You have been building your career in an international corporation for fifteen years. You're doing well, taking on bigger projects with even bigger budgets. The peak is already near. But then you and a friend are talking about climbing holds in a pub in Tisza. You are both avid climbers. Leaving the golden cage and starting your own business is a step that requires enormous courage. And sometimes it's an emotional decision rather than a rational one. The founder of VirginGrip, Tomáš Riese, found the courage. And although his beginnings were not at all easy and he hit rock bottom, he proved that when you have passion for what you do, nothing can stop you.

The Innovation Center of the Ústí Region supports many companies in the Ústí Region with the Platinn mentoring program. VirginGrip is one such company. A company producing climbing products such as polyurethane holds, wooden climbing structures and polyester laminate macros. When we went to Tisza in 2018, where we interviewed Tomáš for the first time, we were greeted by a typical garage startup, a small, rather family-run production workshop, a bit punk, but in a positive sense. After a few minutes of talking with Tomáš, you saw how he is literally on fire for his field of business and cannot imagine business without passion.

World trade from Tisé

Most companies that sell climbing holds completely delegate the entire production to suppliers. The company VirginGrip went about it differently. She wanted to have production under control, so she established cooperation with a company from Bavaria, and after 9 months of hard work and, above all, excellent cooperation, they developed their own polyurethane material, from which they began to produce sustainable climbing holds. By the way, it was for this innovation that they won 1st place in the competition for the most innovative company of the Ústí Region in 2019 in the category of start-up companies. It is also important that the catches do not lose quality. And for these qualities, they are already known in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, the USA and most countries of the European Union.

Work local, think global

Because of his job, Tomáš worked in Belgium for 9 years, of which he lived there with his family for 4 years. As he says himself, he never dreamed of doing business. Business found it on its own. In autumn 2019, Tomáš decided to end his employment and invested all his time and energy in his business.

“Being able to walk to work was a huge change for me and I enjoyed it. A lot of people didn't get it. But I got up almost every Monday at 4:05 a.m. to be at the office in Belgium at 8:50 a.m. I had maybe 200 flights a year," describes VirginGrip founder Tomáš Riese about his journey to work at the time and adds: "Working locally, including the fact that we have most of our suppliers targeted from this region, makes a lot of sense to me."

At VirginGrip, however, they have shown that every crisis is also an opportunity. And so in April 2020 they started working on a new product – BLOCKids, climbing walls for children in their rooms. And already in autumn 2020, they launched the product on the market. It was a smart move that not only diversified their product portfolio, but also found a new target group. "Honestly.. it was a lifesaver for us at the time. The pandemic has hit us hard. And BLOCKids was a salvation”. And that this product has not become just a patch for the crisis is shown by the fact that climbing walls for children are selling well today and enjoying increasing interest.

What doesn't grow rots

VirginGrip is no longer a garage company from Tisé. Due to the growing demand, which requires greater production capacity and, in turn, larger premises, they moved their production to Ústí nad Labem. And the startup with 4 people became a company with 13 employees. “For four years in a row, we've been growing by 100 % every year. It probably sounds good, but at the same time it is a big pressure on the processes inside the company and the flow of money. Fortunately, I have a great team around me, to whom I can transfer operatives, and thus I can deal with the company's strategy," describes the growth of Tomáš Riese.

Tomáš uses the Platinn mentoring program from the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region, which supports companies in their development. Since joining the program, the company's turnover has increased by 600 %. "I knew I had no business experience. Although I managed large international projects, I still saw gaps in myself. I thought that it would be a bigger mistake if I didn't try Platinn. My luck was that we sat down with my mentor Filip Kvapil. I take him as my "business psychoanalyst", to whom I confide and he gives me feedback from which I benefit in the business for months to come. In fact, I realize that without him the journey would have been even more difficult." Tomáš praises the cooperation with a mentor from the Platinn program.

Tomáš and I also filmed an interview during the Covid-19 pandemic as part of our podcast #NovýStart from the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region. We recommend watching it, his energy is contagious.

VirginGrip journey with ICUK

• Participation in the Platinn program
• Continuation of the Platinn program even after the end of the financial support
• Innovative company of the Ústí Region for 2019 in the category – Start-up companies