Portrait Name: Petra Boteková
Startup: ReloPilot
Personal vision: Look beyond borders
Recipe for success: Challenge yourself – the ultimate goal is to grow as a person
“You can be a driver of innovation and live your vision. Being an entrepreneur means learning numerous things every day – it’s like going to the gym: sometimes painful but simultaneously making you feel alive”
Entrepreneurship makes you feel alive
Entrepreneurship was a start into a healthier, happier and more balanced lifestyle for Petra Boteková. She is a former manager and now successful entrepreneur, who founded the company ReloPilot, which simplifies international recruitment. Even though she now works more than ever, she experienced that “Entrepreneurship makes you feel alive because you are doing something you truly stand for. You can make important decisions yourself, work according to your personal preferences and create your company by your own values. What is more, you are contributing to something you believe is going to make the world a better place – that’s what drives us.“
There are a thousand things you have to learn for your startup – on top of that, you have to grow yourself
Of course, the path to getting one’s idea off the ground is not always as easy as it seems. “There are a thousand things you have to learn for your startup and on top of that, you have to grow yourself“ – meaning you not only have to acquire a broad range of business-related skills but also work on self-development in order to be capable of dealing with arising issues. Petra compares building a company with going to the gym. Growing muscles is not easy and there will be painful times for sure, but in the end, pursuing your passion is worth it. For this reason maintaining one’s work-life balance is crucial. Petra found meditating a couple of minutes every day highly relaxing and helpful to cope with uncertainty and stress. By cherishing the little things and focusing on loving the journey instead of the end goals, she aims to enjoy her life to the fullest. Apart from that, setting boundaries between life and work is tremendously important. Petra therefore decided not to do anything work related on Saturdays in order to recharge her energy and remain healthy and motivated to grow her company.
Almost everything can be learned online
Anything can be learned – whether that’s analytics, people’s skills or public speaking. Petra experienced an extremely high learning curve through creating her own YouTube-Channel BoundaryLess. Both marketing and people skills are crucial to be successful eventually. YouTube helped her to acquire these skills fast. Also, the broad variety of online courses enables everyone to learn any skill nowadays. As for all learning processes, Petra stresses that it is essential to take the initiative and get started – instead of blaming unchangeable factors which are only prohibiting you from moving on and actually solving problems.
Look beyond your own borders and challenge yourself every day
Petra’s vision of looking beyond borders means much more than just physical borders. It means trying out things, empowering oneself and conquering new challenges. For actually getting started, Petra experienced that a mentor whom you really trust and to whom you are able to talk to about all your business related ideas proved to be invaluable. She explains that “Even if you are young and might feel that you are not experienced enough, you can be a driver of innovation and live your vision. You can indeed always find a more experienced co-founder. Being an entrepreneur also means learning numerous relevant working skills which will eventually help you in every single area of your life.“
Through building her startup, Petra experienced that clarity comes from action and that just going for it is the best way. In the end, being able to grow is the ultimate goal and will eventually lead to success!
Next week: Dejan Jovicevic
In our weekly interview series, we will be featuring various inspirational entrepreneurs of the Austrian startup scene. Each Monday, you can expect useful insights into their lives and practical tips that you can follow in order to walk your entrepreneurial path. Like, share, comment – and feel free to reach out to us. Suggestions, ideas, remarks are all welcome – let’s shape the ecosystem together!
