The million dollar competition Chivas The VENTURE begins.

Chivas Regal is proud to announce the next The VENTURE competition searching for the best entrepreneurial project with social impact.

Bratislava, 26^th September, 2016
Chivas Regal is proud to announce the next The VENTURE competition searching for the best entrepreneurial project with social impact. The grand prize, $1 million is going to be distributed among all finalists. This is a historic first for businessmen from Slovakia who got the chance to be among the participants.

The regional round of the competition begins on 26^th September with registration available to all successful entrepreneurs with a strong sense of social responsibility who do not look the other way when it comes to environmental issues. Registration is available to both start-ups and companies with a long business history from all walks of life – e.g. information technologies, agriculture, healthcare, catering and environmentalism just to name a few. The whole competition has Chivas Regal’s claim “Win the right way” written all over it. Long story short, the first prize goes to whoever manages to convince the jury to have taken the right road to emerging as a winner not only in the current competition, but in their business and life.

Being generous was par for the course for James and John Chivas, the founders of Chivas Regal, something they considered second nature. Profit never played a key role in their business in Aberdeen, Scotland; they did however conduct business with the clear intention of changing the world for the better. Circling back to present days, doing business with social responsibility is trending now more than ever with growing engagement. Thus the main idea Chivas The VENTURE of supporting exceptional start-ups saw the day of light a long time ago and it is something that makes the Chivas Regal brand so distinctive. Slovakia is joining the third year of this global initiative and I for one can’t wait to see what this year’s competition has in store for us,” Matúš Kollár, the brand manager of Chivas Regal within Pernod Ricard Slovakia, the company in charge of the distribution of this premium Scotch in Slovakia, shared his opinion on launching the competition.

Slovak businessmen definitely have a bumpy road ahead of them when it comes to making their dreams come true; those who picture a picnic in the park are sadly in for a rude awakening. The local winner advances to the international round and the last one saw 2 700 registered projects from 27 countries of the world having been assessed by the famous actress, businesswoman and philanthropist, Eva Longoria or Alexandre Ricard, the CEO of Pernod Ricard just to name a few. The highest amount to the tune of $300.000 went to Oscar Andres Mendez from Columbia to finance his project. The jury grew interested in his start-up, Conceptos Plasticos specializing in recycling plastic and rubber based waste transforming it into construction material used for shelters, community buildings and schools.

For those interested in registering for the local round in Slovakia, can do so via an online application available from 26th September through 14th November 2016. Registration is open to start-ups, currently in the process of conceiving a functional prototype ready to be launched as well as companies whose products are well-established and are prepared to expand their business further. All Slovak entrepreneurs are welcome to give it a shot and possibly win if they meet the requirement of being above 25 of age running a business with positive social impact and having an annual revenue not higher than €1.5 million.

The 10 best applicants are going to be shortlisted who will have the chance to participate in special workshops focusing on the development of business skills as well as discussions with a global independent counselor. Up to 5 shortlisted candidates will get picked based on the series of workshops and discussions who will then advance to the final round appearing before an expert jury. The jury includes well-known Slovak entrepreneurs and specialists standing behind success stories such as Šimon Šicko, the founder of Pixel Federation, a successful software company, one of the leaders in the PC gaming industry currently engaged in the „Slovensko Digital“ program. Juraj Porubský, the editor-in-chief of Forbes Slovakia, the prestigious economic magazine along with the third juror sporting Lukáš Alner, the founder and co-owner of the website zoznam.sk whose brainchild is the diagnose.me project.

Lukáš Alner who is also acting as the ambassador of the campaign, casts some light on the reasons behind his decision to lend a hand to a project like this: “My decision to participate in the project Chivas The VENTURE is closely tied with the mission to support and promote fair play while doing business, something that is close to my heart. Sadly, being a successful entrepreneur in Slovakia has got some negative connotations to it, frequently associated with ill-gotten means and that is why every attempt to achieve success playing fair via innovations and expertise deserves to be appreciated and supported. I will keep my fingers crossed in advance for all those who take the plunge and register in the project!”

The winner of the Chivas The VENTURE local round will be publicly announced at the gala event that takes place on 15^th December 2016.  Following the regional rounds next spring, all 33 global finalists will embark on the Chivas The VENTURES’S ACCELERATOR WEEK in Oxford, England. “Apart from media promotion provided by Forbes and the attendance of the accelerator week, the winner of the local round will have the chance to register for the Chivas The VENTURE FINAL PITCH taking place next July with the grand prize of $1 million. I am absolutely confident that via Chivas The VENTURE the Slovak projects will manage to be in the limelight and serve as a living proof that even a small country like ours can conceive revolutionary ideas,” Matúš Kollár encouraging talented Slovak entrepreneurs.

For updates on the Chivas The VENTURE navigate to the webpage, the Chivas Regal Facebook page or YouTube.

KEY DATES OF THE LOCAL ROUND