The first three months of the SlovakSTARTUP initiative have passed and we have to tell that it has been a great ride ever since. We are glad that we can regularly bring you interesting stories and inspirational people who are in one way or another connected to Slovakia – they live here, they have visited and experienced our country or they do business here. Furthermore we are excited to bring you interviews with successful and experienced Slovaks who are eager to share their knowledge, their story and know-how with all of us.
We also try to bring you relevant and in-depth blogposts on different startup and technology topics written by our dear guests. We have covered themes from VR through blockchain up to gaming industry. This is just the beginning and we are eager to dive deeper into these and many other topics from the startup world in the future.
In case you missed some of our best interviews and guestblogs, no worries. We have compiled the top 5 most read pieces from our web for you to enjoy them! Here they are:
As I walk trough an underpass a familiar symbol catches my attention on an ad nearly ten meters wide. A neon coloured backlit photo is promoting main features of a new phone. As a man who travelled the world, conquered kingdoms killing many and saving princesses, the little symbol represents countless adventures. A reminder of those achievements but also a testament how powerful a silhouette of a standard gamepad we know from the introduction of PlayStation in 1995 could be. Read more
Dirk Ahlborn, the CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), visited Slovakia for two days in March. Not only he met and inspired a lot of local people, but his visit was also a great success for the whole country. As we have been informed, during Dirk’s visit, the Letter of Intent has been signed between HTT and Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic – making this a historic moment for both sides, as this was the first Letter of Intent ever signed between HTT and a particular country. Read more
I packed my bag and went to Bratislava with no hope for any luck. The owner of the company was a pretty cool German guy and he told me straight: “Your portfolio is not like anything we usually receive since you haven’t done any real jobs yet.” But after he heard how I almost literally locked myself in a room for a year, he told me “I see the potential”. He than gave me a task of finalising few half-done designs. I was like “Ok, I’m gonna get on it, fail, pack my stuff and go back”. Everyday in my trial week I was sitting there for 12 hours busting my ass. Then I made it. Read more
VR will grow rapidly in 2016, because the technology is in a state where it reaches consumer price. There is one problem with the growth of VR which is that you can’t explain to someone how cool VR is. They need to try it. But obviously key players realize this and they are selling headsets at a manufacturing price and even giving them away for free (GearVR).
There will be a huge opportunity in the growing market for mid-sized companies as they are far more professional than most of the indie developers who are making games for VR now, but the market is still too small for the biggest AAA game developers to enter. Therefore now is the perfect time to make a name in VR industry. Read more
He studied computer science in Switzerland but didn´t stay in the country because he lacked entrepreneurial challenges. After some time of organizing Bitcoin conferences and doing business in China he co-founded DECENT, a Blockchain startup aimed at revolutionizing content distribution on the internet. Matej Michalko. Read more
Cover photo: chintermeyer – flickr.com
