Jan Cifra
Operator · Strategist · Investor
Operator, strategist, and investor based in Bratislava. I work with founders and boards across Central Europe on strategy, leadership transitions, and scaling technology businesses through inflection points.
What I'm reading
All notes →Three ex-DeepMind researchers who built a poker-beating algorithm raise a €438M-valuation round from Creandum — Prague quietly producing one of Europe's most credible AI labs outside the hype centers.
Proxy networks, fake identities, Telegram token markets — China's workaround economy for Claude is already mature. Export controls that create black markets instead of barriers aren't security policy; they're just a tax on legitimate users.
25,000 accounts, 28.8 million exchanges — Alibaba allegedly ran the most systematic model-cloning operation ever documented. If true, this is industrial espionage at scale, and Anthropic is daring the Trump administration to actually enforce its own export control rhetoric.
About
I take on executive leadership roles, independent board seats, and senior advisory work across Slovakia and the wider Central Europe and DACH region. My focus is technology, SaaS, and e-commerce businesses at inflection points — scaling, leadership transitions, restructuring, or preparing for an exit.
Earlier I spent six years scaling a CEE web hosting group — WebSupport, Active24, and Webonic — from a single brand into a multi-country operation, before becoming CEO of Dedoles, one of Central Europe's fastest-growing e-commerce brands. MBA from Vlerick Business School; Executive Program in Strategy and Organization at Stanford GSB. Independent board member at Vacuumlabs and SAPIE, the Slovak alliance for innovation.
Based in Bratislava. I work in Slovak, English, German, and Czech.
Investments
Alongside operational and strategic work, I invest in early-stage and growth-stage companies in Central Europe — primarily technology, SaaS, e-commerce, and digital infrastructure. I look for founders who want more than capital: a hands-on partner who has run a P&L, scaled a multi-country operation, and sat on both sides of the table.
Services
I work with founders, boards, and investors who need senior strategic and operational experience — not just advice.
Experience
20 years across software, cloud services, e-commerce, and consulting in Central Europe — from service desk to CEO. Currently leading Dedoles, with board roles at Vacuumlabs and SAPIE.
View full experience →Contact
Founders, boards, investors, and partners — happy to hear from you.