Ladislav Čapek

Ladislav Čapek is one of the lucky few who understood what he wanted to become since childhood. At 14, Ladislav studied land surveying in high school and has more than 25 years of experience in the business. He studied Geographic Information Systems at the Czech Technical University in Prague and went on to receive graduate degrees, and ultimately a Ph.D, in Denmark and Cairo.

Ladislav received an internship in the United States and returned to Prague to take a position at Integraph. He understood how important it was to further improve his knowledge and decided to do so by studying an MBA in Prague while working at Integraph. He explains, “In the US, I was inspired by the Americans’ drive to continually learn. Employees in various positions would take a year to study while remaining at their job, work for three or four more years, and return to university for another year of study.”

When searching for an MBA program in English, Ladislav explains that UNYP was the best value for money, “In public universities, I feel that students put less emphasis on the quality of education, whereas it seems more important for students in private schools. The teachers were incredibly important at UNYP. In fact, Professor Varley was the greatest teacher I ever had.”

Thinking back, he adds, “The most valuable asset for me at UNYP was my thesis, which was the business plan for my company, Geosense. Also, due to networking at UNYP, I met my business partner, which was a real turning point. In fact I continue to attend the alumni meetings and my HR manager and intern are from UNYP.”

While studying at UNYP in 2010, Ladislav started Geosense (now called Cleerio), an intuitive, cost-effective solution to digital mapping. Whereas previously users would spend tens of thousands of Czech crowns for a mapping project on their desktop, with Geosense, users can access digital maps for several hundred CZK per month. Geosense offers users a top-of-the-line mapping platform, where they can add data, such as planning, zoning, utilities, assets, roads, and trees. It also provides an innovative strategy, by offering a membership to the software service, instead of buying an expensive license, as previously offered by mapping companies. After a year and a half of working from his living room, Geosense reached incredible success, implementing 1250 cities into the program in 2012 and winning awards in Silicon Valley in 2013. Currently, Geosense has locations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Ladislav and his business partner are finalizing investment negotiations to further expand the enterprise.

“Work hard,” he advises current UNYP students. “Nothing is for free. If you aren’t successful the first time around, try again.”

Learn more about Ladislav’s program