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Startup Weekend Žilina

Thank You for an amazing time at SWZA 2025!

We're now working on the SWZA #13! Be prepared...

16.-18. of October 2026

↓ ↓ ↓ Leave us your email contact and we'll inform you when SWZA#12 is ready ↓ ↓ ↓
Leave us your email contact and we'll inform you when SWZA#13 is ready
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About Techstars Startup Weekend Žilina

Build your startup in 54 thrilling hours!
Build your startup in 54 thrilling hours!

WHAT IS STARTUP WEEKEND? 

An (intense) 54-hour hackathon where you get the space to bring your idea to life. The idea doesn’t have to be technical. If you don’t have an idea, that’s okay, you can be part of a team with an idea you decide to support. You can help as a programmer, UX designer, marketer, business specialist, idea maker, specialist in law, domain expert or expert in a particular branch of industry. There is a lot of work when you are trying to turn a vision into reality, so all the experience and enthusiasm of each team member is useful. Come, form your team and pitch a business idea or join other startup enthusiasts

Startup Weekend Žilina is open to anyone passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned professional, a student, or simply someone with a great idea, you’re welcome to join. We encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including business, technology, design, and more, to participate. Whether you’re looking to launch a startup, develop new skills, or network with like-minded individuals, Startup Weekend Žilina offers a collaborative environment to turn your ideas into reality and to discover new skills and partnerships.

The event’s core goal is to connect as many individuals as possible—whether between participants or with mentors and judges. These connections, combined with a focused goal, limited time, and intense work, foster lateral thinking alongside logical thinking. The result is innovative ideas and breaking through perceived boundaries of what’s possible. Participants have a unique opportunity to form teams and dedicate an entire weekend to developing their ideas. Organizers and partners handle the venue and technical setup. Additionally, participants will meet experienced mentors who offer valuable feedback and networking opportunities to help grow their business. Gain contacts, receive feedback on your work, learn a bunch of new skills, and have an energetic weekend full of hard work and great experiences.

WE WILL PROVIDE YOU:

Mentorship

We are bringing in more than 14 entrepreneurs and subject matter experts to guide and support you throughout the weekend.

 

 

Food & Drinks

We’ll keep you energized, nourished, and delighted throughout the weekend with Red Bull, meals, snacks, and coffee, all provided by local restaurants and vendors.

Tools

Every startup needs the right tools in the right space. We’ll supply you with giant sticky notes, markers, post-it notes, and other brainstorming tools. If you prefer working on your computer, just remember to bring your charger!

Space

Thanks to our venue sponsor, your team will have a dedicated office for the entire weekend! This space is yours to brainstorm, build, refine your product, and practice your pitch.

 

Networking

Learn how to tap into your personal network, connect with other attendees, organizers and industry experts. You’ll gain valuable insights and feedback to validate your idea and build your business.

Resources

In just 54 hours, it’s best not to spend your time reinventing the wheel—or the business model canvas. We’ll provide you with all of Techstars’ recommended resources and give you a proven system to follow as you work on your startup.

Techstars Startup Weekend Žilina #12 RECAP

Mentors

Milan
Steskal

Director, Product Management @ Dynatrace


Pavol
Čobirka

CEO
@ Kobi & Siriuzz

Jakub
Tomšík

CEO
@ Spacebrains

Slavomír
Hruška

COO
@ Spacebrains

Lukáš
Polák

CTO
@ Spacebrains

Jakub
Hrušovský

Managing Director
@ Birne studio

Karol
Kocúr

Agile Coach
@ Slovak Telekom a.s.

Adrián
Frič

CEO @ Visitero

Tomáš
Červenka

CEO
@ MTBIKER

Róbert
Hronček

advokát, managing partner
@ Hronček & Partners, s. r. o.

Jaroslav
Chrapko

Founder, Entrepreneur @ Dedoles, Mile

Miroslava
Filčáková

Head of Backend & AI
@ Goodrequest

Tomáš
Barniak

Co-founder
@ Fullvio s.r.o.

Martin
Jančo

CEO
@ M2M Solutions s.r.o.

Kid Mentors

Janka
Valová

Manažérka rozvoja študentskej podnikavosti @ Inovia

Dávid
Vrtaňa

Predseda OZ Mladý podnikavec a učiteľ

Martina
Ďurčová

Manažérka obchodu Raynet CRM a ERP Onix
@KROS a. s.

Marcela
Barčáková

Koordinátorka v ZA kraji / Projektová manažérka
@DASATO / Žilinská univerzita v Žiline

Jana
Rojčeková

Marketing & Communication
@INOVIA

Barbara
Fürješová

Komunitná manažérka @INOVIA LIPTOV

Michaela
Kocúrová

Študentka

Monika
Urdová

Učiteľka, OZ Cesty k podnikaniu

Renáta
Fogeltonová

Učiteľka, mentorka, OZ Cesty k podnikaniu

Judges

Vlastimil
Kocián

CEO
@ INOVIA

Braňo
Kráľ

Marketing Consultant and Director
@ Branko Kral Digital

Gabriel
Pozsonyi

Commercial Officer
@ Continium Technologies

Daniel
Farkaš

Co-founder
@ Fullvio s.r.o.

Ondrej
Grenčík

Founder
PRONEA, a. s.

Facilitator

Ondrej Čejka

Techstars facilitator, agile coach, lektor, konzultant, mentor [CZ]

Schedule

Friday

17

16:00

Registration

16:30

Refreshment and networking

17:00

Welcome (open to public)

17:45

Presentation of the ideas (open to public)

18:45

Rating of the ideas (open to public)

19:00

Forming of the teams (open to public)

19:20

Lean Canvas Workshop

19:40

Start of the work

22:00

Venue closing

—–

Saturday

18

8:00

Breakfast

8:30

Work on the project

12:00

Lunch

12:45

Workshop How to present to the investors

13:15

Mentoring/Work on the project

17:00

Dinner

17:30

Work on the project

——

Sunday

19

8:00

Breakfast

8:30

Work on the project

12:00

Lunch

12:30

Work on the project/Set up of the presentation

14:00

Presentation of the ideas (open to public)

17:00

Judging and the award ceremony (open to public)

17:30

Dinner

FAQ

You can come up with any idea. We had many non-technical projects. Eco, fashion recycling, bakery, design of a work table and often these projects were successful because they were different.

Definitely. An idea is one thing, execution is another. If you want to learn a lot of new things, please come. You can find an idea that you like the most and join it. Maybe you will become a co-founder of another successful business... : )

Absolutely. If you manage to excite people for your idea, Startup Weekend is just the place where you can get a team. If you don't have an idea, you can join the idea that  appeals to you the most or where you can find greatest use for yoursef. In addition, you will get to know a lot of awesome people.

Certainly yes. You can make another big progress on your project. Find smart people for the team, get feedback from mentors and new contacts. The jury evaluates the progress over the weekend and the initial state is taken into account in order to maintain fairness.

●Laptop/Notepad

● Power cord for Laptop

● Your phone- feel free to take pictures or video of the event

● Optional: Whatever helps you to be most productive (keyboard, mouse, etc..)

● Lots of energy

The event is limited only by capacity. I.e. if tickets are available, you can also register on the spot. We recommend buying tickets in advance, precisely because of capacity limits - also because of the time management.

Friday: Participants typically arrive between 5-7 p.m., begin networking, and have dinner. After an ice-breaking game and an introduction by the Facilitator, there will typically be a short talk with a speaker. Then, the “Pitchfire” will commence: anyone intending to pitch will have 60 seconds to give their best pitch. No presentations are needed for Friday, it will just be you and a mic. After pitches are finished, all participants will vote on their favorites, and using these votes, the top ideas will be selected to be worked on over the weekend. The Facilitator will provide guidance on team formation. Then teams will form organically, consolidate, and get to know each other and begin working.

Saturday: Teams will work all day, with the occasional breaks to eat, listen to short talks, or attend a short workshop. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks will be provided at an in-person event. In the afternoon mentors will be circulating to provide advice in the field of their expertise for those teams that want it. There will usually be a mentor sign-up sheet available where you can sign up for mentorship from someone with the industry experience that can support your team.

Sunday: Breakfast, lunch and dinner also will be provided on Sunday at in-person events. Teams will work uninterrupted from morning until mid-afternoon. They’ll begin wrapping up their product/prototype and presentation around 3 PM to do tech-checks and practice their presentation. After all judges have arrived, presentations will begin. Each team typically has five minutes plus around a three to five minute Q&A from the judges (this varies occasionally). The judges will select the top teams, who will be awarded prizes (if applicable), and the event usually ends with a small celebratory get-together.

Accommodation is not part of the event. For accommodation, it is possible to use e.g. university dormitories Veľky Diel. If you are interested -> please contact us.

The parts accessible to the public are on Friday approx. from 5PM., when registration, introduction to the event format, presentation of ideas and team formation take place. Also, the final presentations and evaluation of the jury are accessible to the general public on Sunday from 3PM. Due to the limited capacity for teams and the capacity of mentors, participation in the entire event is only available to registered participants who want to actively participate in the event. Registration will be suspended in case of capacity strain.

the ticket price includes:
- Space and place to work for the whole weekend
- Food for the whole weekend (2x dinner, 2x breakfast, 2x lunch)
- Professional mentoring
- T-shirt
- Office supplies
- Coffee, tea and energy drinks
- Good mood (Capacity is limited. Please also try to bring your own good mood. Otherwise we'll have to tell you jokes and that's exhausting.)
- Merch from our Partners

More or less useful advertising items, merch from our partners, after event mentoring, tickets for next events, software licences and subscription plans... But ask yourself! Are you really going to the SWZA for some ordinary stuff you can buy on the internet? Nah... You're comming for the better stuff. Contacts, good time, new friendships, professional mentoring, feedback from judges... See Ya in October!

Photo Gallery

2024 Aftermovie

2023 Aftermovie

Event Location

 

 

University of Žilina, Slovakia

Event will take place in the main building of UNIZA. Also known as ‘the Rectorate‘.

Nearby parking

0.1 KM from event venue
NORDCITY Parkovací dom
Poštová 1, 010 08 Žilina-Vlčince

0.3 KM from event venue
Kaufland
Vysokoškolákov 8083/37, 010 01 Žilina-Vlčince

0.7 KM from event venue
Atrium Dubeň
Vysokoškolákov 8069/52, 010 08 Žilina

Nearby accommodations

1.8 KM from event venue
Hotel Slovakia
Antona Bernoláka 3231/2A, 010 01 Žilina

1.0 KM from event venue
Penzión Sentami
Hlboká cesta 1699/18, 010 01 Žilina

2.0 KM from event venue
Penzión Kamélia
Tajovského 1991/1, 010 01 Žilina

2.1 KM from event venue
Hliny Dormitories
Hliny Dormitories, Street, Hlinská, 010 01 Žilina

Grant Partners

Main Partner

Gold Partners

Silver Partners

Price Partners

Media Partners

Global Partners

Need something?
Send a message to:

startupweekend.zilina@gmail.com

Social links:

This event is organized by:
Startupisti, o.z.


Feel free to join our team!
message us at:
startupweekend.zilina@gmail.com