When evaluating startups, Hynek Sochor focuses on sustainability and whether they offer a product that customers cannot imagine operating without.
According to Hynek Sochor, founder of the venture capital company Soulmates Ventures, sustainability presents a massive opportunity. He has ambitious goals: through this accelerator focused on tech startups—including those specialising in agriculture and the environment—he aims to change the world.
“We want to help the world through innovation and improve life in this country. It’s clear that the planet can adapt to changes, but at the cost of human well-being. We want to prevent that,” he says.
He also believes investors should influence how the planet evolves in the future. Soulmates Ventures takes this responsibility seriously, relying on expert opinions and close collaboration with specialists.
Do you sometimes feel that, despite having exciting innovations, people are reluctant to adopt them?
It’s very noticeable in healthcare. You introduce an innovation, but it is inconvenient. Doctors are ageing and often unwilling to change. They stick to old models, preferring surgery even when technology exists that could perform the procedure in ten seconds, allowing the patient to walk away immediately. Instead, they hospitalise them for a week. This mindset must change. A big part of it is information transfer—we need to talk about these things more.
Your fund focuses on sustainability and the profitability of startups. Is it still possible to do business unsustainably?
Digging more mines and similar activities no longer make sense. We must offer alternatives that are more sustainable for people, places, and countries, while also reducing carbon footprints. That’s the key issue—a vision for long-term sustainable development. For us, sustainability is a fundamental condition for doing business.
Long-term sustainable development is also a political issue. Do Czech politicians understand it?
That’s precisely the problem. Think of Greta Thunberg—she played a role, which is why her message resonated. She had a team behind her, but that’s not the point. The issue was that politicians didn’t understand what she was saying, and it led to conflict. They lacked information and had no real solutions because alternatives didn’t exist.
At Soulmates, our job is to find those alternatives and provide policymakers with meaningful information. That’s why we try to be active in Parliament. We’re sending signals in that direction and even working on a project that could play a major role in changing the education system in the Czech Republic.
You expect startups to be “green” while also standing on their own feet. What else determines who you support?
We rely on our marketing background. Soulmates Ventures originated from a brand development studio that worked intensively with projects launching on the market. This allowed us to analyse market demands and what products offer.
That analysis is the foundation of our investment strategy: we invest in projects where we can assess this effectively. We need to hear from customers that they cannot imagine functioning without a certain product and that they depend on it. That’s when investment makes sense.
Once you invest in a startup, you actively support it.
That’s the principle of an accelerator. We have three programmes—the most crucial focuses on market entry, the second on scaling, and the third on preparing for a company’s exit.
We provide startups with top experts in their fields. That’s a core principle for us. We assemble expert panels on relevant topics, starting with a workshop and an analytical phase to identify potential issues. One key element is assessing the founder and their team. If they think they’re the smartest in the world and unwilling to learn, we don’t invest.
What if a founder simply makes a mistake in their business plan?
That’s where the analytical phase helps—if they openly acknowledge a problem. Our job is to identify the best people within the team. We work with universities, the Academy of Sciences, and I’m a member of the Czech Association of Interim Management (CAIM), which has 80 certified interim managers. Some run their own agencies.
This gives us access to high-level expertise—probably more than anyone else. We can define and solve problems efficiently. That’s our know-how—we delegate tasks effectively within our network. Founders often say we’re like a revelation for them.
Earlier this year, you won a major award as the best VC in Central Europe. Your portfolio includes the Estonian startup eAgronom, which has also gained international recognition.
A year after our investment, Sweden’s largest bank entered the project, recognising eAgronom’s potential. In its latest funding round in June, it raised €10 million. Recently, we made a third follow-up investment because this project makes perfect sense to us.
How does eAgronom work?
It provides farmers with a software tool that simplifies farm management. It incorporates various sustainable practices designed to save farmers money and transform soil into a more sustainable resource. This improves food quality and availability while reducing the carbon footprint—since agriculture has the biggest impact on emissions. Farming contributes 30% to global warming, but at the farm level, it’s as high as 70%.
That’s a significant figure.
So far, around 1.5 million hectares of land have been transitioned to sustainable farming, with about 300,000 hectares in Africa. Most are in Europe, and the Czech Republic is now part of eAgronom. This startup continues to grow, and by 2025, it could influence up to five million hectares of farmland in Europe.
An interesting aspect is that eAgronom is developing a carbon offset system.
Yes, they have been working for several years to certify their carbon offset framework—tradable units allowing individuals, companies, or states to partially compensate for their carbon footprint. It’s a declaration of sustainable practices, but also a commodity that’s already being traded. However, there are many challenges.
What are the main issues?
Many offset projects were just greenwashing—poorly structured and ineffective. eAgronom is well aware of this. Currently, several national organisations are conducting strict certification processes. We expect to have it finalised by the end of this year. If successful, eAgronom will become the first certified carbon offset provider in Europe.
How do you approach unicorn startups (valued at over $1 billion)? Is hunting them a priority for you?
We focus on unicorns with a vision for long-term sustainable development. Our strategy is to catch a unicorn this year. We want to play in the top league and are constantly improving our deal-making. We negotiate with Harvard lawyers and top law firms across Europe, including tough corporate lawyers.
In most cases, we have emerged as lead investors. This expertise has earned us respect. We strive to do everything to the best of our ability—with transparency and humility.
This article was published in the special HN supplement “The Future of Agriculture.
