National winners of the SIXTH edition of T-Mobile takeoffs are from Zlín and Neveklov

• The expert jury most highly rated hand-sewn shoes by 18-year-old Václav Staněk from Zlín
• The prize of the public was awarded to David Richtr from Neveklov, who manufactures porcelain electrical sockets and switches under the Mulier brand 

The jury prize within T-Mobile Takeoffs, which is worth CZK 700,000, was awarded to Václav Staněk from Zlín. The expert jury evaluated his project involving a new brand of quality leather shoes, Vasky, as the best out of the fourteen regional winners. Václav Staněk learned to make shoes from his father and started his business with his classmates, photographer Lucie Urbanová and Jakub Gallas, this spring. Each pair is original, with each shoe having its own story.

The jury highly appreciated Václav Staněk’s approach to business. “It is not only about an original and creative idea and a well-thought-out business plan. The originator of the project has based his business on renewing a tradition in the region, preserving hand-made production in the Czech Republic and on the connection to a small local family business. His aim is to create employment opportunities in the region and to support fair trade,” says Eva Karasová, CSR Manager at T-Mobile. The objective of Václav Staněk is to become a global brand. His firm is now preparing new collections and also intends to open brick-and-mortar shops.

Like every year, the public can decide on the winner of T-Mobile Takeoffs through online voting in which regional winners placing first to third competed. A total of 11,926 persons participated in the online voting this year. The prize of the public worth CZK 185,880 in the sixth edition of Takeoffs went to David Richtr from Neveklov with original porcelain electrical sockets and switches under the Mulier brand, which are designed and manufactured by his partner, ceramist Lucie Javůrková. The firm intends to become the leader in its field both in the Czech Republic and abroad.

The national winner of T-Mobile Takeoffs received the jury prize worth approximately CZK 700,000, which includes a cash prize of CZK 200,000 from T-Mobile; design and implementation of an advertising campaign and printing of selected materials from the agency Made by Vaculík and Xerox, Agentura Najisto and Internet Info; a Maxi business account with Česká spořitelna free of charge for ten years; a smart phone from Samsung; and consultations pertaining to financial and HR issues from the investor Martin Korman and LMC.

The winner of the public voting received a cash prize of CZK 150,000 and a Maxi business account with Česká spořitelna free of charge for ten years.

A total of 409 projects were registered in this year’s edition of T-Mobile Takeoffs. The largest number of them – one-fifth – involved gastronomy (restaurants, cafés, confectioner’s shops, bakeries, fast food outlets and picnic services). Other well-represented fields included IT, leisure activities and fashion. Some unusual business ideas that competed within T-Mobile Takeoffs included leech farming and construction of custom-made caravans.

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.