Future of Export Summit 2026: Pavel Ohnoutka on how to prepare a company for export

Conference talkCzechTrade / Future of Export Summit2026

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On Tuesday 3 November 2026 at 12:00, Pavel Ohnoutka, CEO of Strategix, speaks at CzechTrade’s Future of Export Summit 2026 at Cubex Centrum Praha (Na Strži 2097/63, Prague 4). His topic: how to prepare a company for export.

You will find him in Block A, Strategy before launch: how to decide well (12:00–13:30), where he and colleagues from CzechTrade cover why to grow, where to grow and how to enter a market. In the programme the talk is listed as Growth ambition, market prioritisation and entry models.

A beach holiday is not market research

“Why did you choose this particular market?” “We go there on holiday.” I have seen more export strategies like that than I would like. – Pavel Ohnoutka

Pavel’s advice is simple: before you go abroad, get your own house in order and build a proper strategy. The talk starts inside the company – who brings in the money, which numbers are the real ones and where processes get stuck. Only then come a market validated by data, a strategy with three scenarios, risks with owners and a roadmap in which further money is released only once a milestone is met.

Five steps to prepare a company for export

1. Company diagnostics – not “we know our company”, but an honest look inside. With AI it takes 2–3 weeks instead of 3 months.
2. A market validated by data – not “I visited the market and it was busy”, but data you get in days, not months.
3. A strategy with three scenarios – not “next year we’ll double”, but a realistic pace of ×1.4 a year.
4. Risks with owners – not “we’ll deal with risks when they come”, but one owner for every risk.
5. Money by milestones – not a budget for the whole year, but funding released after months 4, 9 and 15.

“Fortune favours the prepared. Your competitors benefit from the unprepared.” – Pavel Ohnoutka

The rest of the day covers choosing markets, opportunities in the USA, Canada and Mexico, export risks, AI in trade and networking. Attendance is free after registering on the CzechTrade event page. Pavel also spoke at the 2023 edition of the summit – read about that talk.

Can’t make it? Message Pavel on LinkedIn and he will send you the full presentation.

Pavel Ohnoutka’s original post (in Czech): LinkedIn.