T-Mobile launches the Takeoffs for Start-ups project

• Experts from T-Mobile will share their know-how with start-up businesses
• The best 42 regional projects and two winning national projects will be awarded prizes in the total value exceeding CZK 7 million
• Each participant will receive expert support during the first year of running their business  

Prague, 6 September 2011 – T-Mobile has announced the first year of a business start-up project called “Takeoffs” (“Rozjezdy”), which is being organised under the auspices of businesspeople Radim Jančura and Linda Vavříková. T-Mobile will support start-up businesses not only with services but also with know-how sharing and expert consultations. 

“Everyone has a chance to stand on their own feet, whether in the form of a maternity centre with a café or a retired grandmother making her dream come true by selling her famed cakes. We know that beginnings are hard and enthusiasm alone is not enough. Therefore we want to support the participants not only with our products but also know-how and experience, which are often crucial for success,” says Petra Pavičová, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at T-Mobile, adding: “Start-up businesses usually cannot afford top-level commercial consultancy, therefore they often make needless mistakes. Our lawyers, marketing experts and experienced accountants will thus be prepared to donate their time and use their know-how to help the participants in the Takeoffs project.” 

From today until 17 October, everyone who started their business in the past 12 months, or is planning to start a business, may submit their application in 14 regional rounds of the competition. Competing projects will be evaluated by a jury composed of representatives of T-Mobile, media partners MF DNES and iDnes.cz and successful businesspeople from the respective regions. Until the end of 2011, the operator will also organise workshops where consultants from various fields will be prepared to assist with their advice and successful regional businesspeople will share their knowledge with the participants. Additionally, winners of the regional rounds will be announced at these gatherings. Regional winners will advance to the national round where the two main prizes will be awarded. 

Winners of the competition will receive telecommunications packages including notebooks and smart phones, marketing support packages and, last but not least, the necessary financial support to start their business. During the whole course of the competition, all participants in the project will have a possibility to consult with employee volunteers from T-Mobile regarding their business problems. 

Facts about the Takeoffs project
The registration form for the project as well as detailed information, including the competition criteria and detailed rules, are available at www.t-mobile.cz/rozjezdy. The competition has two parts: an expert jury will pick 14 winners in the regional rounds from whom winners of the two main prizes will be selected.

The T-Mobile prize will be awarded by the expert jury. When selecting the winner, the jury 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 initiator of the project as such. The second national winner will be announced based on voting by the public, or more precisely readers of the iDnes.cz news portal, which is one of the media partners of the Takeoffs project together with the MF DNES daily. 

The overall winners will receive additional financial support in the amount of CZK 100,000 from T-Mobile. Participation in the project will also bring necessary publicity for the start-up businesses. The total value of prizes for the participants exceeds CZK 7 million. 

Faces of the project
In addition to the media partners, the competition is being organised under the auspices of prominent and experienced businesspeople who still have very vivid memories of their business beginnings. 

Radim Jančura, owner and founder of Student Agency
“I started doing business while still a student because I wanted to gain independence. From services for students, I’ve developed my business to the point of starting the RegioJet train project. And it is certainly great if you have someone right at the start who will push you a bit and give you some advice. This is why I like this project – it is intended for those who want to stand on their own feet but have some concerns, fear... It can literally push people forward, help with consultancy, show where and how they should go.” 

Linda Vavříková, co-owner and founder of Allegria – Firma na zážitky
“Doing business is something completely different than being an employee of a firm. It is about a change of time possibilities and approach to work, about responsibility. What I like about the Takeoffs project is that it focuses on all start-up businesses, that it does not prefer only a certain selected group. It’s great that the project is backed up by a strong partner, a company that is able to use its experience and bring it to start-up businesses. It’s a shame that no such project existed when I was starting my business. I would certainly submit my application.”

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.