Startup Najdi spolužáka ovládl 15. běh inkubátoru STARTUP GO GRILL. Získal cenu poroty i veřejnosti

16/06/2026

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Startup Najdi kolosluka dominated the 15th run of the STARTUP GO GRILL incubator. It won the jury and public awards.

Usti nad Labem, June 11, 2026 – How to help students overcome their fears about starting a new school? This is exactly the question answered by the winner of the 15th round of the Startup Go business incubator of the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region (ICUK). The project Find a classmate, which connects future classmates before the first day of school, impressed the expert jury and the public and won two awards, first place and the Audience Award.

The final Startup Go Grill traditionally represents the culmination of a several-month incubation program, during which participants develop their business ideas with the help of mentors, experts and experienced entrepreneurs. In the finale, they present their projects to a professional jury, the public and representatives of the startup ecosystem.

The winners were decided by a jury consisting of Ondrej Krále, director of the Liberec business incubator Lipo.ink, Barbora Werdmölderová, director of the Czech Founders organization representing more than a thousand startup founders in the Czech Republic, and Jiří Vicherekfrom the Czech Startup Association, which connects and supports the Czech startup ecosystem. The awards were also presented to the finalists by František Jochman, Chairman of the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Ústí nad Labem Region.

This year's winning project Find a classmate solves a problem that tens of thousands of future high school students experience every year. Through an online platform, it allows students to find their future classmates, connect with them during the holidays, and start school with their first relationships already established.

"The project attracted me primarily because of the combination of strong social impact, personal experience and the determination of the founder, who knows the problem well. Moreover, the team was able to reach tens of thousands of students without a marketing budget and showed that they were solving a real problem. This is exactly the kind of startups we want to see in the regions,“" said a jury member Ondrej King, director of Lipo.ink.

Find a Classmate also won Audience Award, which was decided by Startup Go Grill visitors through online voting.

"This year's projects showed that young entrepreneurs are very good at responding to current needs in society. The winning project was impressive not only for its idea, but also because it has already demonstrated real interest from users. This is always a strong signal that it has the potential to succeed in practice.,", he said František Jochman, Chairman of the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Ústí nad Labem Region.

The project took second place curriculum.ai, which uses artificial intelligence to help schools manage the extensive administration associated with creating and updating school educational programs. It saves principals and teachers dozens of hours of work and helps them respond to current changes in the education system.

"The curriculum addresses a very specific problem that is currently plaguing schools across the Czech Republic. We were impressed not only by the technological level of the solution, but also by the clearly defined market and potential for further growth. It is clear that the team is thinking big and has the ambition to change the way education works.,", she assessed Barbora Werdmölderová, director of Czech Founders.

Third place went to a startup focused on using artificial intelligence to automate the search and awarding of public contracts. The jury particularly appreciated the proven interest of customers, the first business results and the ability to bring innovation to an area that is still administratively demanding for many companies.

"We liked that the project already has its first customers and addresses an area that is directly calling for digitalization. Public procurement represents a huge opportunity and similar tools can significantly facilitate orientation for companies that want to participate in them,"," he added George Vicherek from the Czech Startup Association.

This year's finals showed that innovative ideas arise across disciplines. In addition to projects focused on education and artificial intelligence, solutions from the fields of healthcare, industrial technologies, and the digitalization of critical infrastructure were also presented.

„"The fifteenth Startup Go run has once again confirmed that projects with the potential to succeed not only in the region, but also on a national or international level are being created in the Ústí nad Labem Region. We are most pleased when we see that participants are able to turn an interesting idea into a project with the first customers, a proven market and a clear vision for further development within a few months,"“ says Martin Mata, director of the Innovation Center of the Ústí Region.

Startup Go is an incubation program of the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region designed for aspiring entrepreneurs, startups and people with innovative ideas. Over the course of several months, participants will undergo workshops, mentoring and individual consultations focused on business development, business strategy, marketing and financing.