With support from the CzechMatch project, four innovative Czech firms –– Incinity, TouchArt, Your Solution and Riocath Global – set out to conquer the American market from 15 to 22 October 2018. Over the course of a week, they tested their business models, attended a number of networking events and met with local mentors, investors and business partners. The fastest-growing start-up, Ui Path, originally from Romania, also shared its experience with them.
The one-week New York programme was prepared for the start-ups by CzechInvest in cooperation with the American incubator VentureOut. At the close of the week, the firms took part in CzechMatch Demo Pitch Night, where they publicly presented their projects and received valuable feedback from local investors including Paul Quigley of HOF Capital, Andrew Hong of FFVC and Ihar Mahaniok, an angel investor operating on Facebook.
The Czech firms also visited the headquarters of the originally Romanian start-up Ui Path and attended both a celebratory reception at Bohemian National Hall and the start-up show Live! From Tomorrow: New York City In 2118.
“I have to say that the week in New York literally gave us a kick and definitely exceeded our expectations,” says Roman Maštalíř of TouchArt, who presented in New York the Eventee application for organising and managing conferences. “We were a little sceptical at the beginning, but in the end we were very glad we went. I think that it will help push our business forward,” says Petr Kadlec of Your Solution, which is developing a tool for psychological profiling and selection of job candidates. “Meeting with Ui Path is truly an experience. It is a beautiful example of how a company from Central and Eastern Europe can succeed in the United States,” adds Lukáš Dufek of Incinity, developer of an integration platform for smart cities. “Learning about the different approach to doing business on markets in the US is perhaps the greatest benefit we got from CzechMatch,” says Kamil Kubánek of Riocath Global, manufacturer of medical devices with a global patent.
New York is among the most highly developed start-up ecosystems in the world and regularly appears in the broadest range of rankings as one of the most desirable destinations for business development. Start-ups on local markets have countless opportunities for further expansion thanks to the rapid adoption of the latest technologies and one of the world’s most advanced venture-capital infrastructures.
The CzechMatch project offers more advanced start-ups a unique opportunity to present their products to potential investors, business partners and the expert public in New York, Silicon Valley, London and Singapore. It thus helps to increase participating firms’ chances of internationalising their business projects and finding strategic partners and customers on the markets that the firms want to enter. More information is available at www.podporastartupu.cz.