Začni učit!
Začni učit! is a Czech non-profit civic association that helps prospective and beginning teachers enter and stay in the profession through free programs including a week-long teaching trial, a job-matching portal, and a community support program, funded by foundation grants, government support, and donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersPraha 2 – Nové Město, Czechia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Začni učit! does
Začni učit! (legal name Začni učit!, z. s.) is a Czech non-profit civic association founded in October 2016 and headquartered in Prague 2 (Wenzigova 1861/7). It addresses a documented Czech teacher shortage of approximately 6,000 qualified educators by guiding prospective and beginning teachers across the full career-entry funnel, from initial curiosity through qualification and into the first years of classroom practice.
Its service portfolio is organized around three core programs: 'Zkus učit!' (a week-long immersive teaching trial), 'Zauč se!' (a six-month community support program for beginning teachers), and the 'Kde učit?' portal (a job-matching platform linking candidates with schools). Supporting tools include an interactive qualification guide, free individual consultations, the Učitelské jiskření online community meetings, a regional support map, content campaigns (Učitelské mýty, Kompetence nejsou strašák, Cesty k učitelství), and resources such as the Check-in Activities Compendium. The technology is a web-based platform built with volunteers from Česko.Digital and instrumented with Smartlook analytics, supplemented by Google Forms and Google Meet.
The operating model is non-commercial: all programs are free to end users. Funding comes from foundation grants (Nadace české spořitelny, Nadační fond Abakus, Nadace RSJ, Qminers, and others), government support (MŠMT under the 'Na učitelích záleží' call, MHMP for Prague, Karlovarský kraj), and individual donations via the Darujme.cz platform. The organization operates under the official patronage of MŠMT ČR and is part of a coalition with Otevřeno, Učitel naživo, and Učitelská platforma targeting systemic teacher-preparation reform by 2030.
Začni učit! firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Začni učit!
- Legal name
- Začni učit!, z. s.
- Website
- https://zacniucit.cz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Začni učit! is a Czech non-profit civic association that helps prospective and beginning teachers enter and stay in the profession through free programs including a week-long teaching trial, a job-matching portal, and a community support program, funded by foundation grants, government support, and donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Začni učit! industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Workforce Support Services
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Teacher/Provider SEL Coaching & Implementation Training (ECE) (EDACAOAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- In-Service Professional Development (Workshops/Institutes/Short Courses) (EDACAIAB)
Keywords
Where Začni učit! is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Praha 2 – Nové Město
- HQ country
- Czechia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Začni učit! business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Individual donations (Darujme platform): The organization accepts one-time and recurring donations from individuals via the Darujme.cz platform. A monthly contribution of 300 CZK is highlighted as impactful.
- Foundation and corporate grants: Funding from named foundations including Nadace České spořitelny, Nadační fond Abakus (Avast founders), Nadace RSJ, Qminers, Nadace BLÍŽKSOBĚ, Nadační fond Kladné nuly, Purple Foundation, Nadační fond Zeměkvět, Second Foundation, Vodafone Nadace Laboratoř, and OSF Foundation. Grants support organizational operations, program delivery, communications, and advocacy work.
- Government/public funding: Financial support from MŠMT ČR (Ministry of Education) under the 'Na učitelích záleží' (Teachers Matter) call for teacher recruitment programs, the 'Učitelské mýty' campaign, and the 'Zauč se!' program in Prague via MHMP (Prague City Hall). Karlovarský kraj supported a regional event on teacher shortages.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free for all users — prospective teachers, beginning teachers, and school founders |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
Začni učit! product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Začni učit! is a Czech non-profit association that delivers a free end-to-end support ecosystem for prospective and beginning teachers. Its core offerings include the week-long 'Zkus učit!' trial-teaching program, the six-month 'Zauč se!' community program for novice teachers, the 'Kde učit?' job portal connecting candidates with schools, an interactive pedagogical qualification guide, individual consultations, and supporting community events.
Product overview
Začni učit! is a Czech educational support organization offering a comprehensive ecosystem of programs and services to help prospective and beginning teachers enter and succeed in the teaching profession. The core offering consists of three interconnected programs: 'Zkus učit!' - a week-long trial teaching experience for career changers; 'Kde učit?' - a job portal connecting candidates with schools; and 'Zauč se!' - a half-year community support program for beginning teachers. These are complemented by supporting tools including an interactive qualification guide, the Učitelské jiskření online community meetings, a regional support map, individual consultations, and educational resources like the Check-in Activities Compendium. The organization also runs communication campaigns (Cesty k učitelství) and advocacy work to improve systemic support for teachers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Zkus učit!: A one-week program allowing prospective teachers to experience teaching in a real school setting to help them decide if teaching is right for them.
- Zauč se!
- Den pro školu
- Kde učit?
- Cesty k učitelství
- Učitelské jiskření
Quantifiable outcome
- 50% of Zkus učit! participants subsequently enter schools as teachers
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Začni učit!
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Začni učit! technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
Začni učit! partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Česko.DigitalminorVolunteers from the Česko.Digital civic tech community helped build the website concept that guides teaching career aspirants along their entire journey.
- Nadace OSF (OSF Foundation)minorProvides advocacy consulting to support Začni učit!'s policy and advocacy work.
- Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy (Faculty of Education, Charles University)minorCooperates on motivating prospective teachers — joint activities to attract teaching candidates.
- Pedagogická fakulta Masarykovy univerzity (Faculty of Education, Masaryk University)minorCooperates on motivating prospective teachers — joint activities to attract teaching candidates.
- Projekt SYPO (System for Professional Development of Teachers and Principals)minorSYPO systematically supports all teachers and school directors with special attention to schools with beginning teachers, connecting schools and teachers in methodological cabinets, contributing to professional development of school principals. Začni učit! co-developed handbooks for schools with beginning teachers under SYPO.
- OtevřenocoreTogether with Otevřeno, Učitel naživo, and Učitelská platforma forms a coalition for the transformation of teacher professional preparation. Shared goal: by 2030, schools will have enough well-prepared and motivated teachers.
- Učitel naživocorePart of the coalition for transformation of teacher preparation in the Czech Republic, working alongside Otevřeno and Učitelská platforma toward systemic change in teacher education.
- Učitelská platformacoreThrough Učitelská platforma, Začni učit! stays connected with experienced teachers and together changes the perception of the teaching profession. Co-developed the Handbook for Beginning Teachers with Začni učit!.
- SKAV (Stálá konference asociací ve vzdělávání)minorSKAV is an important partner that brings together many organizations with the goal of changing Czech education.
- edu.czminorTogether with edu.cz, provides important information for teachers and about teaching.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Začni učit! competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- New Teacher Center: U.S. non-profit focused on induction, mentoring, and retention of beginning teachers, with documented outcomes on attrition reduction. Directly comparable to Začni učit!'s Zauč se! beginning-teacher support mission and emphasis on reducing first-year attrition.
- Teach First (UK): UK-based charity that recruits high-achieving graduates and career-changers into teaching placements in low-income schools, then supports them through early careers. Directly comparable in mission, target segment (career-changer teachers), and trajectory through trial teaching into early-career support.
- Učitel naživo: Czech non-profit focused on selecting and supporting beginning teachers, explicitly named coalition partner of Začni učit! working toward the shared 2030 goal of well-prepared teachers. Overlaps heavily in target audience (prospective and beginning teachers) and program model (selection, training, community).
- Otevřeno: Czech education-transformation non-profit and named coalition partner. Comparable as a Czech-system reform organization with overlapping audiences (teachers, school founders, policymakers) and similar advocacy-plus-program model.
- Učitelská platforma: Czech teacher association and named coalition partner that co-developed the Handbook for Beginning Teachers with Začni učit!. Direct peer given shared teacher-advocacy remit and overlapping support resources for early-career teachers.
Broad incumbents
- Teach For America: Foundational U.S. teacher-recruitment non-profit sending career-changers into low-income schools for multi-year commitments. Highly comparable in original teacher-pipeline model and post-placement support, though at much larger scale.
- Teach For All: Global network of independent teacher-recruitment and leadership organizations (Teach For America, Teach First, etc.). Functions as an umbrella for the broader teacher-recruitment model Začni učit! operates, providing indirect comparisons on program design, funding architecture, and network effects.
Regional players
- Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy: Charles University's Faculty of Education, a leading Czech teacher-training institution listed as a cooperation partner on prospective-teacher recruitment. Adjacent peer because it sits upstream (training qualified teachers) versus Začni učit!'s upstream entry point (career-changers).
- SKAV (Stálá konference asociací ve vzdělávání): Czech association of education organizations, listed as a partner bringing together many education-sector actors. Comparable as a Czech-system-change peer in the same education-policy network rather than direct teacher-recruitment service competitor.
Emerging players
- edu.cz: Czech education-information initiative partnered with Začni učit! on teacher information. Comparable as a regional teaching-career information platform, though with a broader (school-wide) scope than Začni učit!'s teacher-recruitment focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Začni učit! social profiles
Digital presenceZačni učit! financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Začni učit! leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Začni učit! funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Začni učit! M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Začni učit!
What does Začni učit! do?
Začni učit! is a Czech non-profit association that delivers a free end-to-end support ecosystem for prospective and beginning teachers. Its core offerings include the week-long 'Zkus učit!' trial-teaching program, the six-month 'Zauč se!' community program for novice teachers, the 'Kde učit?' job portal connecting candidates with schools, an interactive pedagogical qualification guide, individual consultations, and supporting community events.
Is Začni učit! a public or private company?
Začni učit! is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Začni učit! founded?
Začni učit! was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Začni učit! based?
Začni učit! is headquartered in Praha 2 – Nové Město, Czechia, in the Europe region.
How does Začni učit! make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Individual donations (Darujme platform) is the primary driver. The others are foundation and corporate grants and government/public funding.
Who are Začni učit!'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are New Teacher Center, Teach First (UK), Učitel naživo, Otevřeno and Učitelská platforma. Broad incumbents are Teach For America and Teach For All. Regional players are Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Karlovy and SKAV (Stálá konference asociací ve vzdělávání). edu.cz is listed as an emerging player.
Does Začni učit! have an API?
No public API is recorded for Začni učit!.
What industry is Začni učit! in?
Začni učit!'s product category is Education Workforce Support Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDACAOAH, Teacher/Provider SEL Coaching & Implementation Training (ECE), with a secondary code of EDACAIAB, In-Service Professional Development (Workshops/Institutes/Short Courses). Its NAICS code is 61171 and its SIC code is 8200.