The Czech Republic has one of the most advanced and stable economies in all of Central Europe, best known for its strong industrial base and export-driven economy.
With a focus on services, innovation and manufacturing, the Czech Republic is a high-income country that operates on the classic European social model. The country also tends to attract a great deal of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), largely due to its large and skilled workforce, affordable labour and convenient location.
With a population of over 10,900,555 people (as of the end of 2023), the Czech Republic ranks 46th and 47th in the world in terms of nominal and PPP GDP respectively.
However, despite having an active and fairly successful economy, the Czech Republic still faces plenty of challenges that affect both established businesses and emerging startups. With an ageing population, a great dependence on imported energy and economic uncertainty, nothing is guranteed.
Pros and Cons of Launching a Business in the Czech Republic
All countries have both upsides and downsides when it comes to economic conditions and circumstances for startups.
Pros of Launching a Startup in the Czech Republic
A few of the most important advantages of starting a company in the Czech Republic include:
- Skilled and Cost Effective Workforce
- Strategic Location in Europe
- Membership to the European Union
- Governmental Support
- Strong Industrial Sector
- Increasingly Supportive Startup Community
- Relatively Stable Government and Economy
- Focus on Research and Development
Cons of Launching a Startup in the Czech Republic
Some noteworthy challenges involved in launching a startup in the Czech Republic include:
- Ageing Population
- The regulatory Environment is Complex
- Investment Culture is Conservative
- Collaboration Between Large Corporations and Startups is Limited
- Very Limited Access to Late-Stage Funding
- Dependence on Exported Energy
- Fairly Small Domestic Market
Unicorns in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has produced a few unicorns over the last few years, the first of which was Avast which achieved its $1 billion valuation in 2018. Since then, three more businesses have earned the title, although currently, only three businesses from the country are still both privately owned and worth at least $1 billion.
Product Board: $1.725 Billion
Productboard, founded in 2014 and with 18 investors to date, is the developer of a product management system that helps product teams get their products to the market as quickly as possible.
The company offers the opportunity to consolidate user research and feedback by means of an insights board. The insights board also allows for organising, prioritising and planning feature ideas and creating a roadmap for future endeavours.
The platform acts as an interactive portal through which colleagues and customers are able to interact and communicate about ideas as part as a collaborative effort to get the best possible products to market in the most effective and efficient way possible.
The company was founded by Daniel Hejl and Hubert Palan and was most recently valued at $1.725 billion.
Rohlik Group
The Rohlik Group was founded in Prague in the Czech Republic in 2014, and it operates in the e-commerce sector, particularly in groceries.
This online grocery retailer allows users to purchase groceries and other essentials via the mobile application that is available on both Android and iOS devices.
Having received a total of $748 million in funding to date, the Rohlik Group was most recently valued at $1.05 billion.
Avast
Avast is the oldest company on the list of the Czech Republic’s unicorns, and it was also its first-ever company to reach unicorn status. Founded in 1998, Avast is based in Prague and is a cloud-based anti-virus and anti-malware software provider.
The platform provides password protection for photos and applications, as well as a VPN service for accessing geo-restricted content. In addition, it also offers protection against malware-infected links as well as verification of Wi-Fi networks.
Avast software can be used on iOS, Android and Microsoft platforms, and the company was most recently valued at $8.86 billion.
