Apple picker Press Release: Next Wednesday, September 15, 2021, at 23.59:5 p.m., the deadline for Czech and Slovak startups to apply for the Startup World Cup competition will expire. It will traditionally culminate in Prague at the SWCSummit on October 6 and 4, where startups from the V21 region will first compete, so that the event can then be rounded off by a pan-European final. In addition to the title of "champion of Europe" and advancement to California's Silicon Valley, the winning startup will get the opportunity to negotiate with the organizing companies Air Ventures and UP500 for an immediate investment of $000. Applications are submitted online on the website www.swcsummit.com.
Registration is free and filling out the questionnaire takes an average of 30-60 minutes. Due to the international environment, everything from the application to the presentation in front of the jury takes place in English.
"Year after year, we perceive a tremendous shift in Czech startups in this area. The projects that make it to the jury tend to be of a really high standard. After all, this is evidenced by their results. For example, last year's regional round of the Visegrad Four was dominated by the Slovak project Glycanostics, and the Czech startup 24 Vision Systems, which was awarded a wild card by the jury, made it all the way to bronze in the European final." says SWCSummit director Tomáš Cironis.
Break into the "Champions League"
Not only the winners of all previous regional rounds, but also the winners of several other startup competitions, such as the Czech Startup Challenge, Creative Business Cup or PowerMOTION, will go to the Prague continental final.
"By covering other events, we have raised the prestige of the entire event to an even higher level than before. SWCSummit thus becomes something of a 'League of Champions' in the field of startup competitions. Fighting your way among the finalists thus means real success, which can teleport individual projects to a completely new level." Tomáš Cironis explains.
Steve Wozniak, Esther Wojcicki and more will perform
The prestige of the event is also underlined by the personalities who will participate in the program. The central star of this year's edition will be the co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak, whose performance will be streamed live online from California on Wednesday 6 October at around 18pm – when the jury will be deliberating on the pan-European winner.
During the same day, other famous personalities will also perform - for example Esther Wojcicki known as the "godmother of Silicon Valley", who became famous as a respected educator and author of a bestseller about raising successful children (she herself is the mother of three highly successful daughters and in the past also mentored the daughter of Steve Jobs).
The third important personality of the business world will be Kyle Corbitt, director of Y Combinator – one of the largest startup incubators in the world. As part of his software solutions, he also created a platform that helps bring together ideal startup co-founders. During his lecture at the SWCSummit, he will focus on the issue of finding the right partners when establishing a new startup.
Take on the challenge and gain experience
According to Václav Pavlecka from the Air Ventures investment fund, who will sit on the final jury this year as in previous years, the key is to take advantage of the opportunity and enter the competition, even if it was only for practice: "The entrance questionnaire is quite extensive and requires preparation. Just going through this process is a rewarding experience that I highly recommend. I also recommend practicing presenting the project in front of an audience - perhaps even in front of your own grandmother. You can't influence many things in the competition, but you can definitely influence how you impress the judges."
After all, this already applies when filling out the registration. Every detail can decide future success or failure, because only the best of the hundreds of submitted projects will go before the jury. Last year, in the V4 regional round, the jury evaluated 18 projects out of more than 530 entries.
Make key contacts
But SWCSummit is far from just about the competition. The essential added value of the entire event is establishing contacts. Every year, investors, mentors and representatives of corporations come to Prague from all over Europe and overseas, which would be very difficult for individual startups to reach under normal circumstances. Here, they have the opportunity not only to meet them directly, but also arrange a "1-on-1" session with them or participate in their workshops or panel discussions.
Not only startups can participate in this part of the program, but also everyone who buys an adequate ticket. The price is 51 euros and all appointments are then handled via a simple mobile application.
Offline and online program
Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year's SWCSummit will be conceived in a hybrid way (which is also why some foreign speakers will perform live, but online). Wednesday's event with spectators will take place in the unique backdrop of the marquee Asylum 78 in Prague's Stromovka, but the entire program will also be broadcast online.
Those interested who will not be able to participate physically can watch the live online stream on the website www.swcsummit.com. In addition, it is possible to buy an online ticket for just 21 euros, which will also make available those parts of the program that cannot be watched for free. It entitles the owner, for example, to participate in online workshops and mentoring tables.
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