Panel Discussion: "Code with Impact": High Student Interest and a Candid Debate

For many years, FIT VUT has run a program to support student creativity and entrepreneurship called Star(t)up@FIT. However, entrepreneurship is not synonymous with running a business. It is a mindset characterized by proactivity and creativity, as well as a desire to work on projects and realize one’s potential through them. A new series of panel discussions offered by our faculty this summer semester aims to foster this approach among students. Who is it for? Students who have almost finished developing a product and need help getting their business off the ground. It’s also for those who have an idea and are planning the steps to turn it into a working solution. And what if you don’t have that big idea yet and “just” want to work on something systematically? This is exactly where you can find plenty of inspiration or new contacts.

The first panel discussion—“Code with Impact: Where to Look for Ideas That Make Sense?”—took place at FIT on Wednesday, March 25. At first glance, its topic might seem almost elementary: an idea. That is, how to identify the right one—the one worth developing and offering to others. Is the right path to always try to come up with a unique solution, to search for that imaginary gap in the market? Or is it better to create something that already exists, but do it better? Or perhaps fill a gap? Where should we invest a lot of energy and time? Sometimes ideas can be a real challenge—yet all it takes is to start, to try doing something, and inspiration may come on its own.

Five successful “startupists,” founders of technology companies with ties to our faculty, accepted the invitation to join the discussion. Among them were individuals who had already sold their successful business ventures, as well as current owners. Namely: Jan Najvárek (co-founder of Artin and BringAuto), Martin Javorka (co-founder of Zaitra), Petr Schwarz (co-founder of Phonexia), Adam Herout (co-founder of AngelCam), and Jan Mayer (co-founder of Dataweps, managing director at Heureka CZ/SK).

Great interest and tough questions

It seems there is a “hunger” for this topic at FIT—the lecture hall was packed to capacity, with more than 60 students registered. And above all: There was lively discussion, challenging questions from the audience, and the panelists shared a wealth of interesting ideas and experiences. The afternoon program was opened by the Vice Dean for Marketing and External Relations, Vítězslav Beran, who is behind the entrepreneurship development program at FIT: “I’m thrilled by the number of attendees,” he remarked at the start, noting the size of the audience. “We’ve had the Star(t)up program at the faculty for a long time now, designed to support and motivate you to pursue your own projects. Many students are eager to do something, to get started on a project, but that big idea just doesn’t come. That’s why we organized these panel discussions. And today we’ll talk about how to think about ideas and where to find inspiration.”

Right at the start, Martin Javorka, a former FIT student and co-founder of Zaitra—now a highly successful space-tech software company developing AI and onboard data processing for satellites—shared his journey into entrepreneurship. Javorka himself, however, pointed out that the journey was difficult at first, threatened to end in complete failure, and required a shift in mindset and a change in the project’s focus. The key is to just get started and get to know the world—that’s how one could summarize the first takeaway for the students. Adam Herout, drawing on his entrepreneurial experience (which complements his academic work at FIT), emphasized the importance of having the right team on a project. They can either precede a good idea or be its source. Jan Mayer turned his attention to the needs of society and industry: The key is to identify the problem our project is meant to help solve: “Grab onto anything; that will get you more involved in the industry, where you’ll discover the problems that are actually being addressed. Ultimately, and in a nutshell, you must either save someone a lot of money or bring them a lot of money.” Petr Schwarz, who is also academically affiliated with our faculty today and celebrated a major success this fall with the sale of Phonexia, reminded students that they need to be open to information and seek it out. Today, this is primarily on social media; in the past, it was in magazines and newspapers. “It’s good to build a strong network, follow key people, keep an eye on conferences, and not be afraid to attend them as a student,” he emphasized. Curiosity and the joy of discovery generally characterize successful entrepreneurs, the panelists agreed.

One of the first questions from the audience asked whether one should focus on searching for something exceptional, something unique that would set them apart from the rest of the market. The speakers agreed that such an approach is essentially unrealistic and pointless. Instead, the key is to strive to do things better than others. To illustrate this point, Javorka noted that right from the start, they were aware of four direct competitors. Adam Herout then stated bluntly: “The rarity of an idea is a disease of startups. You need to share your idea with others early on and discuss it with them.” Only other people are the true validators of your idea. There were plenty of questions from the students. Among them was the question of when it’s actually appropriate to take an idea out into the world, when to start talking about it in front of others, and whether to wait until everything is worked out in detail. Najvárek summed up his approach with a rule: “If you’re not ashamed of it, it’s already too late. But of course, you mustn’t feel like it’s a lousy product.” ” According to the participants, putting yourself out there as soon as possible is the right path. “After all, the first iPhone didn’t have the basic copy-paste function. And it was still a success,” Herout recalled, citing a well-known example. Contact with customers and their feedback is the business equivalent of an experiment in research.

A welcoming atmosphere, openness, discussion. The first panel discussion fulfilled precisely these goals. In April, you have the opportunity to participate in the second one, with the theme “You have an idea. Now what?: From concept to first prototype.” Mark your calendars for April 22. Details can again be found on the faculty website.