Direct People

What Direct People does

Direct People s.r.o. is a Prague-based innovation agency founded in 2010 by Michal Kalousek and Petr Šídlo as the longest-running innovation firm in the Czech Republic. It provides consulting, product development, and AI adoption services to enterprise clients in banking, healthcare, energy, insurance, mobility, and media, structured around three engagement tiers — Ideas & Design (1-3 months), Products & Services (3-6 months), and Scaling Business (1-10 years) — and operates a dedicated AI Academy. The firm has built a small portfolio of proprietary and co-developed AI-enabled products: SafetyMonitor and SafetyPort (medical-device-class bed monitoring software co-developed with LINET and integrated with hospital information systems via HL7 v2), Databot (a generative AI document search tool launched February 2024), the AI Skills Program (a three-tier Basic/Advanced/Master training methodology), and adjacent healthcare innovations including the Aplas app atlas and contributions to Kardi AI and VR Medical. Customer logos include LINET, Česká spořitelna, ČEZ, ČSOB, Moneta, Generali Česká pojišťovna, SAZKA, W.A.G. Payment Solutions, LMC, Economia, and Zentiva.

The business model is primarily professional services revenue from project-based consulting engagements, supplemented by Academy training fees (open enrollment courses and custom corporate programs in 4-hour to 32-hour formats) and keynote speaking. The Academy has trained more than 700 people across 40+ companies since inception. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated per engagement. Go-to-market is sales-led, combining direct enterprise outreach, conference speaking (X4B, LIFMAT, PM Conference), thought-leadership content, and the Academy itself as a customer-acquisition vehicle. Geographic reach spans Central and Eastern Europe with recent expansion into MENA, UK, and USA enabled by Finshape's acquisition of a 51% majority stake in September 2024, which positioned Finshape — a global digital banking and personalization platform vendor — as Direct People's parent and primary international distribution channel.

Name

Direct People

Legal name

Direct People s.r.o.

Website

https://www.directpeople.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Direct People is a Prague-based innovation agency founded in 2010 that delivers consulting, product development, and AI adoption services to enterprise clients in banking, healthcare, energy, and insurance, complemented by proprietary AI products (Databot, SafetyMonitor) and an Academy training platform serving 700+ professionals across 40+ companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Marketing Consulting Services (541613)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Full-Service Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAA)

Keywords

• Innovation consulting
• AI adoption services
• Product design
• Human-centered design
• Corporate AI training

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Innovation Consulting Services: Project-based consulting engagements for product design, market exploration, customer acquisition, and growth acceleration. Services include Ideas & Design (1-3 months), Products & Services (3-6 months), and Scaling Business (1-10 years) engagements.
2. Academy Training Programs: AI Skills Program with three tiers (ASP Basic at min. 12 hours, ASP Advanced at min. 24 hours, ASP Master at min. 32 hours) plus open courses and tailored training. Revenue from workshop fees and certification charges.
3. Speaking and Keynotes: Inspiring talks and keynote presentations on AI adoption, innovation, and organizational transformation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Direct People is an innovation agency that helps enterprises design, build, and scale new products and services, and adopt AI across their operations. It sells three tiers of consulting engagements — Ideas & Design (1-3 months), Products & Services (3-6 months), and Scaling Business (1-10 years) — alongside paid Academy training programs and proprietary products such as Databot, SafetyMonitor, and SafetyPort.

Product overview

Direct People is an innovation agency offering a portfolio of proprietary AI-powered products and professional services. Their core products include SafetyMonitor/SafetyPort (medical device software for hospital bed monitoring), Databot (generative AI document search), and the AI Skills Program (Academy). They also deliver healthcare AI solutions including Kardi AI (cardiac monitoring), VR Medical (rehabilitation VR), and Aplas (healthcare app atlas), along with innovation consulting and AI adoption services for banking, healthcare, and enterprise clients. The Academy training platform complements their product offerings with professional education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Innovation Consulting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% user satisfaction with SafetyMonitor during pilot in Czech hospitals
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability11 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LINETcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Strategic partnership with LINET (global hospital bed manufacturer, top 3 worldwide) since 2018. Jointly developed SafetyMonitor and SafetyPort digital platforms for hospital beds, launched in EU and US markets. Products help prevent falls and monitor patient safety. Cooperation continued with SmartCare segment development.
• VR Medical / JUFA Investment GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with VR Medical (healthcare VR startup) and JUFA investment group for virtual reality applications in healthcare. Direct People served as trusted partner in bringing medical devices to European and US markets. Won 4DigitalHealth Accelerator award in 2021.
• TeskaLabs, Viable One, UJEP, Zdravotnictví (v) budoucnostiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to develop Aplas (www.aplas.cz), an atlas of healthcare applications connecting healthcare providers who need apps with developers who create them. Partners include TeskaLabs (technology), Viable One, Univerzita J.E. Purkyně (academic), and multidisciplinary platform Zdravotnictví (v) budoucnosti.
• Top VisionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Top Vision to deliver open AI training courses. Direct People's 4-hour workshops are offered through Top Vision's course catalog, expanding reach for AI education programs.
• Generali Česká pojišťovna, RedButton EDUminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Generali and RedButton EDU to create Digital Minimum - an interactive digital tool that evaluates and improves employees' digital skills using gamification and storytelling.
• Alma Group (Finland)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Alma Group (Finnish parent company of LMC) for ERP harmonization project across LMC entities in Czech Republic and Slovakia. Direct People led a 60-person team to integrate seven systems.
• Dexia (DEX Innovation Centre)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerDEX Innovation Centre serves as Czech partner for 4DigitalHealth Accelerator by EIT Health. Direct People participated in accelerator programs and events organized through this partnership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Designit (Wipro): Global design and innovation consultancy focused on customer experience, product design, and digital transformation. Closely comparable in methodology (human-centered design, lean experimentation) and target buyer (enterprise innovation leads), and is a natural competitor for Direct People's larger mandates.
• Fjord (Accenture Song): Design and innovation arm of Accenture, delivering service design, product innovation, and digital transformation for large enterprises. Directly comparable to Direct People's enterprise innovation work, with a much larger global bench and similar design-thinking-led delivery model.
• Ustwo: Digital product studio combining strategy, design, and engineering to build and launch products for enterprises and startups. Operates with a similar 'ideas to products' pipeline (1–3 month discovery through to scaling) and a focus on emerging tech adoption that closely matches Direct People's methodology.
• Implement Consulting Group: Nordic-headquartered management and IT consultancy with a strong innovation and digital transformation practice. Comparable in its project-based, methodology-led delivery to enterprise clients across financial services, healthcare, and public sector — and a relevant benchmark given Direct People's Finshape-driven expansion plans.
• Frog Design (Capgemini Engineering): Global design and innovation firm (now part of Capgemini) specializing in product design, brand, and digital experience strategy. Comparable in its combination of design heritage with enterprise delivery, and represents the kind of scaled competitor Direct People faces on multi-region accounts.
• IDEO: Pioneering global design and innovation consultancy. Direct People mirrors IDEO's human-centered design, product design, and innovation strategy offerings, and competes for the same enterprise innovation mandates, albeit with a regional Central European focus rather than IDEO's global footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Digital: Global professional services firm's digital transformation and innovation arm. Josef Dvořák (Direct People partner) is a former Deloitte consultant, reflecting direct talent flow; Deloitte Digital competes for the same enterprise transformation budgets across banking, insurance, and healthcare in CEE.
• McKinsey & Company (QuantumBlack / Design): Global management consulting giant with QuantumBlack (AI) and McKinsey Design practices that increasingly encroach on innovation-agency territory. Represents the upper bound of competition on enterprise AI and innovation mandates, and a pricing-pressure reference point for Direct People's larger engagements.
• BCG Platinion / BCG X: BCG's technology, digital, and innovation build-and-operate arm. Comparable in that it pairs strategic advisory with hands-on technology and AI delivery — directly overlapping Direct People's 'delivery, not just advice' positioning for enterprise innovation and AI adoption programs.

Regional players

• Bluecrux: Belgian consultancy combining supply chain, operations, and innovation services for life sciences and consumer goods enterprises. Comparable as a European-headquartered mid-sized innovation consultancy competing in adjacent verticals, and a natural peer for talent and client overlap in the broader European market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@directpeopleczech
• Facebookfacebook.com/dirctepolpe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/direct-people
• Instagraminstagram.com/directpeopleczech
• Xx.com/sidlak

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Direct People