Start-ups interested in a stellar career in Silicon Valley being sought for third round of Czech ICT incubator

Czech ICT Incubator is opening the third round of the programme to support interesting start-up projects. Any project from the area of software, hardware, e-commerce or mobile applications can be registered in the programme by 14 February 2016.

The selected start-ups will receive prizes in the value of USD 6,500 without the organisers having any claim to future shares. The winners will be given a three-month residency at the prestigious Runway incubator in California or at a different incubator in Silicon Valley, and professional mentoring will be provided by selected partner organisations at the given location. In addition, CzechInvest will assist with orientation in Silicon Valley, where the agency has a representative, and recommend interesting networking events.

The conditions for participation are not demanding. At least one project founder must be a Czech citizen or the given start-up must demonstrably be a Czech entity. Participating start-ups must possess high-quality projects and an effectively functioning team. The start-ups’ representatives in the US must have very good knowledge of English.

Successful start-ups whose representatives travelled to the United States within the programme in the past include EasyCore, Manta Tools, Travelove and Bileto. “Potential for rapid growth is a basic condition for a genuine, successful start-up. Only a project that can grow at breakneck speed from month to month is truly a start-up. In order to grow that rapidly, a firm must be perfectly scalable. You can’t be surprised when you have to satisfy tens of thousands of customers after a short time,” says Kateřina Mikulková, co-founder of the start-up Travelove, which one last year’s round of the Czech ICT Incubator competition.

Registered projects will be evaluated by an expert jury composed of representatives of project partners Rockaway, SRTV, ČEZ, MSD IT Global Innovation Centre and J&T Ventures. The evaluation will be conducted in two rounds; the final selection will be announced in mid-March. Representatives of the winning projects will depart for California at the end of March.

Detailed conditions and the registration form are available on the Czech ICT website.