Although only in her early twenties, Tereza Dřímalová, a student at the MU Faculty of Economics and Administration, has already become a director in the family firm she founded with her father. She has created a unique water purification device for the home, called Aquaqube. The device rids tap water of unwanted substances such as hormones, drugs, pesticides and other chemicals. In order to start serial production of her device, Tereza is looking for supporters on KickStarter.
Tereza has been working with her father, a physicist and alumnus of the MU Faculty of Science, since she was 12. “I knew what my father was able to invent,” says the 22-year-old who joined the South Moravian Innovative Centre´s Programme JIC ENTER. “I also realized that the technologies in question were not going to be installed in water purifiers anytime soon, and I had the idea of developing a device of our own.”
Over three months, Tereza, her father and colleagues who gradually entered the firm built a functional prototype of a device which produces, in 42 seconds, 750 ml of naturally pure, drinkable tap water free of hormones, drugs, pesticides and other chemicals. Although these chemical substances, which are commonly present in tap water, have no immediate harmful effects, Tereza believes that they may be harmful in the long run.
“The world is full of people who are interested in their health and the environment and would like to take control over the quality of the water they drink,” says Tereza. “We would like to offer them the best quality of drinking water. Aquaqube cleans the water but also transforms undesirable substances into harmless ones. But to start producing such a device we need to collect more money.”
On 17 November, Tereza and her colleagues launched a campaign on KickStarter, a platform which helps innovators to find finance for their projects. People interested in the personal water purification device might pre-pay for a special bottle or the whole device.
“We would like to raise six million Czech crowns (around £200,000) to buy the machines and moulds we will need for the first stage of production,” explains the student.
Having completed her BA in Marketing in the UK and Spain, Tereza Dřímalová is now a student of Finance at the MU Faculty of Economics and Administration. “Study in those countries means close cooperation with companies,” says the young businesswoman, who has devoted her life to the family firm and besides economics also studies engineering. “By the time they graduate, every student has some practical training behind them. I was afraid that studying in the Czech Republic would be a big disappointment, but luckily this did not happen.”