Bridge Budapest launches to spread the word on the startup world

Good ideas, hard work and a bit of luck — all you need to be successful and well-known. Hungary could be made more competitive by creative and globally successful young entrepreneurs — this is what the founders of world famous Hungarian companies believe.

The founders of the LogMeIn, Prezi, Ustream and Seagate Technologies joined together to establish Bridge Budapest, a non-profit organization in order to show young people: it is worth dreaming and make your dreams come true.

A fellowship program is offered to young people and journalists to be able to gain knowledge and inspiration from the biggest internet companies of the world. Undergraduate and recently graduated university students can spend 1-3 months gaining experience as fellows in the offices of Facebook, Twitter or SoundCloud, or can work together with the founders of Prezi, Ustream or LogMeln in San Francisco, Boston or Budapest. Also, Bridge Budapest offers special program for journalists — they can get an insight into the internal operations and the exciting world of Silicon Valley. The aim of the program is to achieve that the journalist would give news of the Hungarian successes and positive stories.

Providing a good example, the founders would like to prove that worldwide success is possible. LogMeln, Prezi and Ustream starting from Hungary entered the global market within a few years. “If three of us managed to do it, anyone can do it.” - says Péter Árvai, the president of Bridge Budapest, co-founder and CEO of Prezi, whose presentation software is used all over the world by 20 million people. Bridge Budapest aims to change the attitude of Hungarian people. “In Hungary we meet people far too often who don’t dare to believe in themselves — but it won’t help. We are well aware that optimism itself is not enough to change the world. However, no development is possible without it. Bridge Budapest is to inspire and motivate young people to dream and make their dreams come true. We know that it is an unusual attitude in Hungary these days, although we also see that it is impossible to achieve your goals without a positive vision.”

You can apply for the fellowship from 10 April - 6 May on the website of the organisation. (bridgebudapest.org). One of he first questions the applicants might be asked is what the internet means to them or how they interpret the phrase “everyday hero”. Applicant are also required to send in an introduction about themselves in English. The fellowship is offered to talents in the field of computer sciences, marketing/sales or design. There are no age restrictions, people without a university degree may also apply. The applicants can indicate their preference at which company they would like to gain experience during the fellowship beginning in July.

The fellowship also relies on world-class opportunities available in Hungary. LogMeln, Prezi and Ustream  accepts foreign talents in their Budapest offices proving that it is not necessary to leave Hungary to find world-class business culture. “We would really like to find out how unique and creative solutions the applicants provide to meet different challenges. Selection process has several steps, such as personal meetings, and assignments also help us to find young people who will share their experience and knowledge gained during the internship to the ones who do not know about the new opportunities and do not think their dreams may come true, and also a business can also be based on them” — adds Veronika Pistyur, leader of Bridge Budapest  ”