Vojtěch Oravec, a 21-year-old entrepreneur from the Czech Republic, has made waves in the tech industry by raising €1M to support e-commerce brands in conquering AI search challenges. At just 16 years old, Oravec was already coding, and by 18, he became a software engineer. Fast forward to his early twenties, Oravec has turned a solo prototype into Ranketta, the AI visibility platform that has investors excited about the future of e-commerce.
Ranketta’s primary mission is to help businesses optimize their visibility in AI-driven search results. This is vital in a landscape where consumer behavior is shifting towards tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI-based summaries. For brands, appearing in these automated answers could mean the difference between growth and obscurity. Here is where Oravec saw the gap, creating Ranketta to track and enhance the visibility of specific product SKUs, not just brands. The platform goes deeper by offering sentiment analysis and actionable insights from an AI-powered Copilot.
Ranketta’s recent funding round was led by Lighthouse Ventures and backed by Gi21 Capital. Michal Zálešák, Managing Partner at Lighthouse Ventures, noted the platform’s "precision and product-level visibility" as standout features. This endorsement aligns with the growing demand for solutions in "Generative Engine Optimization" (GEO), the next evolution beyond SEO tailored specifically for AI applications.
For female entrepreneurs working in the tech industry, Ranketta offers great lessons. Here is a breakdown of actionable insights and lessons that align with the journey that leaders like Violetta Bonenkamp, seasoned entrepreneur and founder of Fe/male Switch, have championed.
Key Lessons for Female Entrepreneurs
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Start with Research
Oravec, despite his young age, invested time in AI research at the renowned Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics. Pursuing research before building a solution allows you to identify gaps in the market. This is a strategy advocated by Bonenkamp through her “gamepreneurship” methodology, research-driven ideation leads to stronger product foundations. -
Focus on Solving Pain Points
Ranketta addresses a specific pain point: the lack of e-commerce visibility in new AI-powered search results. Entrepreneurs should aim for clarity in identifying the pressing issues their products solve. As Bonenkamp emphasizes, “Your startup should create an impact that people value.” -
Create Multidisciplinary Solutions
Combining AI with e-commerce visibility is innovative and multidisciplinary. Female founders in Europe must mirror this approach by leveraging their unique abilities, as Bonenkamp does through neural science, linguistics, blockchain, and game mechanics. -
Develop Expertise Early
Oravec’s coding expertise dates back to his teenage years. Similarly, Bonenkamp, an expert across multiple fields, notes that building core skills early increases your credibility and makes your solutions noteworthy. -
Bootstrap and Start Lean
Oravec prototyped Ranketta solo and worked incrementally, proving demand before expansion. Bonenkamp successfully bootstrapped CADChain and built credibility before attracting external funding. Starting lean bolsters your business case when seeking investors.
Steps to Boost Visibility as a Tech Startup
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Begin with Niche Marketing
If your audience is European e-commerce brands like Ranketta’s initial clients, tailor your messaging and early acquisitions to this sector. -
Track Early Revenue Impact
Ranketta’s €100K ARR within two months is a testament to showing investors measurable growth early on. Monitor financial performance and adjust your product accordingly. -
Engage with Accelerators and Networks
Oravec’s success mirrors the experience of female founders like Bonenkamp who actively participate in events such as Yes! Delft or TU/e Launch. They offer credibility, connections, and guidance. Seek out incubators to enhance exposure and validation before scaling.
Mistakes to Avoid
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Neglecting Collaboration
Feedback from e-commerce brands helped Ranketta refine its precision tracking features. Listening to potential users during development stages is essential. -
Overlooking Emerging Trends
Generative AI is replacing traditional search engines. Entrepreneurs not adapting to shifts like this risk irrelevance. Stay updated through newsletters, investor insights, and tools tracking market trends. -
Skipping Data Validation
Avoid over-reliance on abstract assumptions when pitching a product; instead, include tangible metrics, like Ranketta does with visibility tracking reports.
How Female Founders Can Learn From Oravec’s Story
Women entrepreneurs in Europe should view Ranketta as proof that age or gender does not limit success. Diving into emerging technologies, like Oravec has with AI, is smart business. Violetta Bonenkamp calls this “leveraging your multidisciplinary knowledge”, combine what you’re best at and solve real-world problems with it.
Bonenkamp’s Fe/male Switch platform encourages aspiring female founders to test entrepreneurial skills through its interactive startup game. She stands by education, research, and creating tailored solutions as cardinal success rules in the startup ecosystem.
Conclusion
The rise of Ranketta, led by Oravec, ushers in a new era for AI visibility in e-commerce. For female entrepreneurs, the lessons lie in research, niche building, and proactive execution. Whether you're developing cutting-edge tech like Oravec or contributing to multidisciplinary innovations like Violetta Bonenkamp, leveraging market opportunities will define success. Ready to enhance your startup strategy? Dive into Bonenkamp’s F/MS Startup Game for real-life entrepreneurial practice that works.
For an overview of Ranketta and insights into its funding journey, visit Tech Funding News on Ranketta’s €1M success. For tools and mentorship designed for female founders, explore Bonenkamp’s Fe/male Switch platform.
FAQ
1. Who is Vojtěch Oravec?
Vojtěch Oravec, a 21-year-old entrepreneur from the Czech Republic, is the founder of Ranketta, an AI visibility platform. He started coding at 16, became a software engineer at 18, and later pursued AI research at the Czech Institute of Informatics, Robotics, and Cybernetics.
2. What is Ranketta?
Ranketta is an AI visibility platform helping e-commerce brands optimize their presence in AI-driven search results, such as those from ChatGPT or Google AI summaries. It tracks visibility at the SKU (product) level and incorporates features like sentiment analysis and AI-powered insights. Learn more about Ranketta
3. How much funding has Ranketta raised?
Ranketta has raised €1 million in pre-seed funding. The funding round was led by Lighthouse Ventures, with participation from Gi21 Capital. Check out the funding story
4. What is "Generative Engine Optimization" (GEO)?
GEO is the next evolution of digital marketing, focusing on optimizing brand visibility in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, rather than traditional SEO for search engines. Explore GEO insights
5. How has Ranketta performed since its launch?
In just two months, Ranketta reached €100,000 ARR and onboarded 20 European brands. Its early success highlights market demand for AI visibility tools. Learn more about Ranketta's growth
6. What prompted the creation of Ranketta?
Ranketta was built to address the lack of visibility brands face in AI-driven search results, which are increasingly being used by consumers. Identifying this gap, Oravec created a precise, product-level tracking solution to help brands succeed in the AI economy.
7. Who are Ranketta's investors?
Ranketta's funding round was spearheaded by Lighthouse Ventures, with additional support from Gi21 Capital. Both investors cited Ranketta's innovative approach to AI visibility as a key driver for their investment.
8. How does Ranketta differ from traditional SEO tools?
Unlike traditional SEO, Ranketta focuses on visibility within AI-driven search results. It offers precise tracking at the product level (SKU) and provides actionable insights powered by AI to boost product rankings in AI-generated answers.
9. What are some key lessons for entrepreneurs from Ranketta's journey?
Key lessons include investing in early research, focusing on solving market pain points, developing expertise incrementally, starting lean, and targeting niche markets initially. Discover actionable entrepreneurship insights
10. How can female entrepreneurs benefit from Ranketta's story?
Ranketta's journey demonstrates how innovation and multidisciplinary approaches can yield success. Women entrepreneurs can leverage their unique expertise and dive into emerging tech fields, as highlighted by Violetta Bonenkamp’s “gamepreneurship” methodology. Explore female entrepreneur resources
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
