Jama levova: 5 investors made offers, we chose Igor Rattaj
Written by Jakub Pitoňák
On episode 4 of Jama levova, the Slovak version of Dragons' Den, aired by TV Markíza on 1 October 2026, we asked for €50,000 for 20% of VEXiON cards. All five investors made an offer, and most offered more than we asked for: the highest was €125,000 for 20%. In the end we chose Igor Rattaj, who offered €100,000 for 20% plus the chance to win TMR as a customer.
Markíza's own headline translates as "The lions outbid each other and offered more. Jama levova went wild". Honestly, that is exactly how it felt from where we stood. Here is the whole story, the way I lived it.
Why the show meant so much to us
In Slovakia, Jama levova is a household name. It is now in its 4th season, and by now pretty much every business owner in the country knows it. As a viewer you sit on the couch, listen to a pitch and think about what you would have done differently. Standing on the other side is a completely different experience.
When the message came that we had been selected, we were over the moon. Plenty of companies apply, and we were two guys with a Slovak loyalty card startup. To this day I think we had a bit of luck on our side too.
From the start we approached it with huge respect. For the show, for the investors and for the people who make it. We didn't want to go there just to "give it a try". We wanted to go there prepared.
Hours of practice in front of parents and friends
On paper our pitch was just under three minutes. Behind those three minutes are hours of work.
We rewrote the text again and again. We cut every word that didn't need to be there, because in front of the investors there is no time to explain technology. You have to say what you solve, in a way every viewer at home understands. Adam and I rehearsed in the office with a stopwatch on the phone, recorded ourselves on video and then watched where I sped up and where my voice froze.
Then came the audiences. We pitched to friends, parents, siblings, anyone who could spare us ten minutes. Every run showed us where a listener gets lost and which sentence is unnecessary. And every next attempt was a little better.
When we felt it was done, we went through it once more. And once more.
The day the lights came on
On the morning of the shoot I was nervous. It is one thing to present VEXiON cards to a café owner over coffee. It is another to stand under the lights in front of five investors who have seen hundreds of pitches and know exactly what to ask.
What surprised me most was the calm around us. The whole TV Markíza team was incredibly professional and at the same time human, from the first contact to the last shot. They knew exactly what they were doing and made us feel we were in good hands. Before a day like that, it helps more than you would expect.
Adam waited in the Family room and I stood in front of the investors alone. I barely remember the first few seconds. Then the first line of our scene was spoken and suddenly it felt like all those rehearsals at home.
The offers in numbers
When the offers piled up, the host recapped them on air. This is the summary:
| Investor | Offer | Stake |
|---|---|---|
| Štefan Rosina Jr. | €125,000 | 20% |
| Milan Dubec | €100,000 | 20% |
| Igor Rattaj | €100,000 + TMR as a customer | 20% |
| Tatiana Ondrejková and Separ | €50,000 | 20% |
Source: official TV Markíza clip "Vexion cards očarili levov a získali investíciu" (2:51, in Slovak).
The highest offer was 2.5 times what we asked for. At €100,000 for 20%, the valuation is double the one we walked in with.
How the bidding went
Tatiana Ondrejková and Separ accepted our terms exactly: €50,000 for 20%. That alone would have been enough.
Štefan Rosina Jr. said he liked that we were "transparent, not playing games, and clearly telling the truth". He first offered €100,000, but for 30%, because he wanted to be a strategic partner. Igor Rattaj offered €100,000 for 20% and the chance to win TMR as a customer. Milan Dubec offered the same €100,000 for 20%, and Štefan Rosina matched it.
Then, when it looked settled, Štefan Rosina raised again: €125,000 for 20%.
We hoped someone would fight for us. All five of them, and above the valuation we had set ourselves, was not something we expected.
Why we chose Igor Rattaj
The highest number was not the only thing we looked at. I stepped out, talked it over with Adam, my co-founder, and we decided on Igor Rattaj.
Loyalty cards are a product for venues: cafés, restaurants, hotels, resorts, places where customers come back. A partner who brings work with real businesses on top of the money is worth more to us than a few tens of thousands of euros extra. Igor put it his own way on the show: "I wasn't convinced they would choose me, but I was really pleased."
We cannot comment on what has happened since filming. What we can say is thank you to every one of the investors. For the offers, for their time, and above all for the feedback, which we will use no matter who we shook hands with in the end.
The pitch started at a café counter
We didn't want to open the pitch with charts. We opened with a scene everyone knows. A guest orders a cappuccino and the barista asks: "Do you have our loyalty card?" Then comes the search through the wallet, between receipts and cards from three other cafés. Nothing.
Then I walk in, order an espresso and answer the loyalty card question: "Of course, it's on my phone."
That is exactly what VEXiON cards does. Your venue's loyalty card lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, right next to the payment card. No extra app, no hardware, no hassle. When the investors called Adam in too, we showed it live: Tatiana Ondrejková scanned the QR code, filled in a short form and had the card on her phone.
The show also covered where we are today. About 90% of our business is cafés and other venues, but in the last six months we have started working with other sectors too, for example hospitals, where we help digitise patient cards.
What the investors asked
Three questions matter for you too, because they are exactly what business owners ask us.
"How do you build a database if nobody has to register?"
This is the most common misunderstanding. Customers do register, they just don't have to download an app. After scanning the QR code they fill in a form, and the data the business chooses to collect stays with the business. The card is then saved to the mobile wallet they already have.
For you that means two things at once: no barrier to sign up for the guest, and a way to reach people who have actually been to your place.
"Isn't this like the apps that hold all my loyalty cards?"
The difference is who the system is for. Those apps help customers store cards. VEXiON cards serves the business, which creates its own loyalty programme: stamps, points, cashback, discounts, subscriptions, gift or employee cards. We usually recommend one or two types depending on the business, and the owner picks.
"So what's next?"
The strongest advice came from Milan Dubec: you already have the product, now you need to sell, and sell. It sounds simple, but it was exactly what we needed to hear from someone outside.
Should you try it too?
If you run a business and are wondering whether to apply, our advice is simple: go for it.
Not for the outcome, but for the road there. Preparing forces you to say what you do in three sentences. The investors' questions show you the weak spots you have been avoiding. And feedback from people who built large companies is valuable on its own.
And when someone asks me today what I take away from it, it isn't the numbers in the table above first. It is the feeling that we put absolutely everything into something and it paid off. My respect for the people who make a show like this has only grown. Thank you, TV Markíza.
We wouldn't be here without you
The biggest thank you goes to our customers. The cafés, restaurants, bakeries, salons and every business that trusted us back when we were two guys with an idea. Every card you issued and every piece of feedback got us all the way to Jama levova.
Thank you also to our partners, especially the POS systems we integrate with. We wouldn't be here without you.
Why a loyalty card matters
If you saw us on TV and are considering a loyalty card for your business, here is what the data from cards issued on our platform shows. We go deeper in the article on how a loyalty programme works:
- You lose most customers between the first and second visit. Roughly a third of people never come back after their first visit. Those who return a second time usually keep coming.
- The visit rhythm is set right away. The typical gap between two visits is about a week. A programme does not speed it up, but it does keep it going.
- Redeeming a reward doesn't drive customers away. More than four in five customers who redeemed a reward came back afterwards.
Does it work with my POS?
VEXiON cards integrates directly with these POS systems, so stamps and points are added automatically at payment:
If your POS isn't listed, staff scan the guest's card with a phone or tablet and everything else works the same. See the integrations page for the overview.
What's next
We are doing exactly what the investors advised: selling, and getting VEXiON cards into as many businesses as possible in Slovakia, Czechia and beyond.
If you run a café, restaurant, bakery, salon or gym and want to try a loyalty card, get in touch. And if you are curious how it all started, read why we built VEXiON cards.
Sources
- TV Markíza: Levi sa predbiehali v ponukách a ponúkali viac. Jama levova zažila šialenstvo, 1 October 2026 (Slovak)
- TV Markíza: Vexion cards očarili levov a získali investíciu, clip 2:51 (Slovak)
- TV Markíza: Jama levova, episode 4, full episode (Voyo)
- TV Markíza on Facebook: video from our episode
