Decide the national winner of the Takeoffs project!

• Nine seminars in the regions were attended by more than 360 beginning entrepreneurs
• Prizes worth a total of CZK 5.5 million have been distributed; however, the most sought-after prize is consultancy
• 14 finalists will now compete for the public’s favour 

Prague, 17 September – Today is the first day of the final part of the Takeoffs 2012 project, a competition for start-up businesses. Until 14 October internet users can vote at www.rozjezdyroku.cz for the best project, which, thanks to the readers’ preference, will receive another CZK 100,000 from T-Mobile to help its originator start his or her business and another CZK 50,000 in the form of a package for online promotion from Seznam, one of the partners of the project. 

The Takeoffs team composed of T-Mobile employees and expert partners, travelled across the country in the past two months and together with regional partners selected winners and finalists from individual regions in the course of seminars. The Takeoffs project will support 42 entrepreneurs with financial and material prizes in the aggregate value of CZK 5.5 million. The winners are also interested in receiving expert advice and the opportunity to consult with experts about initial business problems.   

“On our trips we have seen a number of excellent, often already running projects, some of them associated with interesting personal histories. For example, the Zlín region is represented by a project focused on special clothing for wheelchair users; in Prague a coworking space for mothers with children has been launched and the north of Moravia is represented in the finals by an alternative to ambulance vehicles. We are curious which project will attract the most interest from the public,” says Petra Pavičová, CSR Manager at T-Mobile. 

Nine stops in the regions, 14 finalists
This year, instead of taking a summer break, the jurors and advisors of Takeoffs made a tour of the regions and, from the first seminar in Ústí nad Labem to the final one in Prague, they trained all those who were interested in business thinking, setting up companies, general marketing, online marketing and use of social networks. This year’s Takeoffs seminars were attended by more than 360 beginning entrepreneurs. 

Regional juries comprising representatives of T-Mobile, successful regional entrepreneurs, the Union of Towns and Municipalities and media also announced their favourites. It was not just profitability or a perfect business plan they were interested in. When deciding the winners, the jurors took into account the business quality of the project as well as its benefits for the local community, the reasons for starting the business and the personal approach of the originator of the project. 

The following businesses and concepts advanced to the finals: 

• Czech Homestays (Ústí nad Labem region, Arnoltice, David Biróczi and Hedvika Šťastná) – accommodation for foreigners in Czech households
• Turnkey coffee (Liberec region, Liberec, Kateřina Šumpíková) – sale and distribution of the business’s own blend of roasted coffee, deliveries to offices as well as restaurants and cafés
• Blue paradise – of confectioners and bakers (Olomouc region, Prostějov, Břetislav Brablec) –confectionery shop
• Comfortably seated (Zlín region, Tlumačov, Martina Václavíková) – production and development of adaptive clothing for wheelchair users
• Modern "AMBULANCE" (Moravia-Silesia region, Ostrava, Romana Tvarůžková) – transport of elderly and disabled citizens
• May Aerial Adventure Park – the outdoors within arm’s reach! (South Bohemia region, České Budějovice, Vojtěch Prokeš) – aerial adventure centre with minimum impact on nature
• Brno Generation (South Bohemia region, Brno, Elvíra Patáková) – nursing services for elderly and disabled citizens in Brno and its surroundings
• Kids4nature (Vysočina, Jihlava, Vladimír Steinbauer) – colouring educational T-shirts with nature conservation motifs
• Funny stamps (Plzen region, Švihov, Blanka Zemanová) – production of original stamps
• Massage salon  (Karlovy Vary region, Chodov, Vendula Novotná) – beauty and massage salon
• Aerial Filming     (Hradec Králové region, Nová Paka, Daniel Čermák) – videos and photographs shot by a multicopter
• Bezlepkoviny.cz (Pardubice region, Pardubice, Eva Hanisková, Lukáš Leden) – e-shop with gluten-free food products, production of gluten-free pizza
• Baby Office         (Prague, Hana Krejčí) – offices and day care for children under one roof
• Construction consultancy (Central Bohemian region, Dobříš, David Dudáš) – consultancy for small and medium-sized investors focused on dealing with construction companies 

Internet users can vote for their favourites from today until 14 October at www.rozjezdyroku.cz, which also offers more detailed profiles of the participants and their projects and a selection of articles that have been published about them.

In addition to the already awarded prizes worth approximately CZK 250,000, the winner will receive another CZK 100,000 in cash for investments of his or her choosing and CZK 50,000 that can be used for online promotion of his or her product or service. 

About the Takeoffs project 
A total of 360 applications were submitted within Takeoffs 2012, the second edition of the competition for start-up businesses. In spite of the fact that the organisers restricted participation of non-profit organisations and the number of projects per person, the number of applications surpassed last year’s figure by several dozen. As in the first edition, the contestants from Prague and Central Bohemia were the most active this year and Moravia was also strongly represented.   

As part of the project, participants can benefit from support by experienced experts from the mobile operator and specialist partners: Seznam.cz, Nokia, EF1, Neocont and Zalozfirmu.cz. Three winners in each region have received prizes worth CZK 70,000 or CZK 250,000. Together with consultations in the field of marketing, setting up companies and online marketing, this is significant help in starting a business. Also this year, T-Mobile and its partners will in this way help 42 businesspeople to stand on their own feet. 

Detailed information on Takeoffs including detailed rules is available here.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.