Startups create amazing things from zero and the process behind how this happens early on is captivating. This is even more so when you as a reader have a way to connect via empathy and nostalgia – a way of relating to the founder through some commonalities (background, culture, values, upbringing etc).

We’ve decided to arrange talks with successful Polish tech entrepreneurs from all over the world – just like our country’s and fellow countrymen’s history, the history of many founders varies and has gone on across countries and continents. This is truly amazing and it is also an untapped source of experience, knowledge and human capital of Poles.

Why are we doing this?

We are driven by 3 things:

1. Over many years we came personally, through media, and through our networks, across Polish entrepreneurs and investors behind some great tech companies and products inside and outside of Poland.

We can and want to leverage these people (and many others) to tell their startup stories behind how they launched and scaled their products, teams and grew customers, what matters to founders and what shaped them.

2. Y Combinator founder Jessica Livingston’s amazing book Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days (pdf of her book – a must-read) was a huge inspiration. The book is one of the most inspiring and educational pieces on entrepreneurship with entrepreneurs that did it before “startups” become a fashion trend.

Polish founders of various backgrounds have done great things and increasingly continue to do so — we want to inspire other aspiring entrepreneurs with their stories!

3. Successful entrepreneurs can make solid role models, can help others learn based on their own mistakes and experiences, and can/should be networked as part of our ecosystem – we can, in fact, create a global ecosystem.

Poland’s tech ecosystem is growing quickly, as many others elsewhere are, despite the country’s centuries-long pre-1989 struggles against oppression that halted enterprise, capital accumulation and progress.

Poland is uniquely positioned, because of one of the best talent pools in the world, aspirations that value freedom, a great education system, and a large Polish diaspora. Our talents in science, medicine, engineering, design and entrepreneurship both inside and outside the country are the #1 competitive advantage Poland has.

We’re fortunate, so let’s help spread knowledge on founder successes and help inspire others and contribute by building.

“I’d say determination is the single most important quality in a startup founder. If the founders I spoke with were superhuman in any way, it was in their perseverance.”

― Jessica Livingston, Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days