SASK

An alumni update we're proud to share. ✨ MultiplexDX International, one of the early Startup Awards Slovakia alumni, just hit a major milestone in breast cancer diagnostics! 🔬 After more than a year of training, building infrastructure and setting up processes, they can now run a registered diagnostic laboratory for breast cancer patients in Slovakia. 🇸🇰 They're in the final stretch now: validating and certifying the lab. 👀 And they've opened a limited offer. Any patient who sends their order form and biopsy sample by the end of July gets the innovative Multiplex8+ diagnostic test free! This is the kind of impact we hope to see from Slovak startups. Serious science becoming real patient care. Proof that what starts on a local stage can grow into something globally relevant, and genuinely life-changing. 🚀 Congratulations Pavol Cekan and MultiplesDX team! #StartupAwards #Slovakia #MultiplexDX #deeptech #healthtech

This was Startup Awards Slovakia 2025. But what happened before that? 👀 Before the stage, the lights, the crowd and the aftermovie moment, there was a much simpler step 👉 someone decided their startup was worth putting forward. And now we’re doing it all again. ✨ Now applications for SASK 2026 are open, and if you’re building something, this is your sign to apply! 𝗔𝗡𝗗 if you apply by 7 August, you’ll get access to the 𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗷 𝗗𝘂𝗹𝗮, so your deck can do more than just look pretty and you will have a chance to resubmit the application. 🔁 Applications are open at 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘀𝗮𝘀𝗸.𝘀𝗸 🚀 #StartupAwardsSlovakia #SASK2026 #SlovakStartups #StartupAwardsSlovensko

What changes when founders build closer to Silicon Valley? 💡 During the SASK Silicon Valley trip, our 2025 winners met Daniel Svonava, CEO & co-founder of Superlinked, and asked him about founder mindset, speed, AI coding, and how building in the US shapes the way startups move. 📈 From getting products to market faster to using AI beyond basic code completion, Daniel shared a perspective every technical founder should hear. Watch the video to hear Daniel’s take. 👇 AND applications for SASK 2026 are open at 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘀𝗮𝘀𝗸.𝘀𝗸. Apply because your startup could be the one that will join the next Silicon Valley trip. 🚀

Raising capital is not just “we need money, please”. 👀 There is a whole language behind it, and if you’re a first-time founder, nobody expects you to 🧠 know it automatically. Laura Ďorďová from tapaya. shared one of those founder lessons that is better to hear before the investor meeting, not after. This is the kind of know-how we bring closer through SASK Meetups. You can learn about practical tips, founder lessons, investor perspective, and things that are much better to learn before they become expensive mistakes. 💸 Watch the video, save it, send it to your co-founder. And don't forget! Applications for Startup Awards Slovakia 2026 are open at 𝒘𝒘𝒘.𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒌.𝒔𝒌 🚀

Fundraising too early. Picking the wrong investor. Thinking ESOP is “later problem”. Trying to build without a network. 📉 Košice & Žilina gave us a lot of very useful founder notes. We explored everything from tapaya.’s first €1M raise, through investor red flags, ownership culture, and the kind of ecosystem support that actually helps. 🚀 These are some of the most important takeaways from SASK Meetups. Swipe to see for yourself! You can also read the full blogpost about our Meetups, the link is waiting for you in the comments below! 👇 🔗 Apply to SASK 2026 on our website 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘀𝗮𝘀𝗸.𝘀𝗸! 🔗 🎤 The voices behind the takeaways: Stefan Surina (Eldison), Laura Ďorďová (tapaya.), Henrieta Dunne (UVP Technicom), Michal Vanovčan (Seed Starter Slovenskej sporiteľne), Rasto Blazej (Seed Starter Slovenskej sporiteľne), Vlastimil Kocián (Inovia), Peter Breyl (ICKK) 🤝 Thank you to the partners who joined us in Košice and Žilina: Seed Starter Slovenskej sporiteľne, Visa, Crowdberry, PwC Slovakia, Eldison, TPA Group, UVP TECHNICOM, Kosice IT Valley, Innovation center of the Kosice region and INOVIA.

💡 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 to get your pitch in front of someone who has actually done this. Andrej Dula built Rezztek® from a Slovak sports-tech idea into a brand used in the hockey world 🏒, won MassChallenge Gold, and knows what it takes to make people understand, remember and believe in what you're building. Andrej will be leading our How to Pitch workshop in July for early SASK applicants. Apply to Startup Awards Slovakia 2026 by 𝟳𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 and you will get access to the workshop in July, and a chance to resubmit your application stronger before Bootcamp selection. ✨ Your idea already matters. This is about making the pitch match the ambition. You can apply at 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘀𝗮𝘀𝗸.𝘀𝗸 or apply through the links in the comments! 🚀 #SASK #SASK2026 #LocalRootsGlobalAmbition #SlovakStartups #Pitchdeck

They were 16 and 18 and they went to Silicon Valley. And now it's your turn! 👀 Meet Lukas Lipka and Martin Pistovčák from Aerostacks - last year’s Next Gen Founders winners. Their story is exactly why this category exists: to give young builders, student teams and early projects a real chance to be seen, get feedback, meet the right people and take their idea further than they thought possible. 🚀 Who is the NextGen category for? ✨ high school and university student startups ✨ teams where the majority of founders are students ✨ teams that do not need to have a registered company yet Selected student teams will join the SASK Bootcamp in November, work with investors, founders and mentors, and one team will get the chance to present at the Startup Awards Slovakia 2026 Final. 💡 And if you apply by 7th July, you can also get access to our first How to Pitch workshop with Andrej Dula to sharpen your pitch and a chance to resubmit your application before the next steps. 💡 Not a student founder? You can still apply through the regular startup track. Both applications are linked in the comments below or you can apply at 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐤.𝐬𝐤 So APPLY NOW, show us what you’re building, and get the chance to make your pitch match your ambition. 🌟

We loved this cheatsheet by our friend Simona Veres Gulisova on the Silicon Valley mindset 👉 a great reminder that the Valley is not just a place, but a way of thinking. From bold ambition and fast experimentation to collaboration, resilience, and sharing ideas openly, this is a useful read for founders and ecosystem builders everywhere. If you’re building in CEE or beyond, Simona’s perspective is a timely nudge to think bigger, move faster, and build with more confidence. And after reading, it might even compell you to apply to Startup Awards 2026. 🤞 #CEEfounders #Startupcheatsheet #SiliconValley

POV: you walked into a meetup and found your people. ⚡️ Košice and Žilina gave us two evenings full of founders, almost-founders, students, investors, operators, and people who are done just talking about ideas and want to actually build something. We talked funding, feedback, ownership, first steps, ecosystem, and the messy-but-exciting part where an idea starts becoming a real startup. Huge thank you to everyone who came, asked questions, stayed for networking, and brought the energy. 🩷 Big thanks to: 🎤 Our speakers: Stefan Surina (Eldison), Laura Ďorďová (tapaya.), Henrieta Dunne (UVP Technicom), Michal Vanovčan (Seed Starter Slovenskej sporiteľne), Rasto Blazej (Seed Starter Slovenskej sporiteľne), Vlastimil Kocián (Inovia), Peter Breyl (ICKK) 🎙 Our moderators: Viktoria Brezina and Olga Marekova 🤝 Our partners, who joined us: Seed Starter Slovenskej sporiteľne, Visa, Crowdberry, PwC Slovakia, Eldison, TPA Group, UVP TECHNICOM, Kosice IT Valley, Innovation center of the Kosice region, INOVIA 🤝 Our product partners: Pilsner Urquell, Melody Roastery Coffee, Magnesia, and Radoma with their Treska Exklusiv 🫂 and the SASK team who made the road trip happen. This is what SASK is about: bringing founders, future founders and the whole startup ecosystem closer together. Applications for SASK 2026 are open at 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐤.𝐬𝐤. If you’re building something, now it’s your turn. 🚀

🎯 Got an idea? Time to build it with AI! Our friends at AI Build Week are looking for 20 people who actually want to build, not just talk about AI. For 5 days at The Spot in Bratislava, you’ll work on your own AI-native project: from idea to something that actually works. No need to have it all figured out. Just bring curiosity, energy, and that one idea you keep thinking about. 👀 You’ll get to: ✨ learn AI by doing ✨ build something real ✨ meet other builders and future founders ✨ maybe take the first step toward your own startup Because sometimes the first version of your future company starts as a “let’s just try this” project. Applications are open until 28th June at 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐚𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤.𝐜𝐨𝐦. #SASK #AIBuildWeek #BuildWithAI #FutureFounders #AI #StartupCommunity