Pregnancy. A milestone in life that can lead you to entrepreneurship? Are we already overdoing business and startups? We only rely on the stories of our graduates in the business incubator. One such story is the BellyBoo project, which was founded by the Matejčiks. This is a story about how the phrase "it's unnecessarily expensive..." can be an opportunity!

Business incubator it's here for those who want to start a business and would like to get their project up and running as quickly as possible. This is a several-month program intended to give startupists the necessary skills to start a business. And this through workshops, lectures, consultations with experts on various topics and, last but not least, by providing a mentor who will take the selected project under his experienced wings. Did you know that, for example, by entering our business incubator in this form you will receive support worth up to CZK 95,000?

THAT'S DEAR, IT HAS TO GO DIFFERENTLY

The sentence that created BellyBoo – Czech e-shop focused on fashion and accessories for pregnant women and mothers who carry their babies in a maternity sling or ergonomic baby carrier. "When my wife came to say that due to the advanced stage of her pregnancy she no longer has any jackets, we started looking for winter jackets for pregnant women. Honestly, their price threw us off, to put it mildly. And so we started looking for an alternative solution. And we found – jacket inserts with zip adapter,” says Tomáš Matejčik, the founder of the project. After a short survey, the Matejčiks found out that the market for this product was vacant in the Czech Republic, so they set to work.

The beginnings were punk. I remember a woman writing in Facebook groups for moms that we have a solution for them. The first orders started coming in slowly. It's like yesterday when I remember the first request - August 2016," recalls Tomáš and adds: "Then came the turning point, when we received 60 orders in one day, found out that we didn't have material for production and the seamstress didn't have time for us. It was the real startup Fake it until you make it.

WE ARE NOT ALONE - PLEASURE

Such a business incubator is not just a tool for a faster start. It is primarily a community solving the same problems in a fairly isolated environment. "The main advantage of an incubator is that you get an outside view of your business. Because you, as an entrepreneur, are locked in your bubble and you see your business as a professional who makes a living out of it. When you then confront people outside your field, they can give you a different perspective on how, for example, to communicate with a different type of customer. Last but not least, it's great networking that the incubator brings with it." Tomáš describes their participation in the business incubator.

DELEGATE OR DIE

That business can also be a way to have more time for your family? Don't you think so? Tomáš managed to solve this task. The unknown (in mathematical slang) was the concept of delegating."I delegated most of the operative work to my employees. This gave me time to think more strategically about our business. This is manifested, for example, in the fact that we come up with new products on the e-shop. And I also love my family, so I'm glad that I don't spend time until the evening at work. By being a very seasonal product and selling mainly in the winter, I have room for my children during the summer. And no one will ever take that away from me, that time with them." Tomáš praises the balance between business and personal life.

The Matejčiks took part in our startup festival Festup and were also part of the public presentations of startups in our Startup Go Grill incubator in April 2019. Their e-shop is still thriving and we are keeping our fingers crossed for them in their further endeavors!