New Course will Guide Students from Ideas to Business

“Students are generally showing a keen interest in business-related information. Unfortunately, the Czech educational system is still preparing young people primarily for employment. Within the education process, very few of them learn about the possibility of entrepreneurship. We want to motivate students and show them that starting their own business is not an unrealistic option. On the contrary, from the historical point of view the present time is one of the best to start one’s own business,” explains Dr. Vojtěch Krmíček who is in charge of promoting entrepreneurship at JIC.

In the fall semester, thirty students from various fields decided to familiarize themselves with the world of business and innovations. The tutors are trying to avoid frontal instruction as much as possible. Every block lecture is more of a workshop during which the students are to experience as many things as possible; in the course of one semester, they go through the first steps of starting a business. There are nine teams working on ideas some of the students brought in and want to put into practice. It is quite a mix – from ecological farming, fitness mobile apps and sex toys to educational systems for secondary schools. “This makes the discussions among the students much more interesting and, at the same time, they can see that the first steps of starting a business are the same for everyone,” says Mr. Krmíček adding that real entrepreneurs employing the services of JIC go through a similar process.

The lectures take place in the building of the JIC INMEC business incubator situated in Technology Park. On their way to the lecture, students pass through a hall decorated with quotes from successful businessmen who started in the incubator. “I believe this also matters. They are in an environment full of young entrepreneurs who live for their projects. They’re meeting them in the corridors, they see the logos of the companies on the walls, people discuss business even in the coffee-house. This is a working, inspiring environment and the students see they can become a part of it,” says Mr. Krmíček.

Business vs. Entrepreneurship

The course From Ideas to Business is not entirely new. It is rather a continuation of the course Research and Development in Practice which used to be taught by TTO employees for many years. Whereas the original curriculum focused more on science and working in the academic environment, the innovated course is oriented more towards the business environment even though science, research, and protection of intellectual property are still a part of it. It is taught by the experts from the Technology Transfer Office and the Research Office of MU together with the people from JIC who have a lot of experience with supporting young entrepreneurs. Successful businesspersons also take part in the course sharing their stories with the students and giving them an insight into the lives of people who said to themselves: “Yes, I will go for it”.

According to Mr. Krmíček, the course is relatively broad and can be useful even to those who will never become entrepreneurs. “Rather than focusing solely on business, we’re supporting so-called entrepreneurship in young people. It is a set of skills that are absolutely paramount nowadays, whether or not you’re doing business – how to develop an idea, present your thoughts, analyse and propose further steps, work in a team. These are the things every student should know,” says Mr. Krmíček.

First Impulse

Doing business is not for everyone and it is only fair to admit it. Work perhaps plays a bigger role in our lives that we think. “Students were a bit surprised by the introductory topic when we discussed the role work plays in our lives and how many people are actually happy with their jobs. The numbers are rather drastic and often open the students’ eyes. It is therefore very important to know your motivation if you want to start a business. It can be earning money, trying something new, being one’s own boss or working with people of one’s own choosing. None of these motivations are wrong; however, people need to be honest about it if they want to make progress,” warns Mr. Krmíček.

According to him, one of the typical misconceptions is that any business stands or falls on an original idea. “If you ask a successful businessperson what role the initial idea played in their success, they will usually say something between 2 and 5 %. Not many people realize that the idea is just an impulse. Building a team and turning the initial idea into something functional and marketable is much more important. For many students, this is a bit of a revelation,” adds Krmíček.

What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs? “If they know their motivation and want to give it a go, they should make the first step. The road towards successful business is not so difficult, the hard bit is to say: “I’m going for it”. No matter how it ends, the experience one gets doing business, even if it fails, is priceless,” he concludes.