10 Things You Didn’t Know about Tomáš Čupr

Tomáš Čupr is a name that you might not have heard of before. Truth be told, the entrepreneur is well-known in his native Czech Republic. However, that popularity hasn’t gone worldwide, at least not until now. As it turns out, this individual is quite dedicated to success in business, but he hasn’t allowed it to cloud his humanity or his sense of humor.

As such, most people consider him to be one of the more interesting individuals they’ve met when involved in a one on one conversation. If you’re wondering who he really is, check out these 10 things about him that you probably didn’t know about the founder of Slevomat and the CEO of Rohlik.

1. He’s seen more than his fair share of problems

He’s good at business, there is no doubt about that. However, he also knows what it’s like to struggle with success in business, even to the point of allowing it to completely dominate every second of his life. There is nothing easy about being a successful entrepreneur, and he’s the first one to admit that fact. He can personally attest to the late nights, staying up and worrying whether or not the business will be a success. On the flip side of the coin, too much success can be extremely difficult to cope with, too. It really is a double-edged sword.

2. He knows what it’s like to be under so much pressure you could fold

He has stated in the past that he knows what it’s like to be under this much pressure. The problem with being an entrepreneur is that you’re always moving on to the next big thing. By the very nature of the business, entrepreneurs don’t commonly tend to stay in one place for very long. They develop a business, grow it to the point of success, and move on to something new.

It can be exciting, but it can also be one of the most stressful things that a person will ever experience. Unfortunately, this type of stress can and does take a toll on both the physical and mental well-being of the individual in question, something that he has personally attested to in the past.

3. He knows business

There is no doubt that he knows how to grow a business. Rohlik is far from the first thing that he’s been involved with. For the most part, he’s focused largely on Czechoslovakian supermarket chains and similar businesses. It’s all well and good, but it can be shocking how competitive this particular business niche can really be. He definitely knows how to develop businesses and grow them.

He’s proven that time and again. As a matter of fact, considering his relatively young age, it’s nothing short of astounding that he’s been able to pull this off so many times. That said, his success has definitely come at a cost, something that he’s now more willing to talk to other people about. The hope is that they won’t fall into the same traps that he did.

4. He has struggled with the pressure of business in the past

One of the things that he has struggled with in the past is alcoholism. It largely came from devoting virtually his entire life to growing a business and then staying up all night long worrying about whether or not that business was going to be successful.

He readily admits that when you put everything you have, both in terms of energy and finances into a business, it can be extremely detrimental to deal with the pressure involved with the need to be successful. When he wasn’t actually working, he was worrying about what would happen if the business failed.

He literally had everything he owned tied up into it and didn’t know what he would do to cover his most basic needs if it didn’t succeed. As a result, he turned to alcoholism in a misguided attempt to get away from the worry for just a few hours at a time. He also developed a habit where he would use alcohol to help him sleep because he simply couldn’t stop worrying long enough to sleep without it. In short order, it turned into a dependency, something that he then had to deal with. He says that he realized he had to get control of it before it killed him.

5. He learns from his mistakes

There is no doubt that he has learned from mistakes he’s made in the past. He has stopped drinking and is keen on staying away from anything that could be potentially detrimental to his health. He also tries to keep things in perspective in an attempt to preserve his mental well-being. With each new business that he grows, he earns something new. He then applies those lessons to his next endeavor.

6. He knows what negative media can do

He is keenly aware of the potential disaster that can be caused by negative reports in the media. There is no doubt that he deliberately kept his problems with alcohol a secret until he was confident that the news wouldn’t destroy his business. He was scared of what such reports in the news could do, so he essentially suffered in silence throughout th entirety of the time that he was struggling.

7. He has a great deal of courage

Obviously, he has more courage than many people. Otherwise, he would have folded under the pressure a long time ago. This is a definite attribute to his personality, but it also comes with its fair share of disappointments, too. He admits that when people tend to outwardly handle things well, others seem to assume that they never struggle with anything. He says that there have been many times when he has had a massive internal struggle with something, only to smile and appear as though all was fine. The end result is that no one is there to support you, largely because they assume you don’t need it.

8. He can raise funds like nobody’s business

He’s very good at raising money. In fact, he quickly raised 100 million euros for Rohlik, something that many people would consider to be almost impossible to do.

9. He expects the business world to be cut-throat

He fully expects that other businesses will come calling, all with the idea of snatching up his business for the lowest price possible. He says he won’t sell to anybody unless it’s a fair deal. As previously mentioned, he knows how to be successful in business.

10. He’s a self-proclaimed workaholic

Despite all he’s learned, he still considers himself a workaholic. He says he now recognizes the potential dangers associated with that mindset. More importantly, he tries to avoid many of the pitfalls he fell victim to earlier. He still works too much, by his own admission. However, he does occasionally stop to enjoy himself. He also distances himself from the bottle and now sleeps soundly without it.

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