Life isn't fair, I was told by some startups that it's not fair that they
are
that there is a jury just sitting behind and they ask the questions
from the comfortable seats. So, let's make life a little bit more fair. So I
would like to invite our jury on the stage to answer some questions. Please, guys.
Before we... careful. Before we... yes, we were picking straws which one of these chairs
will be broken.
Okay, before we proceed to the awards part, we will have a really short kind
of session with our jury. So I would like guys to let you know, let
you know the audience, what you really do, what projects you are now working on.
And I would need microphone for this, please.
So, our jury might answer the questions. So, let's go.
Okay. So, Ivan, please, this is your elevator pitch, thirty seconds. What do you do?
Hi. So I'm Ivan Debnar from The Spot in Bratislava, Slovakia. I am running, and
I founded a Coworking Space and also Accelerator. For all of you that want to
really do something really quick and be successful. Pretty much like the Starcube here, we
are doing it in Bratislava, as I said. We help you learn how to do
stuff, how to be intelligent, how to not make that much mistakes or make them
at least very fast, and really create an investible team.
Thanks. I'm not sure if it was 30 seconds.
My name is Vincent. I just wanted to tell you that's I was really amazed
by the quality of the presentation today. I'm especially amazed by that because I started
like you guys. I started in 2004. in the Imagine competition that we won in
Brazil. And then I had to pitch in 2010. in the Peace Park summit same
way that you did five minutes to jury. But these brought me to create Kobojo
which is a seventy people company today, making good money. And I've been a CEO
of that company for a while and I recently left for new ventures%2
Hi. Yes, I'd like to second that, you guys did a great job today. I
started not in a similar way, actually. It was me and three other guys, and
we had an idea for a java productivity tool that we had been building out
over the last three years or so. And for the last three years I was
the CEO. We grew the company from very, very small amount of revenue to now,
like, multi million dollars and eighty people in the office and
offices in Boston and Prague, and a couple in Estonia, where we were based.
And now I've moved on to do some investing, and
advising and mentoring, and stuff like that. So, I'm just
kind of working with people in the startup space and considering bulidinf my own again,
so... Thanks.
Hi, I'm Tom.
Great job, as well. I started
my first business about six years ago in Britain. And it's literally started in my
bedroom, and it was a marketing agency. The I sold it. I was running car
brokerage business, car finance brokerage business, which is now second largest in the UK. Sold
my stake as well. And because I wanted to come back home, I started Slevomat,
which you might know, which is not a 150 people company and has seven under
entities in central and eastern Europe. Last month I left, I left my CEO spot
I became a CEO of Slevomat Ventures, so I'm looking for opportunities for businesses that
complement Slevomat and it's user base. And it's because I'm not an investor and I'm
not an adviser. I'm an entepreneur. I started another company, which is now focusing on
food delivery. So, next year maybe, when you want to order food online, we'll be
the place.
We'll be working very hard to become it. And, thanks again for a great afternoon.
Thanks.
I have a few more questions for you and then the audience might take advantage
of this opportunity as well. I have a question for you, since you have a
microphone right now. What was the initial, what was the spark for you that you
decided to create your first company, your first project? Even though it was not successful
or was successful?
It doesn't matter.
Right after my university, which I didn't finish, I failed, I moved to the UK
and I started working in factories, as you do, because no one's really expecting you
there with open arms. And then I got my first IT job and I was
really underpaid. And then I got my second IT job and I was really underpaid
as well. And I was really pissed off, because I was thinking: I''m better than
this. You know? I can do better, I don't have to be underpaid. So I
left, I quit and moved to a smaller apartment. I knew I would be six
months without any income and I decided to give it a try. And it's was,
it was successful try. So, I was just basically pissed off and angry
That's a good motivation. And I wanted to prove myself in the world, I can
do things. Great, thank you. And David, please, I don't have the same question for
you. Let's make it a little bit more difficult.
What do you think is the most important thing for a startup to be successful?
Is there one, the most important thing, the startup must have?
Vision. You have to know where you're going. And you've got to... if I was
in a couple of thet with something else, it would be a team that's determined
to get there.
So, if you have a really clear idea of where you're going to go, why
you're going to go there and the team that will support you the whole way,
I think those are the most important things.
Okay. After that the money tends to follow. Right.
Thank you. And Vincent, please, how do you like Prague and how do you like
Brno?
The tough ones. Thanks for the question. I have seen Prague for the first time
today from the passenger's seat of a car and Brno just from a taxi for
my hotel two years ago. So, I have to come back to give an answer.
Great.
We always want to people say: I have to come back. Thanks, no, but more
difficult question. Now you have a team working in Poland on a new project. How
do you pick the best people for your team?
You know, it's a good question. I think, actually, right now I'm looking for co-founders
and not looking in one place. And I think that, and I think all the
that's what you need to look for. And for me, what is a good cofounder?
It's someone that is not in for the money and isn't in for the anger;
he's here because he wants to do things with his own hands. And I've seen,
I've have been in many trial of startups that I don't always show up, because
I... there were just few successes, because the lean approach that you have here I
think is the right one. And I've tired many stuff and failed many times and
then I found success. But what I've learned is that the people with you are
in for the passion and the excitement and the thrill to build something from the
ground. That might take you somewhere or might not, but just the experience of it
is what I'm looking for in someone, when I talk to someone.
Great and thank you. And the last question for Ivan. Why did you move from
like more business area that you were the owner to the area where you help
other people to create companies? I mean, you founded The Spot.
In Barislava. Well yes, there is, well, funny answer. Well, I felt that I am
really old and tired, so I don't have those ideas anymore. And I'm not able
to do anything myself, so I decided that I will just try to stick with
people that rally can. And so I tried to really help them with the content,
with the, well, inside and the experience that I gained over the years, so.... And
I really like to be among the people that really can have the passion, have
the vision, have the drive still. And I really, I enjoyed being there. And I
think there's something that we really can give back.
Great. Thank you.
And now it's place for you, for a few questions you might have. I see
the first hand here. From Jean.
You can scream, or...
Hi, I'm Jean Trojan, I'm a pitch and presentation trainer. So I'm really curious
and I just wnat a one word answer from you, so be really fast. When
you're on a jury like this, what is the one most important element of a
pitch for you? What really
makes it?
I just need to believe it. I think, you know, that's the most important thing
for me, personally. You know, if I see a guy and I don't believe him,
he can say whatever yoheu wants, but you know, the find out trust that you
can do things and he can do things he's saying is
is essential.
I think you used all our words.
The the one thing that... so I'm going to be fast on that one
I think that's, you know, in such a short pitch, I think it's about getting
the attention in the first search segment, and
you need to get it. Like, you need to, like, literaly be able to phrase
what you do in one sentence. And I think that's what gets me in the
pitch. If I get it, then I'm going to, you have my full attention, I'm
going to fall on the floor, I'm going to get everything and I'm gonna try
to appropriate it to myself. And so, and it might just be that's you're like,
let's say that you're the Facebook of cat owners. Just that one sentence from it,
I get it. You know, Facebook of cat's owners and don't try to do, that's
it.
for me it has to be clear and it has to be passionate.
Great, thank you.
Other questions?
okay
You are kidding me! There is no one who wants to aks these great people
something?
I need to, I need to tease my colleague.
No, actually I do have a question. I knew. About that anger. Like, that's something
I can relate to, that you were talking about; that kind of your
start of the business. But,
Was there, like, even more detailed, like, did tipping point, like, what was actually the
phase? Was it the, your blast paycheck you got that then decided to go for
the business, but that anger had to come up to a point where you said
Okay, now I'm doing it.
See it's a long time ago, and I'm not sure.
I'm quite angry person, so...
It's just like, you know, anger, like, is high all the time. I don't know.
Probably you. Yes, it's me. I don't
want you to be angry on me.
At least, I think, I think it was just... I had a time frame. I
was, I decided before I came to the UK I will give it a shot
for twelve months. And ten months after I arrived I was still working in a
factory.
because I just couldn't get, couldn't get anything else, you know? Because there is just
a lot of Poles in the UK. And it's like millions of foreigners and just
they didn't trust you want to stay. And then things started to happen and I
kind of got in the flow, I think, and you know, first month I got
a job, then I got... the month after that I got second offer. And then
nothing happened, you know? I stopped climbing ladder and I just forgot
I just need to make my own luck. So I think, I think it was
just, I was in a flow and it wasn't enough.
I think that
there's not such a thing as luck. I mean, obviously there's luck, but I think
that
you cultivate luck. See, you can, you can really make luck grow by being enthusiastic
about everything you want to do and you want to show. And the fact that...
you know, iIve been in Poland for just two weeks and a half, and I've
met already fifteen influential people. But I didn't know anyone, I just started with one
person who introduced me to another one, who introduced me to other one. And all
conversations, all those cafe, all those one on one are like just opportunities. And at
some point there's a tipping point, there is that mix that you strive for passion,
for doing something. And the right person that you meet to after those fourteen people
that you bounce on this year: Holy crap, would you, do want, do you want
to do something with me? Do you agree with that too? What do you do
next week? And boom, there's the spark, and you are on and you're excited and
you don't need money. That's one point I wanted to say. But everything that I've
built, I didn't raise money until I was making at least hundred fifty thousand euro
a month. So,
sorry.
I'm jumping on the anger thing. Anger's great.
I was turning thirty, and in a job that I knew I wasn't going to
go any higher in. And just really, really frustrated. I've been there for four years
and I thought: Okay, I've got enough experience in this place; I'm out. And so
I basically left to create a marketing consultancy, actually. And that
six months later I was the CEO of the startup. It just took off, like
you just, you go. I think, I think I'd wanted to be a millionaire by
the time I was thirty, that was the goal. And I was like: Okay, well
it's happening in a month. So,
I better get started.
I've actually realised what was tipping point now. And I apologise because it was such
a long time ago. I found a co-founder. And that was the tipping point, that
was the coffee, that was the opportunity, you know? So I wanted to do it,
I was angry, but I found someone who said
You know, I'm goinig to do it with you. And that was the tipping point.
So sometimes you just need to meet someone who is the spark for your business
to come true. Is this right?
Yes. You have to be persistent.
Yes, that's right. Yes.
Okay, so that was the last question from us. Thank you guys very much that
you attended this short panel and session. And so will continue with the evening, so,
thank you.
Okay, we have to do some short clearance here. But you saw our jury. They
are, they are quite... yes yes, all right.
At least someone remembers, at least someone. Great.
You saw that our jury, they are quite professionals, they didn't get sweaty at all
during the panelist session. I wish I was such a professional.
But let's continue with Starcube Show. You've learned something about how to become enterpreneur. What
you have, what you must have to become successful; what might be the obstacles or
what might be the sparks. So, let's find, I would like to show you what
you can do if you want to start your own company. There are some events,
some communities in Prague, Brno, Zlin, Ostrava; pretty much everywhere. So if you decided to
create your own company, maybe today, let's find out what it is. So, for example,
if you don't have the idea and you just want to know what people solves,
for problems go to ideaswatch.com. It's the Czech project where are tons of ideas that
needs to be sold.
If you just want to meet great people at one place in one day, you
can go for Starcube Show definitely, but you can also go for Barcamp Brno. One
of the biggest Barcamps in the world.
If you want to meet people from IT community, go and visit some of the
business IT club events in Brno or Prague.
And if you have the idea already or you are working on a project and
you want to hear a feedback on our project, on your idea; come and visit
us at micminutes.cz, because there is a jury similar to this, short presentations, feedback, new
contacts for you.
But if you are
if you decided to really create a project, you have a team, there are several
accelerators that will be opening new rounds or that will start in Czech Republic. For
example, Wayra Academy from Telefonica. You can also go for Startup Yard in Prague.
And to Node5 for accelerator they want to launch or use their co-working space as
well.
And there are other incubators, accelerators, IT communities, startup communities everywhere, pretty much, around the
world. So it's just up to you and that you decide to do something and
go and visit someone or at least visit some website.
If there is just one website for people from South Moravia, I would like to
show you that on startupclub.cz there is pretty much everything which is connected to creating
startups from all other communities around Czech Republic.
So,
that's pretty much for you who decided to do something and didn't know what to
do, where to start.
And now I want to do short announcement.
Some of the teams presented their solution, some of the teams from Starcube launched their
product recently.
And we are launching today registrations for Starcube 2013. So, since today, you can register
your project or you can tell your friends that they can apply for next round
of our Startup Accelerator. We already have registered teams from, and we started today, we
already have teams from Italiy, Bulgaria, Lithuania, India. And I wanted to say at the
beginning, I wanted to say today, that we still don't have any Czech teams unfortunately.
But that's not true, because during Starcube Show, three teams registered. So, that's great. And
I would be happy to see more other people applying for Starcube in spring next
year. Actually, you have to apply now, if you want to attend during the spring.
So you can check the website; the program will be in English, because there will
be foreign startups, foreign companies. So, you can get even better and bourne global much
faster.