343 projects compete in Takeoffs 2011

• Czechs burst with creative ideas – from a landkite board manufacturing plant, heat exchanger and electronic toys to a hybrid-drive vehicle and senior-citizens’ home
• High percentage of female participants
• Next stage – project evaluation and regional workshops

Prague, 18 October – The Takeoffs for Start-Ups 2011 project is advancing to the next stage. By midnight on 17 October, a total of 343 applications had been submitted within the project and will now be evaluated by expert juries. On 1 November 2011, the Takeoffs team will head to the regions to present the basics of marketing, online marketing, business thinking and sales skills to contestants at specialised workshops. At the end of each workshop, three regional winning projects will be announced. The other applicants will also be rewarded – for one year they will have an opportunity to consult with experts from T-Mobile regarding various problems related to starting a business. 

Surprisingly, the spectrum of competing projects is very broad – for example, it includes a project of hybrid-drive vehicles from Prague, stylish bicycles from the Zlín region and landkite boards from the Pardubice region. Support from T-Mobile experts will automatically be available to an insect-delicacy shop from Prague, a soap factory from the Ústí nad Labem region, a factory producing eco-friendly advertising materials from the Central Bohemia region and an eco-friendly messenger service from České Budějovice. The juries will award extra points to projects encompassing social aspects, such as sheltered workshops and a gluten-free food and drink café, as well as projects offering services that are missing in the particular region – for instance a hotel for dogs or day care centres. 

“We are surprised to find how much undiscovered business potential there is in the Czech Republic. The competing projects include a number of projects that will help the particular region as well as other projects that will employ dozens of people. There are also lots of creative ideas. We are looking forward to meeting their originators in person during the regional rounds,” says Petra Pavičová, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at T-Mobile. 

Interesting figures

Organisers have been pleasantly surprised by the share of enterprising women, who account for 42% of all applicants. A comparison of the individual regions also gives interesting results: leaving aside Prague, which, as expected, is the leader in terms of the number of submitted applications, Moravians also proved to be go-getters, as the top five regions in terms of the number of competing projects include – apart from Prague – the South Moravia, Moravia-Silesia, as well as Central Bohemia and the Ústí nad Labem region. 

The chairman of the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic, Dan Jiránek, was astonished by the number of businesspeople from North Moravia and Bohemia too: “The activity in particular in regions with an alarming unemployment rate is only for the better. People are not only trying to stand up on their own feet, but quite often they create dozens of other jobs, thus bringing benefits to their region.”

Evaluation stage – tour around the regions

Competing projects will be evaluated by a jury composed of representatives of T-Mobile, the Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic, successful businesspeople from the respective regions and expert partners. During November and at the beginning of December, workshops will be organised in the individual regions, where consultants in marketing, online marketing, business in general, sales skills and other fields will be prepared to assist with their advice and a successful businessperson from the particular region will share his or her experience with the participants. 

Winners of the regional rounds will be announced at the regional gatherings. Regional winners will advance to the national round, where two main prizes will be awarded. 

Regional winners will receive telecommunications packages including notebooks and smart phones, marketing support packages and, of no less importance, the necessary financial support to start their business. Throughout one year, all project participants will be able to consult employee volunteers from T-Mobile regarding their business problems. 

Abridged abstracts of all competing projects, as well as programmes, venues and dates of the individual workshops are available at rozjezdyroku.cz. A brief report, including information about the winning projects, will be posted on the website after each regional round is completed. 

About the Takeoffs project (www.rozjezdyroku.cz)
This is the first year of Takeoffs for Start-Ups, a project to promote small businesses organised by T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. The competition has two rounds: regional and national. The winners of the regional rounds placing in the top three will receive not only financial support to start their business but also packages of telecommunications and marketing services and equipment necessary to conduct business in today’s world, such as notebooks and smart phones. Two prizes will be awarded at the national level – the Prize of the Jury and the Prize of the Public. Both national winners will receive additional financial assistance and, in particular, another package of marketing support together with advice of how to make the best use of it. The total value of prizes for the participants will exceed CZK 8 million.

All registered participants will have an opportunity to consult their day-to-day problems with experts from T-Mobile from various fields – HR, PR and marketing experts, lawyers, etc. 

When selecting the winner, the jurors will take into consideration both the business quality of the project and its benefits for the local community, the reasons for starting the business and the originator of the project as such. 

Legend:
Prague
Central Bohemia Region
South Moravia Region
South Bohemia Region
Hradec Králové Region
Karlovy Vary Region
Liberec Region
Olomouc Region
Moravia-Silesia Region
Pardubice Region
Pilsen Region
Ústí nad Labem Region
Vysočina Region
Zlín Region

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.