Ostrava Green Light Startup Accelerator celebrates 10 years!
It is the year 2013, and in the head of one man at VSB-TUO, the idea is born to start something that not many people here know, but it is a hit in the world. This is how one of the first acceleration programs in our region and the Czech Republic as a whole was created. Green Light found its home at VSB-TUO, but its doors are open to all students across the Moravian-Silesian region as well as the general public interested in doing business in our region.
The father of this idea is Martin Duda, then the director of the Innovation Support Center (today's Business Center), who approached Honza Jůzl, the owner of the now popular Dock club, with this idea. The entire program and brand was created "on the knees", so to speak, but in spite of this, 29 projects applied for the first ever Accelerator, and 5 projects participated in the Startup Show held at the Vrtule club. Which are identical numbers as of the 10th anniversary year. Lucky chance?
Between the years 2013-2020, the program was constantly developed and improved so that the graduates were as well prepared as possible to start a real business. The two-stage system allows you to devote yourself both to those interested with a mere idea and to projects that have already started their business. The mentors and lecturers who accompany the "greenlightists" during the course of the Accelerator are themselves experienced entrepreneurs. They too have gone through phases of success and failure, so they can pass on authentic experience to future entrepreneurs. The interest in startups increased and the final Startup Show was finally anchored in the VSB-TUO auditorium after six years.
Green Light didn't stop even during Covid. Even crisis periods can be business opportunities. Although the entire 8th year was online and the Starup Show was streamed live from the Planetarium, it was a very successful year. The Jonggle project proved to us that even high school students have great ideas and that you can start a business as a teenager, and the winner was the Nilmore project, which produces 100% recyclable clothing and is one of the most successful graduates. "We are very happy with the victory. Every such success is a satisfaction for us after all these years of developing our product and recycling it. The Startup Show was perfectly organized, as was the entire Green Light, which turns into a truly European-level program," says Mikuláš Hurta, author of the winning Nilmore project.
Over the course of ten years, 484 entrepreneurs applied to Green Light, 71 of them presented at the Startup Show, 16 projects received additional support from the Moravian-Silesian Region in the form of vouchers, and the amount supported by private investors exceeds CZK 62 million.
We do not claim that doing business is easy and many beginners fail. Not everyone will succeed the first time, but every experience, even the unsuccessful one, belongs to business. The success rate of our graduates who are still running a business, even if for example with a different project, is roughly 40%, which we consider a great result.
Sustainable fashion clothing Nilmore, personalized game controllers GameArts, app for better parking AnthonyApp, VR in rehabilitation Virtual Real Life, irrigation system Zahradní Olla, shared 3D printing Joggle, smart and organic agriculture Ullmann and other innovative products and apps for many fields. All this arose in the minds of Accelerator graduates. All of them are already doing business with their ideas. "I still remember how we were in the first Accelerator and were finalizing our presentation at the Startup Show. It was the Green Light Accelerator that gave us confidence, thanks to which we then won the Czech accelerator and got to America. From this point of view, startup accelerators have their role, because there people change their mindset. I would definitely recommend Green Light to anyone thinking of starting a startup because it's perfect for starting. Today, I already participate as a mentor and see how much care each participant receives. And then it's up to you." Concludes Jan Tkáč from AVE soft, a graduate and mentor of the Green Light Accelerator.
Just as the word accelerator was rare 10 years ago, today the situation is the opposite. There are really a lot of options to facilitate entry into business, and we also feel a gradual cooling of interest. At the same time, however, we perceive that the difference between high school and university students is negligible, and so there is an opportunity to focus our efforts on supporting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial spirit in high schools. VSB-TUO could thus offer a comprehensive system of business support from primary schools to universities and for the general public in the entire region.
April 13 You're all invited! The 10th year is an exceptional jubilee and you can look forward to an exceptional show! The morning part will belong to primary schools and the Improve your technique program, the afternoon will be devoted to discussions and a program for the professional and lay public, and there will also be something for secondary school and university students. In the early evening, the program will be freely followed by the Startup Show itself and a proper celebration of the 10th anniversary! The whole event will be hosted by presenter Lukáš Ščurek alias DJ Lowa.
