Poland is located in Central Europe. It is a Catholic country that experienced many political upheavals just like its neighbors. It’s a beautiful destination, with plenty of historical landmarks and a countryside that is almost picture postcard perfect. It is a developed market with an economy that is one of the largest within the European Union. It was able to avoid the effects of the 2008 recession and with the fall of communism, the government liberalized into a market based economy, exporting various types of products. Overall, the country’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the EU.
Warsaw is Poland’s capital and its biggest city. It’s one of the new dynamic business centers in the European Union. Warsaw is the financial and economic center of Poland, as well as the center of development and research, with many companies engaged in information technology and business process outsourcing. Poland has around 4,500 researchers and 40 research centers.
The availability of highly qualified talents spurred many multinational companies such as Samsung, Siemens, Microsoft, Intel, LG Electronics, Google, Motorola, IBM, Delphi and Hewlett-Packard to establish their R&D centers in Poland.
Since the olden days, Poland has established itself as a significant center of science and technology. It is the home of several scientists, mathematicians and inventors, such as Nicolaus Copernicus, Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Marian Rejewski, Hilary Koprowski, Aleksander Wolszczan, Krzysztof Matyjaszewski and Ludwik Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto.
Poland’s startup environment
Nearly half of the startups in Poland export their products and about 25% of the companies employ foreign workers. The country’s capital, Warsaw hosts a Google Campus, an incubator located in a previous vodka factory. In the campus is Quotiss, which created an online system that is used for the coordination of shipments handled by cargo companies.
Startups in Poland right now benefit from the knowledge they received from other countries. Many of the current breed of Polish entrepreneurs have lived and worked outside of Poland. Their life and work experiences have stirred their entrepreneurial spirit. Many have found that focusing in social sciences is the fastest way to gain success. Moreover, they realized that technical disciplines, sociology and economies are the sectors that have the fastest growth and the capacity to bring in higher revenues.
It is interesting that most startups in Poland are inclined to sell their services and products to businesses. Another surprising thing is that money is not the most essential factor for selling the things they have created. They are after the realization that these products and services will have an impact on the companies’ decisions.
Poland’s startup ecosystem is decentralizing at a rapid pace. While many are still in Warsaw, startups are growing in other cities such as Kraków, Łódź and Wrocław. Majority of investments in startups are in Kraków and Wrocław.
Acceleration programs are popular, as many people belonging to the younger generations are eager to learn about management and marketing while mature people want to share their time in industry meetings and mentoring. Many are in favor of individual mentoring, which they use to improve their network and add to their knowledge. Acceleration programs help them to form strategic partnerships.
Aside from the financial support, startups need access to contacts and finding employees. Many of the highly trained and skilled individuals in Poland are working in areas outside of Poland where the salaries and way of living are higher and better, a reason why there is scarcity of talents and the fierce competition to secure valuable human resources.
Another good thing in Poland’s startup scene is the number of successful female startup founders in different fields. Many are not involved in technological innovations and conquering a niche market. Polish women entrepreneurs are more interested in developing businesses and platforms that can give a positive future and better sustainability to employees and users.
Polish startups to watch
Poland is known for its scientists, so it is possible that it is in the genes of many entrepreneurs to focus on science and health. Some of the startups in the country use AI.
- AISENS for exampled use it to reach optimized orthosis to help patients in their rehabilitation effectively and safely anytime, wherever they are. It’s a great solution because setting an appointment with a physiotherapist in Poland can take between six to twelve months.
- CardioCube also employs AI. It is a voice-based AI program to help monitor the cardiovascular health of a patient at home. It is connected to the patient’s doctor or clinic so the doctor’s decision is faster and better.
- Olga Grudniak, a female doctor who is also an entrepreneur, founded biolumo. Its objective is to provide medical practitioners with a diagnostic tool to solve the problem of resistance to antibiotics. It is projected to be available in 2020, and is expected to help doctors make precise diagnoses and prescribe the right type of antibiotic that is carefully adjusted to the needs of the patient.
- In Łódź is another incubator for startups. United Robots is creating a cyborg. Its navigation is guided by lasers that enable the robot to exactly locate coordinates in the thousands to help it avoid things that impede its movement and ascertain targets. The robot will be useful in sorting packages and letters, stocking store shelves, cleaning and other logistics applications.
- Tech-minded individuals who used to be in advertising pooled their resources, invested and founded a company they named SpeedUp to develop an app they called Legimi that works like Spotify. Rather than music, users can pay a monthly fee to borrow e-books.
- SpeedUp is one of the investors in a revolutionary project, a first in the world. The project is called Stethome and its product StethoMe (already trademarked), a wireless electronic stethoscope that works with a smartphone. The app has an intelligence system for sound analysis and includes a built-in thermometer. It enables a parent to examine a child at home using the app and send the results to their doctor. The app and stethoscope precisely measures the body temperature of a person as well as monitors his or her respiratory system. The reading helps the doctor make the necessary diagnosis and provides the required treatment and prescription.
- Another successful startup in Poland is DocPlanner, which is an online doctor search and appointment system. Today about 1.4 professional healthcare providers are in its database, which is accessed by about seven million patients each month. It is now used in 25 countries, with offices in Rome, Budapest, Istanbul and Warsaw. Its management team is composed of people who used to launch startups before.
- Nightly is an application developed by psychologists, doctors and cognitive science experts. They worked for three years to come up with an innovative solution to sleep-related problems. Instead of taking drugs to help them sleep, Nightly uses sound stimulation. The app’s developers are hoping that it will receive approval as a medical device. The user can watch a video that will promote sleep or listen to soothing sounds in different themes.
More promising startups in Poland
- Prowly – a PR tool
- SIDLY – telemedicine wristband
- Advanced Cinema Robotics (ACR) Systems – stabilization equipment for cameras used by cinematographers and filmmakers, including BeSteady mini gimbal and the Beast gimbal.
- Azimo – online international money transfer with over one million global users
- Bivrost – creates tools for the capturing and production of videos in 360-degrees
- Ifinity – is the creator of Geos, a government and business operating system for the management of smart sensors and smart navigation.
- Kinetise – a web-based program that helps developers build custom applications for devices powered by Android and iOS.
- Packhelp – is an online platform that helps retail and e-commerce shops to order packaging with custom-made brands. It is already active all over the European Union.
- Shoplo – is also an online platform that allows small businesses to sell their products to global customers.
- Survicate – creates tools to help companies conduct surveys and harvest feedback through email and online customers. It is currently used in 70 countries.
- Aiocare – a portable spirometer that can permanently monitor the respiratory system of patients. It connects wirelessly with a smartphone app, enabling users to monitor their respiratory system wherever they are any time. The app keeps a detailed monitoring history.
- Callpage – helps commercial websites convert their page views into sales calls via immediate callback to viewers’ phones. It currently serves 3,200 clients worldwide.
These are just some of the many promising startups that Poland has to offer. The city hubs provide different types of co-working spaces. Warsaw alone has several active accelerators and investors, including MCI Capital, Inovo, Experior Venture Fund, ReaktorX, Founder Institute, Startup Hub Warsaw, Huge Thing, Hedgehog Fund and Founder Institute. These groups make the startup scene in Poland dynamic and flourishing.
Keeping effective communication alive
If you’re an entrepreneur or an investor who is willing to do business in Poland, it is very practical and essential to be able to communicate effectively with your counterparts in their own language. Day Translations, Inc. can help you with your Polish to English or English to Polish translation with a high degree of accuracy. We can easily connect you with our subject matter experts. They live in-country so they fully understand the nuances of the Polish language and the local culture, which is very important to effective communication.
You can get in touch with us any time, wherever you are located as we are open 24/7, every day of the year to provide you the best language services you deserve. You can give us a call at 1-800-969-6853 or send us an email whenever you require translation, localization or interpreting services.