A Budding Dealmaker Who's Learning By Doing

The Corporation

A BUDDING DEALMAKER WHO'S LEARNING BY DOING

David Kyjovsky could fit in with any group of hot dogs schussing down Colorado's ski slopes. Sporting a bright T-shirt advertising his favorite snowboards, the 28-year-old electrical engineer has ventured to such places as China's remote mountain ranges seeking superior snow. But sports aren't Kyjovsky's only thrill: He's also one of Czechoslovakia's budding entrepreneurs.

While a student at Czech Tech, he invented a device that plugs into a satellite receiver and unscrambles TV signals from Western European stations. Kyjovsky sold about 140 of the black boxes at some 2,900 korunas, or roughly $114 a pop, before licensing the technology and entering the U. S. Business School in Prague. Lately, he has been snapping up assets from cash-starved state enterprises and reselling them at a profit. Kyjovsky says he just bagged a 333,333 koruna, or $13,071, profit on one such maneuver. The dealmaking is still going on, because Kyjovsky isn't ready to give up everything for an MBA. His next sport? Paragliding.