What’s Special About the Polish Tech Ecosystem?

StartupYard is about to embark on a month-long, 8 stop tour of Central European tech capitals. We’ll be visiting Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovenia, and have already been in Kosovo and Krakow.

Getting to Know The Polish Tech Ecosystem

But before we kick off StartupYard FastLane properly, we wanted to get to know the ecosystems we will be visiting even better. While we’ve met a lot of startups from these countries, and accelerated some of them as well, we wanted to hear from local accelerators, investors, and entrepreneurs what they thought was special about their local ecosystem. Since we’re asking startupers to come to Prague, which we think is pretty special, we wanted to see what our neighboring ecosystems really have to offer, according to some of their biggest fans.

We asked a group of entrepreneurs and influencers in the countries we’re visiting to tell us their perspective on their own ecosystem, and we will share that learning with you in a series of blog posts, starting with the first country we will visit, on August 31st, Poland. So we’re starting off the series with the Polish tech ecosystem.

Our Respondents

ASia Oparcik, Polish Tech ecosystem, OMGKRK, StartupYardAsia Oparcik: Operations Manager at OMGKRK, the Krakow Startup Community

Petr Piekos, Polish Tech ecosystem, TotemInteractive, StartupYard

Piotr Piekos: CEO and Founder of TotemInteractive, a StartupYard Alum

Tomasz Kowalczyk, Growth and Innovation Designer for HardGamma Ventures

Tomasz Kowalczyk: Growth and Innovation Designer for HardGamma Ventures, Warsaw

Polish Tech Ecosystem, Krakow

About the Respondents:

About Asia – a tech enthusiast and startup veteran from Krakow, Asia is a former Project Manager of Estimote and Project Lead at Vorm. She has worked with the biggest e-commerce startup in Poland: Showroom. She loves to organize, and often works an event manager. She is the current Operations Manager at OMGKRK, a community for Krakow based entrepreneurs.

About Pioter: Piotr is Co-Founder and CEO of TotemInteractive, a StartupYard company. He is a happy father and entrepreneur who grew from the corporate world. As an engineer he worked in the semiconductor industry, helping the largest players (Intel, Samsung) expand their production base. As a system expert in the Audio Visual industry, he traveled the world, focused on helping corporate customers in saving dozens of endangered projects.

About Tomasz: Tomasz is a member of the HardGamma Ventures team responsible for leveraging its actions using available support schemes and cooperation with external partners. Before joining HardGamma, Tomasz worked as Innovation Consulting project manager for one of the Big 4 companies.

What Do Poles Think of Local Polish Ecosystems?

What do you see as the greatest advantage of your tech ecosystem, particularly for young technology startups and entrepreneurs?

Asia: Krakow’s ecosystem has a great energy and is a place for many experienced entrepreneurs. People here are focused on IoT. There are many young people: tech students, developers which are here to make a change. We’re not only working on our own startups but also we’re very active community, offering help for any newcomer.

The ecosystem in Krakow is also condensed meaning it’s easy to reach your potential partners via intros or simply walking to a close by office because the majority of startups are located in one district.

Piotr: It’s the availability of talent. Thanks to that, plus the skills of Polish developers, we were able to relatively quickly build a complex, scalable IoT system available globally.

What about its most important current weaknesses? How would you like to see them addressed?

Asia: It’s hard to be always available and to attend every interesting event when your own startup is getting bigger and bigger. Especially since our startup community is already a few years old: many people grow from being freelance startup enthusiasts to having more defined job.

That’s why one of our main goals [at OMGKRK]  is to bring people together, integrate newcomers and older members and to organize great quality events which really will be useful and profitable in long term.

Piotr: The scarcity of sales resources. It is difficult for us to scale-up our salesforce – in opposition to Tech talent, professional salespeople with domain knowledge from the Audio Visual industry are not only hard to find but also significantly more expensive. We try to mitigate that by leveraging our relationships with partners. Nevertheless, in the mid-term an additional investment dedicated almost purely into salesforce will be necessary.

Piotr Piekos from @totemintractive: The main weakness of the Polish #startup ecosystem is lack of sales talent. Share on X

Tomasz: Currently in Warsaw there is a lack of a broad mentor base with dedicated knowledge on supporting the development of startups and scaleups. While the sector develops, the number of mentors will grow, though, it’s only a matter of time.

There is an insufficient number of professional LPs, resulting in the lack of smart private money and which pushes startups to be too dependent on public funds and initatives.A way to go about improving these deficiencies could be the promotion of open innovation and constructing a capital market for innovative companies.

Tomasz from @hardgamma: Poland lacks a broad base of mentors. Needs more smart private money. Share on X

What speciality would you say your ecosystem is most famous for, in terms of technology or business?

Asia: Many of Krakow’s startups are working on IoT solutions which is great, since it’s general trend in a global community.

Of course we’re famous for our beacons: Estimote and Kontakt are leaders not only in Poland but also around the world. There are companies working on Industrial Iot like Silvair or Elmodis. There are many educational/social like Brainly and Notatek, which are re-defining the way people learn.

One of the biggest successes of Krakow is definetly Base CRM.

Asia from @omgkrk : Krakow a world leader in beacon technology like @estimote and @kontakt_io . #TIL #startups Share on X

Piotr: I think that we are touching a more general problem here – European startups are poor in scaling-up. This is especially true when it comes to  the CEE region. Startups from our ecosystem fall behind SV companies greatly in that aspect. Obviously, they do look into international markets, but they do not know how to do it efficiently. My personal thoughts revolve around the deficit of business tradition in the region.

Two and a half decades of the free market are not enough to develop a proper business culture. There is a certain level of cultural inertia that is not easy to overcome. The CEE startup scene is playing a catch-up game, maybe apart from Estonia, and legislation is not really helping that much. Therefore my personal advice to the founders would be: if you want to accelerate that process – learn from the best in the field who had been exposed to more mature ecosystems. It is the human capital that can drive the change eventually.

Piotr Piekos @totemintractive: Polish and CEE startups lack a business tradition. Share on Xv

Would you say the local ecosystem is dominated by more copycats, or by original, innovative solutions?

Asia: Although Krakow the ecosystem reacts fast to trends, we’re definitely the one to bring innovative solutions. The whole beacons craze started here and we’re not afraid to work on new or controversial ideas, for example like sexual health wearables.

What would you say your locally grown entrepreneurs are best at? What is their greatest strength in international business?

Asia: The main value they bring to the international table are working solutions. Ideas are great but in the end what win is working hardware and software.

Also we’re extremely hard working and focused on building the greatest things. What I love about many Krakow’s entrepreneurs is the fact that they’re not here to feel sorry for them or to being too shy about their work. That being said they’re extremely humble, but if they know something great is in their hand they will be not stopped to present it to the world. They love to try.

Asia from @omgkrk: Polish startups bring value by delivering solutions, and with hard work, not just ideas. Share on X

In your opinion, does the Polish tech ecosystem look abroad for opportunities enough? Too much? What would you encourage local entrepreneurs to change in their approach to global business?

Asia: I think we are not shy to try outside Poland and we believe in our products and teams, but I am sure that we could be even more active. Programs like YC or Berlin’s Techstars are a great opportunity for Polish entrepreneurs too see what rest of the world has to offer and how different their approach can be.

What does your ecosystem offer that others can’t? What is your local “killer feature?”

Asia: Definitely one of the strongest features for Krakow is our big student community, with many tech universities. That can be crucial when you’re looking for new people, especially on a junior level.

Also the fact the city is quite small, but packed with startup people, makes it easier to network. You can meet people not only on events, but also just here and there in the city.

Asia from @omgkrk: Krakow #startups find strength in small, tight community Share on X

How would you describe your government’s relationship to startups and tech? Is the government helpful or is it out of touch?

Asia: For many years startups were working rather parallel to the government, rather than with it. But slowly it’s starting to change. I think the successful stories of many polish startups show that those kind of companies are working on extremely innovative things, that could profit the whole polish economy. Startup focused programs are starting to show up, and I think the next few years will be very interesting in how government will try to help them and what actually can be done. As for local governments on city level ones are very helpful, others don’t really care.

Piotr: Recently, the polish government increased activities related to the widely understood startup scene in Poland. It seems that innovative startup companies have become an important part of the new national plan for economical transformation. The dedicated governmental programme “Start in Poland” will pump close to $1 billion into the ecosystem in the next 36 months. There is an undersecretary of Ministry of Economic Development designated solely to communicate with and develope the ecosystem, and co-architect the new legislation designed to make startups’ lives easier. Obviously, it will come down to the quality of execution.

Tomasz: The current government is taking a number of steps to try and increase startup activity in the economy. Startups were specifically targeted in the current Development Minister and Deputy PM Mateusz Morawiecki’s development plan, and there are steps being taken to provide more incentives and easier legislative and fiscal procedures for startups, including the introduction of a new type of business, the Prosta Spółka Akcyjna – Simplified Joint Stock Company. 

What about Angel investors? Do you have an active community? What types of people are doing angel investing in your ecosystem?

Asia: We have few Angels which were very helpful for startups in early stages. Rafal Han who run Silvair, Jakub Krzych from Estimote, Richard Lukas involved in many project and Rafal Targosz from PROIDEA (and now also Eventory) are the most active. That being said the angel scene is not big, it still a challenge to show people with money & experience in business that they could help and that startups are great investment. Most Angels have a tech background, so basically there were successful tech CEOs at some point.

Piotr: I recently participated in the annual EBAN (European Business Angel Network) Congress in Portugal. Unfortunately, I have to admit that the CEE representation of Business Angels in EBAN community is not proportional to the size and potential of the ecosystem. There are a few good examples, though, for instance, Michał Ciemiński managing the Polish fund PlatinumSeed is sitting on the EBAN board of directors from this year.

Tomasz: The backbone of the Polish market is formed by angel investors – private individuals who are bold enough to make initial investments. Investors in Poland are usually former founders of successful IT companies, as well as a new tech-savvy crowd with family money willing to invest.

In your opinion, what have been your greatest local successes, and in what areas do you think the ecosystem has the most potential to grow in the next few years?

Asia: The greatest success must be having international companies, which are still based in Krakow and the fact that they truly believe that Krakow is the place to be. It’s easy to move your business to the US; definitely it makes it easier talking to US investors or big clients, but startups like Estimote, Kontakt, Brainly, or Base CRM show that it can be done having your HQ in Poland.

Very interesting is the growing education scene and I think many startup doing that will evolve in the next few years.

Piotr: UxPin, Brainly, Estimote are headliners of the polish scene. Obviously, TotemInteractive will be the first one from AdTech industry 😉

For B2B – I would bet on companies like TotemInteractive, that are disrupting specific, often petrified, industries by redefining and simplifying the value creation chain. For B2C – I see the potential in mobile-first marketplaces oriented to help ever-connected urban consumers.

Tomasz: Most recently, Warsaw has been making waves in the CEE regional ecosystem. These include the choice of Warsaw for the location of Google Campus; a growing interest of foreign investors in the Polish market; and a growing presence of international startup support networks, such as EIT Digital, which has just partnered up with HardGamma. In order to thrive in the future, the ecosystem in Warsaw will need to find ways to create stronger support networks for startups which offer more than pitch-nights, free beer and pizza.

What would you say to an entrepreneur or a startup thinking about relocating to your city? Any Warnings? Hidden advantages? Quirks?

Asia: Krakow has an amazingly energetic and packed startup scene so it will be quite easy to find employees or partner for business.

The main disadvantage of the Polish tech ecosystem in my opinion is Polish law, which is quite tricky and not matched to startup reality. So you need be really careful dealing with papers.

As I said before – having an HQ and a whole business in Krakow is great: Poland is quite a big market, we have amazing developers and it’s easy to run an international team here. But probably I would recommend hiring some business people outside Europe, to deal with the US and Asian markets, since it would be that much easier for them to reach clients.

Tomasz: Warsaw is a great city to live in, the costs are low and the infrastructure is of a good quality. A number of legislative moves are being made which will make running a startup that much easier, but a word of warning that you still need to have a lot of patience to deal with fiscal and legal issues. Best to lawyer-up though.

Can you highlight 3 startups to watch for 2017 from your local ecosystem? Why would you highlight them?

Asia: Elmodis – startup that deals with efficiency of Industrial Electrical Engines. They are using over 70% of World’s power.

Contellio – recent graduate of TechStars Berlin on the way to creating Design as a Service.

NewByteOrder – A team that want to revolutionize Big Data and how we process it.

Piotr: Abyss glass – interesting and affordable ‘magic mirror’ tech. Potential in retail.

Brainly – great scalablity potential.

TotemInteractive – avant-garde of outdoor advertising transformation.

StartupYard, Central Europe Accelerator

StartupYard FastLane Brno, at Impact Hub Sep. 7th!

Stop 5 on our FastLane RoadShow will be ImpactHub Brno. We’re visiting 8 top Startup Capitals in Central Europe, as part of StartupYard’s FastLane road show: FastLane Brno will be at the Impact Hub on Wednesday, September 6th.

We will host open hours, and listen to pitches from some of the most interesting startups in Brno, and hopefully select a few to be “Fastlaned,” through the selection process for StartupYard.

Meet and Pitch to the StartupYard Team at Impact Hub, Brno

Fastlane Brno, StartupYard, Central Europe Accelerator

WHERE: Impact Hub -Cyrilská 7 Brno 602 00

 Looking forward to meeting @Startupyard Accelerator team @ImpactHubBrno on September6th! #startups #pitching Share on X

How to Pitch StartupYard in Brno

StartupYard FastLane is your chance to pitch directly to one of Central Europe’s leading seed accelerators for technology startups, and move straight to the final selection rounds for StartupYard 2016/2, kicking off in November 2016. StartupYard will visit 9 cities in September 2016, providing workshops, office hours, and answering questions from tech communities around Central Europe.

On September 5th, StartupYard will join Impact Hub, to listen to pitches from interested startups, the best of which will be offered interviews with StartupYard’s Selection Committee.

Startups who are interested in Pitching at the event should sign up to pitch, and then come to the venue during our office hours, get a chance to meet us, and tell us about their idea first.

Event Details for StartupYard FastLane Brno

13h – 16h: open hours + mentoring (open to all startups)

16h: event will start

16:30 – 17:30: start of the official pitching    

17:30 – 18:30 (or more): networking + refreshments

About Us

Two members of the StartupYard team will represent the accelerator at FastLane Brno. Our Managing Director Cedric Maloux, and our Community Manager, Lloyd Waldo. 

What We’re Looking For

StartupYard accepts startups in the Idea Stage, all the way through to companies with their first clients, users, and revenues.

Are you a Data Focused Startup, working in Security & Trust, Iot & Big Data, or Machine Learning & Prediction? Then StartupYard is your chance to get funded, launch fast, and attack the global market with the backing of some of Central Europe’s leading venture investors, including Credo Ventures, and Rockaway Capital.

Applications for StartupYard close on September 30th, 2016 . Startups can apply directly for the program by clicking here.

Read More about the Open Call, and Find Out More About Our 3 Month Program Here.

StartupYard, Central Europe Accelerator

Pitch StartupYard in Bratislava, Sept 6th!

Stop 4 on our FastLane RoadShow is The Spot, Bratislava. We’re visiting 9 top Startup Capitals in Central Europe, as part of StartupYard’s FastLane road show: StartupYard’s management team will be at the The Spot on Tuesday, September 6th.

We will host open hours, and listen to pitches from some of the most interesting startups in Bratislava, and hopefully select a few to be “Fastlaned,” through the selection process for StartupYard.

Meet and Pitch to the StartupYard Team at The Spot, Bratislava

Spot-9

WHERE: The Spot – Námestie SNP 30 3rd floor OD Dunaj II, Bratislava, 81101

How to Pitch StartupYard in Bratislava

StartupYard FastLane is your chance to pitch directly to one of Central Europe’s leading seed accelerators for technology startups, and move straight to the final selection rounds for StartupYard 2016/2, kicking off in November 2016. StartupYard will visit 9 cities in September 2016, providing workshops, office hours, and answering questions from tech communities around Central Europe.

On September 5th, StartupYard will join The Spot, to listen to pitches from interested startups, the best of which will be offered interviews with StartupYard’s Selection Committee.

Startups who are interested in Pitching at the event should sign up to pitch, and then come to the venue during our office hours, get a chance to meet us, and tell us about their idea first.

Event Details for StartupYard FastLane: Bratislava

13h – 16h: open hours + mentoring (open to all startups)

16h: event will start

16:30 – 17:30: start of the official pitching    

17:30 – 18:30 (or more): networking + refreshments

About Us

Two members of the StartupYard team will represent the accelerator. Our Managing Director Cedric Maloux, and our Community Manager, Lloyd Waldo. 

What We’re Looking For

StartupYard accepts startups in the Idea Stage, all the way through to companies with their first clients, users, and revenues.

Are you a Data Focused Startup, working in Security & Trust, Iot & Big Data, or Machine Learning & Prediction? Then StartupYard is your chance to get funded, launch fast, and attack the global market with the backing of some of Central Europe’s leading venture investors, including Credo Ventures, and Rockaway Capital.

Applications for StartupYard close on September 30th, 2016 . Startups can apply directly for the program by clicking here.

Read More about the Open Call, and Find Out More About Our 3 Month Program Here.

StartupYard, Central Europe Accelerator

Pitch StartupYard at Mosaik, Budapest Sep. 5th!

We’re pleased to announce another upcoming event in on our tour of 9 top Startup Capitals in Central Europe, as part of StartupYard’s FastLane road show: StartupYard’s management team will be at the Mosaik Startup Hub on September 5th.

We will host open hours, and listen to pitches from some of the most interesting startups in Budapest, and hopefully select a few to be “Fastlaned,” through the selection process for StartupYard.

Meet and Pitch to the StartupYard Team at Mosaik, Budapest

Mosaik, Budapest, StartupYard Fastlane

 

WHERE: Mosaik Space – Pannónia utca 32., 1136 Budapest, Hungary

 Looking forward to meeting @Startupyard Accelerator team @MosaikBP on August 31st! #startups #pitching Share on X

How to Pitch StartupYard in Budapest

StartupYard FastLane is your chance to pitch directly to one of Central Europe’s leading seed accelerators for technology startups, and move straight to the final selection rounds for StartupYard 2016/2, kicking off in November 2016. StartupYard will visit 9 cities in September 2016, providing workshops, office hours, and answering questions from tech communities around Central Europe.

On September 5th, StartupYard will join Mosaik Startup Hub, to listen to pitches from interested startups, the best of which will be offered interviews with StartupYard’s Selection Committee.

Startups who are interested in Pitching at the event should sign up to pitch, and then come to the venue during our office hours, get a chance to meet us, and tell us about their idea first.

 

Event Details for StartupYard FastLane: Budapest

13h – 16h: open hours + mentoring (open to all startups)

16h: event will start

16:30 – 17:30: start of the official pitching    

17:30 – 18:30 (or more): networking + refreshments

About Us

Two members of the StartupYard team will represent the accelerator. Our Managing Director Cedric Maloux, and our Community Manager, Lloyd Waldo. 

What We’re Looking For

StartupYard accepts startups in the Idea Stage, all the way through to companies with their first clients, users, and revenues.

Are you a Data Focused Startup, working in Security & Trust, Iot & Big Data, or Machine Learning & Prediction? Then StartupYard is your chance to get funded, launch fast, and attack the global market with the backing of some of Central Europe’s leading venture investors, including Credo Ventures, and Rockaway Capital.

Applications for StartupYard close on September 30th, 2016 . Startups can apply directly for the program by clicking here.

Read More about the Open Call, and Find Out More About Our 3 Month Program Here.

StartupYard Open House, Prague: September 9th and 15th

StartupYard will host an Open House on Friday, September 9th, and Thursday September 15th, at our home base of Node5, in Prague 5. Instead of a single event, the Open House will run throughout the day, giving startups and entrepreneurs a chance to drop in and talk to us about their startups, ideas, or anything else. The best startups will have the opportunity to be “FastLaned,” or pushed to the later rounds of selection for our 2016/2 Open Call. 

This is your startup’s chance to just meet StartupYard, ask any questions you have, or even pitch us your startup idea, get feedback, and start the process of applying for our program, if you want to.

 

StartupYard Open House! Get feedback on your #startup from @StartupYard @thenode5 Sept. 9th and 15. Share on X

What We’re Looking For

StartupYard accepts startups in the Idea Stage, all the way through to companies with their first clients, users, and revenues.

Even if you’re not ready to apply to StartupYard, you’re more than welcome to come and visit, and get feedback on your ideas- even if they’re just ideas.

IMG_2377

Are you a Data Focused Startup, working in Security & Trust, Iot & Big Data, or Machine Learning & Prediction? Then StartupYard is your chance to get funded, launch fast, and attack the global market with the backing of some of Central Europe’s leading venture investors, including Credo Ventures, and Rockaway Capital.

Applications for StartupYard close on September 30th, 2016 . Startups can apply directly for the program by clicking here.

StartupYard, Central Europe Accelerator

Pitch StartupYard At Hub:raum, Krakow August 31st!

We are excited to announce that Hub:raum Krakow will be our second stop, after Pristina, Kosovo, on our tour of 9 top Startup Capitals in Central Europe, as part of StartupYard’s FastLane road show.

StartupYard will host open hours, and listen to pitches from some of the most interesting startups in Krakow, and hopefully select a few to be “Fastlaned,” through the selection process for StartupYard.

StartupYard Fastlane

WHEN: 

WHERE: Hub:raum, 30-701, Przemysłowa 12, 33-332 Kraków, Poland

 Looking forward to meeting @Startupyard Accelerator team @hubraumkrakow on August 31st! #startups #pitching Share on X

How to Pitch StartupYard in Krakow

StartupYard FastLane is your chance to pitch directly to one of Central Europe’s leading seed accelerators for technology startups, and move straight to the final selection rounds for StartupYard 2016/2, kicking off in November 2016. StartupYard will visit 9 cities in September 2016, providing workshops, office hours, and answering questions from tech communities around Central Europe.

On 31.8.2016, StartupYard will join HubRaum in Krakow, to listen to pitches from interested startups, the best of which will be offered interviews with StartupYard’s Selection Committee.

Startups who are interested in Pitching at the event should sign up to pitch, and then come to the venue during our office hours, get a chance to meet us, and tell us about their idea first. Office hours at HubRaum Krakow will be from 2pm to 5pm.

Event Details for StartupYard FastLane: Krakow

14h – 17h: open hours + mentoring (open to all startups)

17h – 17:30h: event will start

17:30 – 18:30: start of the official pitching    

18:30 – 19:00 (or more): networking + refreshments

About Us

Two members of the StartupYard team will represent the accelerator. Our Managing Director Cedric Maloux, and our Community Manager, Lloyd Waldo. 

What We’re Looking For

StartupYard accepts startups in the Idea Stage, all the way through to companies with their first clients, users, and revenues.

Are you a Data Focused Startup, working in Security & Trust, Iot & Big Data, or Machine Learning & Prediction? Then StartupYard is your chance to get funded, launch fast, and attack the global market with the backing of some of Central Europe’s leading venture investors, including Credo Ventures, and Rockaway Capital.

Applications for StartupYard close on September 30th, 2016 . Startups can apply directly for the program by clicking here.

Read More about the Open Call, and Find Out More About Our 3 Month Program Here.

StartupYard Raises 6 Million CZK Via Fundlift

Campaign Met its Goal in Just 2.5 Weeks

Today we are pleased to announce that our recent private fundraising campaign, undertaken in partnership with FundLift.cz, has met its fundraising goal of 6 million CZK. The goal was met in less than 2.5 weeks and subscription closed on August 12th, with the participation of 40 selected private investors.

Feedback from our community and mentors generally was overwhelmingly positive. Well over 200 investors expressed interest, and community members and mentors were given priority. Still, many investors did not get the chance to participate this time. The funds committed by selected investors, StartupYard mentors, and friends of the accelerator will go towards accelerating up to 10 Startups in our upcoming round- StartupYard 2016/2, with applications closing September 30th.

This experience has shown us that the appetite for, and interest in, data focused startups in the CEE region is stronger now than ever. That’s good news for startups, and it’s good news for StartupYard. We would also like to take this opportunity to praise the team at FundLift for their professionalism, and their help in allowing our mentors and community members to participate as investors. This effort would not have been successful without FundLift.

StartupYard CEO and Managing Director Cedric Maloux had this to say:

“I am struck once again by the enthusiasm of our community for the work we do, and for helping startups in the region to gain the experience and investment they need to grow on the global market. Our mentors once again have shown they are committed and invested in the success of startups in the region, and that they are willing to step up when it counts the most. These funds are not only a big boost to the startups in our program, but a sign that Central Europe has a bright future as a center of innovation and smart risk-taking.” 

What Happens Next

Now we will need the help of our dedicated community and investors to put these funds to their best use. If you know a startup or a team of entrepreneurs who are ready to accelerate their data-focused startup, and launch on the global market, please let them know that StartupYard is looking for them to apply.

StartupYard is looking for #dataeconomy #startups to invest in. Application deadline Sep 30th! http://startupyard.com/apply Share on X

Once again, we thank our community and investors for showing their faith in StartupYard, and we look forward to working with some of the most interesting startups in Central Europe this winter.

Apply to StartupYard Accelerator, Prague

StartupYard Seeks Content Marketing Intern

We’re looking for a Content Marketing Intern! 

Are you an obsessive reader, and a technology lover? Do you love to read and share stories online with friends and colleagues? Do your friends recognize you as the source of the best content on Facebook, or Twitter?

StartupYard is seeking a content marketing intern to help us lead the conversation about startups, technology, and the region online. We’re looking for an intern who wants to learn all there is to know about startups, modern technologies, and content marketing, to join our team this fall.

Our ideal candidate is curious, a good communicator, and a great reader. He or She loves social media, and is a news junkie.

What You Will Learn:

  1. How to create a long term social media plan and marketing calendar.
  2. Relationship building with our online community by maintaining Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other media accounts.
  3. How to track social media analytics and report results and generate new ideas
  4. Use existing content to build compelling new offers to our followers and community, like ebooks, essay collections, slideshares, and more.
  5. Assist the Community Manager in creating and maintaining a social media strategy
  6. Additional opportunities to learn on multiple startup projects through our accelerator program.
  7. Attend multiple workshops on technology, business, sales, and marketing, hosted by professionals for the benefit of our Startup members and team.

What We Require:

  1. An organized person with a strong interest in technology, investment, and big data and a willingness to learn.
  2. A love of infographics, politics, history, business, and all kinds of media
  3. Strong communication skills.
  4. Proficient in Social Media applications like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, a plus. We will provide training as needed.
  5. Creative and Flexible.
  6. An interest in writing and creative work.

Opportunities:

Through StartupYard, interns gain not only valuable experience from a veteran team, but also a huge number of work opportunities with many of the Startups that we invest in, accelerate, or partner with. A successful intern at StartupYard has a very strong chance of being placed in a suitable and challenging position with one of our affiliated startups.

Of course, StartupYard can also recommend candidates to our corporate partners, including such companies as Google, Microsoft, KB, IBM, Vodafone, and many others. A StartupYard intern has the opportunity to meet and interact with high level representatives of many of the best technology companies in the Czech Republic.

Are you interested in becoming a part of the StartupYard team? Email us with your cover letter and a CV.

Know someone who might be a good candidate? Please share this post with them on Facebook or Twitter!

#praguehacks, startupyard

#PragueHacks is Back September 30th at Node5

#PragueHacks is Back!

StartupYard is happy to announce, in cooperation with Fond Otakara Motejla, and partners Node5 and reSITE, that #PragueHacks will return once again to give local developers, data scientists, idea makers, urbanists, and others an opportunity to hack the city, making our home of Prague a better place for everyone to live in.

The theme this year is:  Put Open Data in Motion, and Improve Life in Prague

The event will take place on September 30 – October 2 @ Node

Hack the city at #praguehacks @node5 on September 30th! Share on X
Sign up for #PragueHacks 2016

 

Who are we looking for?

Developers who want to show their skills, write software and master emerging technologies.

Idea makers who can build innovative, open-source widgets and applications to change the way people feel and live their city.

Data scientists who know how to  find new ways to use open data and uncover data knowledge.

Urbanists who want to share their expertise, and  keep the focus on solving real problems and interesting issues.

Anyone who can help  generate new insights, brainstorm, design projects and tests ideas, so #PragueHacks 2016 will make a real difference to the city and its residents.

What’s the Goal?

#praguehacks, StartupYard



Any city can become a better, friendlier place to live, when the private sector, government, and active citizens work together to address new challenges. Together, we can all give the city the tools to become better than ever. To make this happen, #PragueHacks 2016 will bring together software developers, idea makers, data scientists, and urbanists to create a new City Dashboard (like this one). This open data platform can be filled with small, interactive widgets that will help us all to understand, and to change, our own dynamic urban environment, and see the wonder of life in this great city in a whole new way.

Over the course of a weekend, participants will organize into small teams, familiarize themselves with the technological requirements, and show their skills by writing software, designing mock-ups for a widget of their own, and implementing it while using available open data.

#PragueHacks 2016 will tackle some of the core issues of living in the city, such as Mobility & Population, Leisure & Education, Good Governance & Transparency and Environment & Social Services – all of which can be addressed through open data from multiple sources.

So join us! Sign up as a Prague Hacker today:

 

Sign up for #PragueHacks 2016