How Honorary Consuls Open Doors to Foreign Markets: Telegrafia at the 9th Business Forum

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Expanding Telegrafia’s International Presence  

We are pleased to share an experience from a recent event where, together with our colleagues Petra and Monika from the business team, we had the honor of representing our company. On June 5, 2025, Telegrafia participated in the 9th Business Forum with the Honorary Consuls of the Slovak Republic, held in the Historic Building of the National Council in Bratislava. The event was organized by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic.

More than 120 honorary consuls from nearly 80 countries gathered in one place – mostly successful local entrepreneurs, experts, and prominent personalities who act as unofficial ambassadors of Slovakia around the world. They help Slovak communities and entrepreneurs, open doors to new markets, share their know-how, and connect us with other key contacts that can significantly help our expansion. From the USA alone, there were as many as nine!

Connecting Through One-on-One Diplomacy 

The event took the form of speed dating – every 15 minutes we repeatedly presented our amazing company to another consul in a one-on-one meeting and discussed with them the challenges we face in those markets. And since these are businesspeople, educated and very knowledgeable, their insights were truly inspiring. It was a great opportunity for us to present Telegrafia, showcase our technologies, and open discussions that could lead to new partnerships and export opportunities.

We took away many contacts from the forum, even deeper practical knowledge about how foreign markets work, and above all the feeling that diplomacy and business can go hand in hand – and that’s exactly how we can collectively move our company forward.

And as a small anecdote at the end – our state administration never ceases to amaze. Whether you are at the ministry or the municipal office… they don’t seem to know what air conditioning is. Luckily, we women didn’t have to sweat in suits and ties.

Building Bridges to the US Market  

Following this conference, on Monday, June 9, we were visited by one of the honorary consuls from the USA – Mr. John W. Woodward. He is a specialist in cross-border trade and investment and serves as Vice President of Global Commerce at the Metro Atlanta Chamber, where he leads the international team supporting foreign companies entering the U.S. market. During his 25-year career in economic development, he has advised hundreds of international companies, from large multinationals such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Sony to small and medium-sized enterprises establishing their presence in the USA. Previously, he managed economic development for the City of Richmond, Virginia, and held positions in commercial real estate in New York and foreign exchange operations in Washington, DC.

He is frequently invited as a speaker and guest lecturer at universities and international investment seminars and regularly appears in leading media outlets such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Based on his expertise and commitment to supporting international relations, in 2022 he was appointed Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic, representing Slovak interests in the states of Georgia and South Carolina. He takes his service very seriously – as the only one among the nine consuls, he decided to visit selected businesses across Slovakia, and thanks to our good contacts with economic diplomats in the USA, he also chose Telegrafia.

Our meeting was very enriching – we discussed the barriers to sales in the USA. He confirmed what we had already suspected: that communication with U.S. government authorities is nearly impossible for countries outside the U.S. due to high security standards. At the same time, he praised us for the steps we have taken in our efforts to break into this highly competitive and specific market and offered us a few very valuable contacts. He also expressed interest in visiting us again in the fall, this time with potential partner companies.

This unique opportunity confirmed to us that diplomacy and business can go hand in hand. By building strong international connections and sharing practical insights, we are paving the way for new partnerships and export opportunities that will help us grow further on the global stage.

The article was written by

Dominika Pavlíková

Dominika is an international business manager responsible for the US and Canadian markets. She is a woman full of energy that she needs to invest into meaningful things. That’s how she fell in love with the mass notification industry. Dominika is also passionate about learning and continuous development. She loves people, books, art, history and new challenges, which makes her feel more alive.

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