For the sixteenth time, students and employees of Palacký University, as well as other budding entrepreneurs from the entire Olomouc Region, can apply for the Entrepreneurial Head competition, which is organized by the Palacký University Science and Technology Park in Olomouc (VTP UP). Those who have an idea for their own business and want to take it a step further now have two months to submit their application.
They can compete for prizes worth CZK 400,000 to support the successful implementation of their projects. The Entrepreneurial Head competition helps to discover and support the best business ideas in the Olomouc Region every year. It is aimed at all budding entrepreneurs who are trying to successfully start their business. In the past, this competition has produced well-known business projects and established brands such as Báťek’s herbal syrups, modern
or the children’s playroom JáSám in the centre of Olomouc.
“Last year’s edition confirmed once again that organising the Entrepreneurial Head competition makes sense and that we can help entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial students get started, connect them with experts and show them funding opportunities. We are in regular contact with last year’s winner Anna Chesnokova at VTP UP, and over the past year Anna has managed to develop her application StitchItOn, which creates patterns for embroidery using AI, so much that she now has a functioning team and application and the first companies are contacting her about cooperation,” explained Petr Kubečka, director of VTP UP.
Dates, rules, prizes and other information about the competition are available on the website www.podnikavahlava.cz. Registration of business ideas is open from 20 March. After the initial registration on the website, the necessary documents for the business plan must be submitted by 20 May. The ten best ideas will go forward to the final round, and their authors will present a brief presentation of their business plan to the expert jury. The finalists of the competition will participate in workshops to equip them with the necessary skills for pricing and presenting to investors.
The finalists’ presentation ceremony and announcement of the winners will take place on 12 June at the Envelopa Hub University Building. The three best business plans will be awarded and the winner of the whole competition will receive CZK 50,000, consultancy worth CZK 130,000, material prizes and a year’s lease of a workplace in Element Coworking or a 50% discount on a year’s lease of an office in the VTP UP incubator. The competition also includes a special category Business Talent UP designed exclusively for students and employees of Palacký University. The winner of this category will receive CZK 5,000, consultations and material prizes.
The Entrepreneurial Head competition is organized by Palacký University in Olomouc and is held under the auspices of the Mayor of the Statutory City of Olomouc Miroslav Žbánek and the Deputy Governor of the Olomouc Region Pavel Jelínek. The competition is implemented with the financial support of the Statutory City of Olomouc, the Agency for Enterprise and Investment Promotion CzechInvest and the Innovation Centre of the Olomouc Region.
UP Business Camp
