inaccessible, or who would never pick up the phone without a warm introduction.
• And sometimes, you just want to grab a coffee (or jump on a call) with someone who truly understands your daily grind because they live it too.

This is exactly what the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY facilitates. It is a meeting ground for individuals who want to elevate themselves both professionally and personally, and who thrive on surrounding themselves with people operating on that same frequency.

Contacts Don’t Close Deals. Relationships Do.

A contact is not a relationship. Anyone who understands this knows that active networking is the ultimate key to growth. Sometimes, showing up to a networking mixer three times a year just isn’t enough.

Real value is created through repeated interaction. It happens when you know exactly what someone does, what they are currently struggling with, and how you can mutually help each other.

The Meet&Deal COMMUNITY pushes this principle further.

You are no longer relying on chance encounters at quarterly events. You have an active, 24/7 network at your fingertips. A network that shares experiences, recommends top-tier contacts, actively seeks collaborations, and frequently launches entirely new ventures together.

Often, it only takes one single message to close a massive deal.

Alongside tailored matchmaking, we host regular educational sessions on curated topics—ranging from AI and vibecoding to social media strategy, influencer marketing, leadership, and customer retention. We also meet up informally: over a beer, on the golf course, in the sauna, or online. Zero pressure, pure value.

The Insider Advantage: Why Early Adopters Win

By stepping inside, you gain access to people you would normally only meet by pure luck—if at all. You get a front-row seat to opportunities that never even make it to the public eye. When was the last time you had the chance to meet someone who could fundamentally change your business, knowing with absolute certainty they wouldn’t blow you off in the first five seconds?

Why should you join right now? Because as the community grows, its value multiplies. The more brilliant minds we have inside, the more powerful the network becomes.

That is exactly why our pricing model rewards those who take action early. Once our set capacity fills up, the membership price will increase.

It’s simple: the earlier you join, the better your conditions are. For life.

Who Belongs in the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY?

Let’s be clear: the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY is not for everyone. And not everyone is right for the Meet&Deal COMMUNITY.

I have built an expert ecosystem designed specifically for business owners, top-tier specialists, and ambitious professionals. This means it only makes sense for people who genuinely believe that relationships are the lifeblood of business. It’s for people who want to grow, learn, share their expertise, and actively open doors for others.

If you are the type of person who just sits back and expects things to fall into your lap, this community probably isn’t for you. But if you know that the best things in business are built between people, then you already know exactly why you’re reading this.

Are You Serious About Your Business?

The Meet&Deal COMMUNITY is the next step. It’s the place where your networking efforts yield real, compounding results every single day.

Want in? Check out the COMMUNITY website, choose your membership tier, and join us. Just keep one thing in mind:

Once we hit capacity, the price goes up.

So the question isn’t if you’ll join. It’s when.

The post Meet&Deal COMMUNITY: Taking High-Impact Networking to the Next Level appeared first on André Kohout si píše.

Skip the Baggage Claim: Airport to City Center

The golden rule of micro-trips: no checked bags. Backpacks only.

As soon as you land at Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), ignore the €50 taxis and head straight for the Navette Aéroport bus platform—Line L91. A ticket costs €10, the bus leaves every 15 minutes, and it spits you out directly at the main train station, Gare Saint-Charles, in just half an hour.

Fun fact that caught my eye: The driver has to blow into a breathalyzer before starting the engine. Since 2015, France has required alcolocks in all coaches. If the driver blows over the limit, the bus simply doesn’t start. Safety first! Though it does make you wonder if they check it after the weekend, haha.

Zobrazit příspěvek na Instagramu

Příspěvek sdílený André Kohout | King of Networking (@jajsemandre)

Basecamp: Keycodes Over Receptionists

When you only have one day in a city, you cannot waste time checking in. We chose Maison Senac, a boutique hotel right near the Old Port. Keypad entry, no waiting in line, no bureaucracy. We dumped our bags and went straight for our first French coffee and croissant by the harbor. That’s how you do it.

Vieux-Port, Le Panier, and the Château d’If “Trap”

The Vieux-Port (Old Port) is the beating heart of the city. There are enough boats, fishermen, tourists, and locals to make you feel like you’re truly in Marseille, not just another generic transit hub.

From the harbor, we wandered into the historic Le Panier district. It’s the oldest part of the city—narrow alleys, graffiti, laundry hanging on lines, and a touch of chaos. Exactly what you came here for.

Terka and I also planned to visit the Château d’If, the famous island fortress where the Count of Monte Cristo was imprisoned. The boat ride takes about an hour round trip, and you spend another hour exploring the island (maybe two if the weather is nice). We did it, and it was great.

But beware: If the Mistral (a strong local wind) is blowing, the boats won’t dock on the island at all. Always ask at the ticket booth in the port before buying your €11 round-trip ticket. And remember, you still have to pay a €7 entry fee once you’re on the island.

Afterward, we grabbed a pizza. Wait, pizza in France? Absolutely. Thanks to its massive Italian immigrant population, Marseille is blessed with incredible pizza. Box in hand, we sat right on the sand at the city beach, Plage des Catalans. Pure vibes.

Notre-Dame de la Garde: You Have to See This View

This is an absolute must-do. Around 5 PM, we headed up the hill to the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica. Locals simply call her the “Good Mother.”

Crucial tip: Do not walk up there. You’ll destroy your knees and waste precious time. Hop on Bus 60 from the Vieux-Port promenade. You just tap your contactless card by the driver—no paper tickets, no loose change. And hold on for dear life, because the drivers take those hairpin turns like they’re on a racetrack.

But at the top? You’re rewarded with a sunset view over the entire city, the sea, and the islands. Paris doesn’t stand a chance against this.

A Blind Dinner & A Birthday Hack

Marseille has plenty of incredible restaurants. For a luxury bouillabaisse, I recommend Chez Fonfon or the rooftop at Le Rowing Club. But we went in blind, without a reservation. We walked down to Cours d’Estienne d’Orves, a massive pedestrian square packed with bistros where you can score a table even on a Friday night.

We ended up at Bistrot L’Horloge. Terka had seafood; I had a steak. Since she was celebrating her 32nd birthday, I pulled an old trick. When I went to pay, I winked at the waiter and said: “C’est son anniversaire aujourd’hui.” (It’s her birthday today).

Works like a charm. Moments later, a free dessert with a sparkler landed on our table. Cool, right?

Marseille After Dark: Graffiti and “Parking by Sound”

Wandering the city at night, you’ll notice two things.

First, Marseille is the hip-hop and street art capital of France. You’ll see tags on bridge ledges or the backs of highway signs. They call these “heaven spots”—an extreme sport for graffiti artists where the more dangerous the spot, the more respect you earn from the community.

Second, the cars. They are all battered. Here, they park “au toucher” (by touch/sound). Locals gently bump into the cars in front of and behind them while parallel parking to make room. A car here is just a tin can, not a prized jewel. If you plan on renting a car, get full coverage insurance. Otherwise, you’re in for a shock.

When Rain Ruins Your Itinerary

Saturday morning. The plan was to walk through the cascading Palais Longchamp all the way to the train station. But it was pouring rain.

In moments like this, you have to throw the itinerary out the window. We ducked into the first bakery we found, ordered a café crème with fresh pastries, watched the rain through the window, and then hopped straight onto the metro. Two dry stops to Gare Saint-Charles, a ticket for the L91 bus, and we were off to the airport. You have to know how to improvise.

The Marseille Express: Need-to-Know Tips

• Contactless Transit: All buses and the metro (RTM) use contactless payments (card or phone). You don’t need spare change.
• Strict Lunch Deadlines: Bistros serve lunch strictly until 2:00 PM or 2:30 PM. Show up at 3:00 PM, and you’ll be eating at McDonald’s.
• Don’t Fear the Cars (But Be Smart): Bumper-to-bumper “parking by sound” is the local standard. Renting a car without full insurance = a terrible idea.
• Plan Ahead: If you want to visit the Château d’If, check the weather forecast and ask at the ticket booth before you pay.

Was It Worth It?

Hell yes. In 24 hours, we conquered the Old Port, the beach, the best view from Notre-Dame de la Garde, a proper French steak, the nighttime harbor vibes, a free birthday dessert, and a cozy rainy breakfast.

Marseille is dirty, beautiful, rough, and authentic. It’s exactly the kind of city you never forget. If you have a free weekend, grab your backpack and fly.

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From nursing school and welding trains to leading an e-commerce company with a turnover of over 300 million CZK, Jakub’s story is nothing short of inspiring. And yet, for years, he successfully avoided the spotlight to focus entirely on the product and the people inside his team.

Why He Hid in the Shadows for Years

For a long time, Jakub stayed strictly behind the scenes. He believed that until the company was in perfect shape with an unshakable foundation—including brand-new facilities—there was simply nothing to show the world.

“I was hard on myself, and in my eyes, there really wasn’t anything to show yet. Everything was still in its infancy,” he admits.

Today, he knows better. He realizes that a founder’s personal brand is a crucial factor in building trust with both customers and the media. Even though he considers himself an “introverted extrovert” who isn’t always comfortable talking about himself, he has fully embraced his new role as the company’s spokesperson. He breathes for the brand and wants to personally share major milestones, like the opening of their new sewing workshop.

The DNA of MK Lůžkoviny

Jakub’s workday starts before the sun comes up.

• 5:20 AM: Wakes up and drives his wife to work.
• Early Morning: Dives straight into his own tasks.
• First Office Task: Reads customer reviews.

He takes negative feedback as a personal failure and uses it as an immediate impulse to fix quality or logistics issues. He has successfully transferred this obsessive, customer-first approach to his team, whom he describes as a group of deeply passionate people.

It’s this absolute trust in his staff and his ability to delegate tasks to managers that allows him to focus on strategic growth—even if his self-proclaimed “ADHD personality” often forces him to bounce between multiple projects at once.

From Penny Market Fiascos to a Paralyzed Warehouse

Jakub hasn’t avoided major crises in business. In the interview, he openly shared a wild experience when defective goods—which were supposed to be destroyed abroad—illegally made their way back to the Czech market and ended up on the shelves of Penny Market.

Instead of getting bogged down in lengthy lawsuits, he relied on swift communication and fierce brand protection. This strategy ultimately resulted in the goods being withdrawn from stores and a public apology.

An even harsher lesson came during a transition to a new warehouse management system, which paralyzed the company for three weeks right in the middle of peak season.

“I didn’t keep a close enough eye on the software company, and our system crashed for three weeks,” Jakub recalls.

The extreme stress caused him to lose 16 kilos, but he treats even this brutal experience as a necessary challenge that taught him how to lead IT projects differently.

“Yesterday Was Too Late”

Jakub doesn’t look for inspiration in modern business manuals, but rather in the legendary Czech entrepreneur Tomáš Baťa. He shares Baťa’s famous creed: In business, there is no “tomorrow.” Despite still seeing himself as a young entrepreneur who is learning on the fly, his journey from carrying a welding license to building an e-commerce empire proves one thing: the most important assets you can have are a positive mindset and the ability to turn every mistake into a lesson.

And what about relaxation? Jakub smiles and admits that on the dance floor, his go-to helper is “liquid karate” (vodka), which helps him forget his role as CEO for a few hours. And the inevitable hangover? He admits he can be highly productive even then.

“I actually work better because I feel guilty, so I lock myself in my office and just grind,” he laughs.

Want to know exactly how Jakub navigated his biggest business crises or why he finally decided to step into the spotlight? Watch the full interview on YouTube!

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Networking as a Growth Engine

For Venis, networking isn’t just a corporate buzzword; it’s the foundation of her career. She believes that the ability to connect with the right people and actively maintain relationships is what drives professional momentum.

“Networking is extremely important to me. Through contacts and relationships, I grow and gain opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise have,” says Venis.

It is precisely through networking that she accesses opportunities that would never arise without personal contact and trust-building. She views social media not just as a tool for “likes,” but as a strategic space for community building and high-level partnerships.

Preventing Burnout in the Fast-Paced Creator Economy

Being a full-time influencer requires far more structure than it seems. Venis admits that without a clear system, it’s easy to burn out in this high-speed industry. While many creators rely purely on artistic intuition, Venis builds a rigid workflow.

For instance, she dedicates her Mondays strictly to production—filming and content creation—freeing up the rest of the week for other ventures. She also practices strict digital hygiene, visiting social platforms with the specific intent of tracking trends and inspiration rather than mindlessly scrolling.

Choosing Brand Partnerships That Make Sense

When brands approach Venis, money is never the sole metric. While she openly acknowledges that finances are vital for a professional creator, the “click” with the product and its philosophy is paramount. She insists on testing every product personally before endorsing it. To her, influencer marketing is a fascinating intersection of psychology and commerce.

She emphasizes the importance of building long-term relationships with brands that have a clear mission, citing her collaboration with Snugs as a prime example.

From Anxiety to the “UPGRADE ME” Project

A turning point in her creative journey came during a period of personal crisis, anxiety, and panic attacks. This experience forced her to question whether purely “entertaining” content offered enough value. This search for depth resulted in UPGRADE ME—a series of retreats designed for young women looking to develop their strengths.

To ensure she provides professional-grade support, Venis decided to formally study coaching. She wants to move beyond the superficial advice of a “celebrity” and instead utilize expert psychological tools to help others.

The Bottom Line

Venis Dao is proof that even in a world built on short-form video, you can build a brand with substance. Her journey shows that the transition from viral sketches to psychology and mentoring is possible—provided you have the courage to keep learning and never compromise on your values.

Want to hear Venis Dao’s full story and learn how to build a brand with impact? Watch the full interview on YouTube.

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