From a Small Village to 20 Million: How GARDEON Is Building a European Company from Slovakia

Can a company from a small town in Slovakia grow into an international business, expand into several European countries, and reach 20 million euros in revenue?

Brothers Marek Choleva and Martin Choleva, who run the Slovak family-owned company GARDEON, discuss in the new episode of Highgate Talks how they built a major manufacturer and retailer of prefabricated garages and other structures from their garage-based beginnings. The company is based in Turiec but has gradually expanded into the Czech, German, Austrian, Hungarian, and Polish markets.

They openly describe why simply translating their website wasn’t enough for their expansion, why it was necessary to set up local companies, and what practical obstacles they faced with banks, VAT, legal services, and recruiting employees abroad.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

why doing business in Slovakia can be easier and less expensive than in Western Europe,
How GARDEON motivates its employees by giving them a share in the company’s success,
why the group established foreign subsidiaries and a Slovak holding structure,
how separating business operations from real estate helps protect the assets that have been built up,
which makes the building permit process more complicated for Slovak companies,
and why GARDEON is expanding its international sales from Slovakia.

The interview is moderated by Peter Varga and Tomáš Demo, the founders of the Highgate Group.

From a Small Village to 20 Million: How GARDEON Is Building a European Company from Slovakia

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