For Independent Professionals Building Practice on Their Own Terms
Wisepreneurs Podcast

Tomáš Baránek

Tomáš Baránek Profile Photo

Publisher, Writer, and lifehacker

Tomáš Baránek (born 1972) is a Czech publisher, blogger, and lifehacker. He studied mathematical informatics at Masaryk University in Brno and founded Computer Press, where he led the legendary magazine Computer for years.

After 2004, Tomáš focused on free literary work, publishing a collection of erotic poetry titled "Bez uzdičky" (Without a Bridle, published by Host Brno) and later writing practical guides "Jak sbalit ženu" (How to Pick Up a Woman) and "Jak sbalit ženu 2.0" (How to Pick Up a Woman 2.0, http://jaksbalitzenu.cz). The latter was adapted into a play of the same name, which was performed on the stage of the Buranteatr theatre in Brno from 2009 to 2013.

In 2007, Tomáš Baránek rekindled his passion for publishing, co-founding Jan Melvil Publishing http://melvil.cz), a renowned publishing house that has become a beacon of personal development literature.

Jan Melvil Publishing has been preparing hundreds of thousands of readers for the future and was among the first publishers in the Czech market to start publishing books in electronic form. Tomáš occasionally lectures on this topic.

In 2021, Tomáš Baránek continued to push the boundaries of the publishing industry, co-founding Servantes, a dynamic spin-off of the publishing company that pioneers smart software for modern publishers worldwide.

In his spare time, Tomáš writes about lifehacking http://lifehacky.cz), a way to simplify life, and creates small, valuable apps in Clojure, such as the Nautilus project.

He lives in Brno with his wife Kateřina, who has always been the power behind the throne, their children Klaudia, Max, and Karina, and their dog Bruno.

Their home once belonged to the mathematician Prof. Otakar Borůvka and is near the birthplace of the first geneticist, Gregor Mendel, making Brno the best city for them.

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May 23, 2025

Tomáš Baránek Deep Reading as Professional Edge: Why Books Still Build Expertise in the AI Era

Tomáš Baránek returns to Wisepreneurs for his second appearance. He runs Melvil, a Czech publishing house that publishes only 12 to 20 nonfiction books a year — but each one is chosen with the care of a curator selecting for a specific audience. His readers trust the imprint so completely that many buy every title, and some have asked for a subscription. Tomáš explains how Melvil operates in a country of 10 million people with a deep book culture and 16,000 new titles annually. The strategy is counterintuitive: publish fewer books, translate them to an exceptionally high standard, and build enough trust that readers will wait six months for the Czech edition rather than buying the English original. Melvil licenses from the world's most influential thinkers — Harari, Kahneman, Grann — and recently relaunched Sapiens in Czech after the previous publisher lost the rights. The conversation covers Yuval Harari's Nexus, which Melvil published at the same time as the global launch, and Tom…
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April 25, 2024

Tomas Baranek Expertise Building: Knowledge Tools for Independent Professionals

Knowledge management tools for independent professionals who need to curate information without burning out. Tomas Baranek is a Czech publisher who rebuilt his working practice around tools like Readwise and Roam Research after experiencing burnout himself. He explains practical approaches to managing knowledge sustainably and why self-care matters for professionals without organisational support systems.