Endeavor launches its 41st office in Poland, providing a global support system for high-growth Polish founders

Endeavor launches its operations in Poland. Polish entrepreneurs gain access to a global network of peer entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors. Endeavor’s target group is high-growth technology companies valued at over $100 million that are in the scale-up phase and have global growth ambitions.

Endeavor enters the Polish market to work with companies that have completed the start-up phase and show potential for rapid scale-up. Founders selected by Endeavor will benefit from a global business network, a community of mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs, and open access to employees, markets, and capital. Endeavor provides entrepreneurs with strategic support to grow their businesses, as well as a platform through which they can transfer their knowledge to help other Polish companies grow. In addition to offering tailored support, Endeavor actively invests in entrepreneurs through the co-investment-based Endeavor Catalyst Fund.

The Polish branch of Endeavor is headed by Bartosz Lipnicki, who has experience in developing a family business, global corporation, technology startups and a venture capital fund. Polish entrepreneurs will also benefit from the support of Endeavor’s founding board, which includes: Wiktor Schmidt (Netguru), Marcin Żukowski (Snowflake), Daniel Surmacz (RTB House), Maciej Noga (Pracuj.pl), Jakub Dwernicki (R22), Paulina Skrzypińska (BNP Paribas), Francois Nuyts (Allegro), Bartosz Ciołkowski (Mastercard) and Oktawian Zając (BCG).

Poland is the 41st market in which Endeavor has opened its office. Founded in 1997, the non-profit organization works with over 2,100 entrepreneurs from 1,300 companies in North America, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. The companies run by entrepreneurs partnering with Endeavor have created more than 3 million jobs to date, and the founders themselves often mentor and invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs. Global entities working with Endeavor include Checkout.com, Flutterwave, Payhawk, Careem, and Workable.

“With access to Endeavor’s global network, Endeavor Catalyst, our rules-based co-investment fund, and the support of an outstanding founding board, we are confident that we will have a significant impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Poland.”, she adds.

The Polish VC market has been reporting better and better results in terms of the number and value of investments for several years. According to the report of PFR Ventures and Inovo Venture Partners “Transactions on the Polish VC market in Q1 2022”, in the first quarter of this year alone the value of investments in Polish start-ups reached a record-high PLN 1.16 billion. However, after years of boom, the capital markets are facing a slowdown and uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, and lowering macroeconomic forecasts for the region. According to Bartosz Lipnicki, in such circumstances, Endeavor’s business model may be especially valuable for Polish entrepreneurs.

“Our approach is based on global networking, support, and mentoring. For many Polish founders, this may be the first time they have to operate in adverse market conditions. Start-ups, scale-ups as well as mature companies have to adjust their strategies and development plans to the new situation. In such circumstances, additional support and exchange of experience with other entrepreneurs become priceless.“, convinces Bartosz Lipnicki.