NEWTON Business Accelerator
The NEWTON Business Accelerator (NBA) was created as an intensive 5‑month accelerator programme to help NEWTON University students kick-start business ideas and projects. From the academic year 2022/23, students from all universities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia were given the opportunity to apply. Students with a project from any industry (except weapons, gambling and sextech & sexual wellness) can apply for the accelerator.
The NBA is tailored to help students with businesses at a variety of different stages. As part of the acceleration, the programme is tiered to ensure that all participants get the right level of support. The incubation phase is for those who have an idea or want to learn the basics of entrepreneurship, and the acceleration phase is for those who have an existing project. In the acceleration phase, students develop their project or idea with the support of mentors who are fully available to them for the five-month period. Leading business experts act as mentors, including Jiří Vávra (Head Of Strategy at Deloitte), Jiří Koleňák (Chief Academic Officer), Karel Novotný (brand consultant), Andrea Kráslova (Head of NEWTON Careers), Linda Vavříková (successful entrepreneur), Libor Hoření (successful entrepreneur) and many others.
The NBA is based at NEWTON University’s campuses in Prague, Brno and Bratislava. In Prague, it is led by Margareta Křížová, MBA, who has been working in the field of mergers and acquisitions for more than 25 years. She advises companies and sole traders on business strategy and helps start-up founders with investor entry. You can also meet her as a business mentor in business incubators and accelerators and as a judge in entrepreneurial competitions such as T‑Mobile Startups, Startup Weekend and Women Startup Competition. NEWTON Business Accelerator in Brno is led by Karel Novotný, a renowned marketing consultant who has held workshops all over the world. Besides consulting for large companies, he also helps non-profit organisations with their marketing. In Bratislava, the NBA is led alternately by Margareta Křížová and Karel Novotný.
