The winner of the very first Slovak round of the international competition Chivas the VENTURE for enterpenenurs with social responsibility is finally revealed. The first prize goes to the team of the start-up project called SmartHead who will attend the Accelerator week in Oxford, Great Britain next year.
The jury has made a decision and picked the most original project with exceptional social impact out of 50 registered projects that made it to the finale. The jury represented by Lukáš Alner, Šimon Šicko and Juraj Porubský shortlisted projects from all walks of life including information technologies, helathcare, catering, and environment just to name a few. Lukáš Alner, the ambassador of the project cast light on the process: „Slovakia is a small country making a living from car manufacturing and the Tatra Mountains which is not sustainable in the long run. Companies, corporations as well as individuals must have their fair share of responsibility for beneficial projects aimed at environmentalism, social responsibility, long story short be committed to a positive approach to the environment we live in. So I am more than happy to have a competition like that in Slovakia, too.“
All finalists were at the top of their games as they appeared before the jury which assessed the level of social benefits, innovation, presentation skills as well as the affinity to the competition itself, not to mention the significance of the competiton relative to each individual project as to how it can accelerate and boost it internationally. The winner of the Slovak round of Chivas the VENTURE with the intention to reward entrepreneurs with social responsibility for their effort to bring along positive change has become the start-up project called SmartHead. L. Alner clarified how the winner managed to impress the jury: „Coming up with a great idea is not a prerequisite of a successful project. It’s a team effort with the ability to go all out to promote and further develop a novel idea behind a project, the team was supposed to be able to sell it and overcome potential obstacles that may arise in the overall process.And SmartHead was the one that met all the requirements metioned above “.
Veronika Osvaldová and her team are the ones behind the online platform for a sustainable world, a platform that assists companies and individuals become more visible in their effort to be positively beneficial and to serve as an inspiration for others. She obviously could not hide her excitement over the first place as she expressed her opinion:
„We are more than happy to have registered in this competition. We pulled out all the stops and went the extra mile to win, we kept our hopes high and we were super excited when the jury announced the winner – best feeling ever! Just like our primary objective is to promote great things that happen around us to make them serve as inspiration for others, SmartHead also needs the to get the word out in the beginning that it does exist and is ready to accomplish its mission. I am absolutely positive that the first place in the local round can and will open new opportunities for us at home as well as abroad. Let me be absolutely clear though, we could not have stood a chance without the extraordinary team and the people that supported us all the way to the end. We can achieve a lot standing united. And clinking glasses with a winner whisky is the icing on the cake for sure.“
Veronika and her team have brought Slovakia an online platform available to both small and established larger companies, non-profit organizations and government institutions being convinced that they can beneficially cooperate. SmartHead is standing ready to rally the troops, inspire and support cooperation in terms of improving the environment and our lives. Its intention is to raise awareness of the fact that all of us can contribute towards a better environment, even by taking baby steps the way their motto describes: „The only way to improve the world around us is to open our minds together. “
„I’m extremely glad that we have successfully managed to organize the competition Chivas The VENTURE for the very first time in Slovakia. From a brand perspective, SmartHead in its essence has managed to represent the idea of the socially responsible entrepreneurship, the very idea we also abide and follow at Chivas Regal. SmartHead is a project that has the potential of achieving success anywhere in the world thanks to its globally appealing attributes. Even though Slovakia is a small country, we’ve got some great ideas and talented people, so I am absolutely positive that the SmartHead guys have what it takes for the project to pan out!,” Matúš Kollár, the Brand Manager at Chivas Regal representing the company Pernod Ricard Slovakia, the official distributor of this premium Scotch in Slovakia added.
Apart from winning a bottle of Chivas Regal, the winner will also have the chance to introduce themself in the monthly Forbes, however the grand prize is a free pass for Chivas The VENTURE Accelerator week in Oxford, Great Britain that takes place next spring. The SmartHead team gets to meet the winners of local rounds from other countries who will have the chance to compete against each other next July in the global finale. The global winner of the Final pitch that is organized in Los Angeles, California, will be rewarded for their project with their share of the amount to the tune of $1 million.
Since the first annual set has enjoyed unprecedented popularity, everybody with an excellent idea is more than welcome to look forward to the second one. And that is exactly the reason why some well-known entrepreneurs and the Chivas the VENTURE jury have gone beyond the call of duty and prepared some useful tips to make it next time:
Follow your dreams, do not be put off by obstacles, however do dot your i’s and cross your t’s whether a similar project is not in use somewhere abroad. Do not sell yourselves short, do not be ashamed, however do not make the mistake of thinking you are the best because there is always something to improve.
Do not be afraid of improving an existing project, but always make sure to add something extra that people appreciate, what they really consider necessary – thus making it viable anywhere in the world.
Go on a journey abroad and a get an idea how people solve problems and overcome obstacles there with respect to the field your project is associated with.
If your project works flawlessly in our country of 5 million people, the odds are it will work on bigger markets abroad, too.
Get a handle on raising awareness of your product. Keep in mind that a story sells a product not only to investors, but to employees, clients and the media, too.