Czech start-ups shine at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco

25 Sep. 2014 | CzechInvest | Twelve Czech firms, the largest number in history of the event, participated in the annual start-up fair and conference.

Hundreds of start-up companies from around the world came together at the beginning of September in San Francisco, California, where they presented themselves to representatives of leading technology firms, the expert public, the media, venture-capital specialists and, of course, potential customers. Twelve selected Czech firms took part in TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2014 and were more than successful in representing the Czech start-up environment. Oscar Tech Inc. won the SiriusXM competition for the best exhibiting start-up. Together with the Czech ICT Alliance and CzechTrade, CzechInvest’s foreign office in San Francisco organised and supported Czech participation in the event.

“Most of the participating Czech start-ups had previously taken part in CzechInvest’s successful CzechAccelerator 2011-2014 project, which supports the development of Czech companies on foreign markets, including Silicon Valley, among others. Though this project is currently coming to an end, we want to continue to focus on support for start-ups in the future and we are therefore preparing the project’s continuation,” says Ondřej Votruba, acting CEO of CzechInvest.

“At the same time, the Czech start-ups presented themselves to dozens of local investors at the residence of the honorary consul of the Czech Republic, Richard Pivnička,” says Radomil Doležal, CEO of CzechTrade. “The BlindShell mobile application for the vision impaired, for example, attracted attention.”

Oscar Tech Inc., which offers a mobile application for seniors, also aroused interest, as it won the SiriusXM Startup Alley Pitch competition and received the opportunity to approach other potential interested parties at TechCrunch Disrupt London, which will be held in Great Britain on 20-21 October 2014. “We travelled to San Francisco with the goal of not only getting inspired, but especially of gaining contacts to strategic partners that are planning to enter or are already operating on the market oriented toward seniors. Success in the competition is strong encouragement to continue our work,” says Tomáš Posker, representative of Oscar Tech Inc.

The other Czech firms in attendance, such as Corinth, Czechgeeks and Be3D, were also a prominent presence at the start-up conference, which is regularly held under the baton of the company TechCrunch in other major cities such as London and New York. The event was also attended by the Czech Republic’s ambassador to the United States, Petr Gandalovič, who together with representatives of CzechInvest and the Czech Ministry of Finance subsequently met with leading Silicon Valley-based technology firms that are already operating in the Czech Republic.

“TechCrunch Disrupt is an ideal event for successful Czech start-ups with global ambitions. In future we want to continue to support the Czech representation at the conference, preferably in the form of a national pavilion and through the proven cooperation of CzechInvest and CzechTrade,” says Michal Zálešák, COO of the Czech ICT Alliance.