On March 27, 2015 the building of the National Technical Library in Prague Dejvice belonged to already the fourth annual Festival of Czech innovation. The library opened its glazed arms to more than five hundred guests and for one day has become a place where they looked for ways to encourage companies and individuals, and turn ideas in business opportunities. The Festival was organized by Blue Events and charitable society Česká inovace. They prepared a unique platform for small and large businesses, startups, corporate representatives, accelerators, as well as scientists and university students. The meeting was not only a showcase of domestic innovative ideas from different fields but also a place for workshops, panel discussions and contacts exchange. The space was given also to finals of the competition Czech Innovation 2014.
The morning part called Startups & big players was focusing on examples of successful company and personal stories. The first speaker was a founder of the Berlin innovative scene Jörg Rheinboldt, CEO of Axel Springer Plug and Play, who concentrated on the key factors predetermining successful companies. Jorg has 21 years of experience in the field of innovative entrepreneurship, among other activities he was also founder and developer of the German eBay. The last two years he is working for Axel Springer, the traditional publishing house that has undergone a digital transformation and merged with California Plug and Play. They invest in startups in the Hundred Days program. They already run six programs which were selected from 56 companies. Jörg explained how they work and achieve success on the practical example of credit cards for kids. "I found the reason why I do what I do: I'm happy and I want to be happy at the end of the day. I want to know how success looks like and achieve it. And also I want to be a good father and husband. I would recommend Czech companies wishing to enter the German market to go there. Live and do business on the spot - in Germany."
Richard Brulík shared the story of the company Y Soft, which was founded in 2003 as a student spin off. They have developed and the YSoft SafeQ program for schools, banks or startups, which controls and monitors the printing costs and cost allocation. They provide also support and implementation for this program which operates in 100 countries. According to Richard these are the key factors for a successful business: the right business model, good financial management, innovation acceleration, clear accounting rules, monitoring the company performance, selling through a synergistic partners (Konica Minolta), staged acquisition and good condition of finance with monthly consolidation. They begun their expansion simply – first in the CEE region based on language localization - user interface - as close as possible to customers. They comply with the requirements for high standards and this facilitated their transfer to mature markets. "Do not give yourself small goals! You can do just what you try! I'm happy if I can work with the right people. We defined the six core values we work with, evaluate people and give them feedback."
The competition Czech Innovation 2014 registered projects of 124 innovative companies from various spheres of industry, business, science or public administration. The winners of the five categories, selected by a jury of experts, were competing by short presentations for the favor of Festival audience that has voted the absolute winner.
The winner was a family based company Research Institute of Technology with its project Drinking water and pellets of pig manure, presented by Michael Carvan. Drinking water and pellets are obtained by non-chemical molecular purification.
Martin Dokoupil, Consultant from Blue Strategy led a major debate for inspiration and courage that brought stories of successful entrepreneurs, whether they are just starting or have already something behind. Panelists focused on what startups need, which role accelerators play, how to work with the natural talents of leaders in companies or how to translate them into a business model to succeed in the world. They shared their ups and downs and encouraged and inspired entrepreneurs among Festival participants. The audience was primarily interested in how to succeed abroad, how to build a team and how to learn from own mistakes and not make them twice.
Discussion panel was represented by Vojtech Malina, vice president and business manager in Preciosa Lighting, a manufacturer of crystal lights; George Peters and Ladislav Eberl, co-owners in Gravelli – a company manufacturing the transmitting light concrete mix, winners of Czech Innovation 2013; Jana Ryšlinková, board member and co-founder of Nupharo technology park and incubator; Jiří Matela, Co-founder & CEO in Comprimato Systems - hi-tech company in the field of data transmission bonded with image and Marta Nováková, founder of U & SLUNO, president of the Association of Commerce.
The afternoon was filled with eight parallel workshops focusing on leadership, technology trends and design, financing, education for the future or how to bring the spirit of a startup to large firms. Within the program block called H-Hour companies could present their projects and gain valuable feedback from business stars in the jury. Four innovations - Aerial Carbon (Petr Bouchal), Booster cylinder (Jaroslav Misler), Fluoroalkylating agents (Václav Matoušek) and Smart household (Lukas Svoboda) - were introduced to the jury composed of Zbyněk Frolík (Linet), Dalibor Dědek (Jablotron) and Margareta Křížová (Central European Advisory Group).
Innovative clinic was devoted to sharing know-how during individual and group consultations. This year's Festival Czech Innovation 2015 offered fresh breeze and number of action tips and tricks on how to sell and apply innovative ideas.
Basic information about the Festival Czech Innovation 2015
- Festival Czech innovation prepared by Blue Events and Česká inovace o.p.s. has followed the three previous years, which were attended by 1,500 participants. The Festival has thus confirmed the position of the largest gathering of innovators in the Czech Republic.
- Festival Czech innovation is associated with the competition Czech innovation 2014, that registered 124 projects. Winners were selected by Festival participants in direct vote.
- During the Festival Czech innovation there were 8 specialized workshops on various issues related to innovation and modern management.
- Festival Czech innovation is a regular meeting of founders and owners of successful Czech companies, representatives of large companies and corporations, representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, startups and aspiring entrepreneurs, students, journalists and others.
- Festival Czech Innovation takes place thanks to the support of several dozen companies and institutions. Special thanks from organizers belong to the general partners 3 M Česko and ČSOB.
Aneta Zímová, Blue Events
Tel.: +420 730 184 505, aneta.zimova@blueevents.eu