Good idea, bravery, decency and enthusiasm. Personages of IT described their road to success in a debate held at FIT

Nearly 250 participants virtually came to listen to a panel discussion of four personages of IT named Od studenta k CEO/CTO (From Student to CEO/CTO) which was held on Thursday. During the discussion, Martin Cígler, Jan Najvárek, Jan Kořenek a Zbyněk Poulíček shared their experience not only from the beginnings of their businesses with the audience.

One of them started as a programmer at a research veterinary institute, the second one started as a student of FIT, the third one started his business as a scientist at FIT and the fourth one started his business following a chance meeting with a classmate. All the guests of the Thursday discussion had one thing in common: they all managed to start a business which currently represents the "South Moravian Silicon Valley". Also, they all agree that this might be the best time to start a business with your ideas.

"If you are students or fresh graduates, it is likely you do not have your own families or mortgages yet, so no serious obligations. We, the IT nerds, have a tremendous advantage in that in order for use to start creating a product, we only need a laptop and we are good to go," says Zbyněk Poulíček from GINA Software. He founded the company while he was still a FIT student when he was looking for a topic of his diploma thesis. Today, his company is developing a map system used by fire brigades, rescue workers and international organisations all over the world to co-ordinate their teams out in the field.

"But even the best vision is not enough by itself. It is important to have a good idea, but it is equally important to see how to get it on the market," described Martin Cígler from Solitea, which grew under his leadership from small Brno-based company to an international holding with 1,300 employees and a turnover in the amount of two billion Czech crowns. As he adds, at the beginning, it is important to earn good reputation. "New companies usually do not have large sums of money for marketing. Therefore, the beginning is about a couple of satisfied customers, which means that your work has to be very good and honest from the very start," he adds. 

Jan Kořenek agrees with both points. Together with a group of enthusiasts and other FIT researchers, he created a spin-off company Invea Tech which gave rise to two internationally successful companies, Flowmon Networks and Netcope Technologies, which are among the industry leaders and deliver solutions to industry giants such as Intel. "At the beginning, there was technology which nobody knew. We came to market which was practically non-existent. On top of that, technology does not equal product and certainly not successful product. We had to focus on communication with customers - so that they learned about our technology and also so that we received feedback on what the product should look like. The start was rough, it is important to be brave and step outside your comfort zone," recalls Jan Kořenek.

As says the last guest participating in the discussion, Jan Najvárek, it is also important to be lucky. "But you also need a great passion. It is important to do what you enjoy. If you succeed, it is great; if you do not succeed, then you spent couple of years doing something you enjoyed and that is not a loss. It is also important to be persistent, because it sometimes take a while until you succeed, and to be ready to take some risks," says the co-founder of ARTIN, one of the most innovative Czech companies, who also participates in the development of RoboAuto and BringAuto autonomous vehicles.

The guests agreed that at the beginning, it is not easy being 'the idea guy' as well as a technician, manager and a salesperson. "Technical knowledge is the key. Start-up with only a salesperson would not work," believes Jan Najvárek. As noted by Jan Kořenek, future start-up owners should be ready to address everything. "For technology companies, it is not bad to ideally have future CEO and CTO who can complement each other's missing competences. But it is important for them to share the same mindset," he stresses. According to Zbyněk Poulíček, the composition of characteristics and skills within the team is also important, as is authenticity. "We were three IT guys, but, as we were advised by a consultant from the South Moravian Innovation Centre, nobody makes better first sales pitch than you, the guys with the idea," said Zbyněk Poulíček. At the same time, Martin Cígler encourages decency and honesty and not just in terms of promises made to potential customers or investors. "Bravery is a must. But decency is just as important, your reputation will be with you the entire time. In short, as you sow, so shall you reap," he said.

If you are interested in other topics addressed at the discussion, you can watch a recording HERE. The panel discussion was a part of the Star(t)up@FIT programme. Another one from a series of interesting guests invited to the programme will be Martin Kešner with an online discussion Od nápadu k produktu (From Idea to Product).