Knowledge

Explore the Huge Thing Knowledge Bank and Take Your Innovation to the Next Level!

In the Knowledge section, you will find a big library of our expertise – reports, articles and podcasts about the fast-growing startup ecosystem, corporate-startup relationship and corporate view on innovation.

Unlock insider insights and gain valuable advice from the leading experts, to help you achieve success. Check this out!

Samorządy&innowacje – podręcznik dla samorządów

Ten podręcznik do pracy z innowacjami to unikatowy zbiór wiedzy, dobrych praktyk oraz informacji o narzędziach, które mogą być pomocne w pracy samorządów z innowacjami. Powstał w wyniku połączenia doświadczeń naszego zespołu w pracy z organizacjami, które wdrażają innowacje, wiedzy na temat specyfiki działania startupów oraz obserwacji zebranych w trakcie realizacji programu GovTech Inno_lab*, którego celem było wsparcie jednostek samorządowych w zamawianiu produktów i usług opartych na nowych technologiach.

Huge Innovators’ Map

Together with PFR Ventures, we have developed a map of large organizations and corporations that operate in Poland and are actively looking for innovations. We are constantly extending our map! If you are actively looking for innovation, join our Huge Innovator’s Map! MamStartup is the media sponsor of the map.

Pretotyping in practice – new podcast episode!

Yes, it's not a mistake - pretotyping, not prototyping 👀 This time Maryla Wojcieszek and Zuzanna Kowala invited to the conversation Agata Szydłowska, an expert in the field of innovation, Human Centered Design & Design Thinking 🚀 The conversation with Agata will introduce you to the world of pretotyping 🌍 You will learn about its genesis and essence, thanks to many practical examples cited by our interlocutor. In this episode, you'll learn how to use simple and low-cost ways to test whether an idea has potential before moving on to creating a full prototype 📝 👉 This is the main topic we tried to talk about in the next episode of our podcast created together with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups 💙 Grab a cup of coffee, grab your headphones 🎧 and simply enjoy!

“Build Your Own Startup” – A Few Words 
on Corporate Venture Building

Are you all set for another exciting episode of our podcast 🎙️ brought to you in collaboration with MamStartup and with the generous support of Google for Startups? 🤗 This time, we have a special guest joining Zuzanna and Maryla in the conversation 👉 Jędrzej Iwaszkiewicz, the co-founder of The Heart 🚀 Together, they will dive into the fascinating world of Venture Building, exploring the true essence of this renowned concept and delving into its countless advantages, opportunities, and potential risks 🕵️ Feeling intrigued? 🤔 We warmly invite you to tune in and join us for this captivating episode! 🎧

Startup and acceleration programs from the perspective of a large organization

We promised...and we did! 😎 Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the first episode of the second series of our podcast created together with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups! 🚀 We talked about accelerator programs from the perspective of large organizations 🤝 We hosted guests who, despite their young age, have incredible experience in this area 💪 Agnieszka and Natalia from our blue monster team 💙 talked about the values and benefits that a corporation receives from such initiatives as well as the challenges that need to be prepared for 🎧 The discussion was hosted by the well-known and irreplaceable 🎙️ Zuzanna and 🎙️ Maryla

Startup and corporate relationship – how to make it a happy ending?

The last but not least....ladies and gentlemen...🥁🥁🥁...let us share with you the last episode of the 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒐𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 created together with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups! 💙 This time we hosted two startup founders in our studio! 🎙️Piotr Nizio (ParkCash) & Piotr Sikorski (SP Tech Solutions) talked with Zuzanna and Maryla about the startup-corporate relationship and how to make it a happy ending 🚀 Grab a cup of coffee, grab your headphones 👉 and simply enjoy! 🎧 ...and hey! 👋 don't worry...Zuzanna and Maryla will be back with the second series of our podcast very soon! 💙 With more great guests and another dose of knowledge and inspiration! 🙌

Culture of innovation

🥁🥁🥁....and here it is! the next episode of our podcast created together with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups 🚀 This time our guest was Tamara Bińczak, Principal Expert Innovation Lead at ING Polska with whom Zuzanna and Maryla talked about the culture of innovation 🤔 📌 What is a culture of innovation? 📌 How to start building it in a company? 📌 How to involve employees in building a culture of innovation ? 📌 How does it affect the functioning of the company? Sounds interesting, doesn't it? 🙌

Can innovation be measured?

Can innovation be measured? 🤔 That was the main topic of conversation of our next podcast episode created together with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups 🚀 Zuzanna and Maryla's guest was 🎙️ Jan van der Saar, Head of Innovation Lab at Bank Pekao S.A. 🙌 Sounds great? 🤔

How to match the sources of innovation with the stage and readiness of the company?

How to match the sources of innovation with the stage and readiness of the company? 👉 that's the main question we're looking to answer in the next episode of our podcast created together with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups 💙 This time Zuzanna and Maryla invited to the conversation 🎙️ Katarzyna Wszola, Director of Innovation at Veolia Poland 🚀 Grab your headphones and check it out 🎧

How to improve cooperation with innovations?

Thursday means...🥁🥁🥁...the next episode of our podcast 🎧 created in conjunction with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups 💪 Zuzanna and Maryla had the pleasure of hosting and talking with another great guests ⤵️ 🎙️Paulina Skrzypinska, BNP Paribas Bank Polska 🎙️Dominika Goleniowska-Milinković, Tauron Polska Energia S.A. 📌 How they work with startups? 📌 How can cooperation with innovations be improved? 📌 What affects the speed of working with innovations? Grab your headphones 🎧 and check it out! 💙

Jazz & innovation. What exactly unites them?

Jazz and innovation 👉 at first glance completely different things 👀 but nevertheless something unites them... what it is exactly? 🤔 You'll find out more about this unique connection as well as the ways to test innovations in organizations in the next episode of our podcast created in cooperation with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups.

How does PZU define its areas in which it looks for innovation?

How to find out what kind of innovations an organization may need? 📌 How does PZU define the areas where it looks for innovation? 📌 What do sweets, innovation and the organization's needs have in common? It is what Zuzanna and Maryla discuss with 🎙️ Marcin Kurczab, director of innovation at PZU, in the latest episode of our podcast created in cooperation with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups

What competencies and skills are necessary to work effectively with startups?

Cheers from the Google for Startups studio with Zuzanna, Maryla and our next guest Daniel Maksym at the microphone! 🎙️ The third episode of our podcast created in cooperation with MamStartup is on air! 😍 📌 Who should be responsible for working with innovation in large organizations? 📌 What competencies and skills are necessary to work effectively with startups? 📌 How much time do you need to give to an innovation team to prove the business value innovation brings to the organization?

HT Case Study – How to Building Efficient Pathways for innovations

How to Building Efficient Pathways to Keep the Innovation Process Moving? Check one of our Case Studies, when The Huge Thing team has worked with businesses facing such challenges to map current innovation pathways and create a modification that would speed things up.

How do organizations acquire innovations?

This time Zuzanna and Maryla invited ⤵️ 🎙️Michalina Łagunionok from Zduńska Wola City Hall and Konrad Ozdowy from PKO Bank Polski. They provided answers to the following questions: What barriers can be encountered when working with innovations? 📌 How do organizations acquire innovations? 📌 What can you gain from working with startups? These are just some of the topics they discussed! Grab your headphones and enjoy it!

Corporations & Innovations | key factors

Based on our research conducted among large organizations and corporations and our team’s experience, we have defined 7 key factors that influence successful work with innovations. They can occur jointly or individually, they can differ in the intensity of impact, but one thing is certain - they affect the value that innovations may bring to the company. Which ones apply to your organization?

The #1 episode of the HugeThing and MamStartup podcast

Innovation, technology, development opportunity – many times have we all heard those catchy terms being used; Let us define properly what they really mean and what opportunities they give us! Together with MamStartup and with the support of Google for Startups, we have created a podcast in which we will bring you closer to the topic of innovation in organizations. The content is based on the hands-on experiences of companies and individuals who have successfully developed their definitions and approaches to innovation making it an integral part of their daily work 🚀. Let's check out the first episode!

HT Case Study – How to Build an Innovation Strategy

How to create an Innovation Strategy? Check out how the Huge Thing team works with the Major Retail Brand team to create and implement an Innovation Strategy Framework.

Public Organization & Innovations | key factors

Based on our research conducted among large organizations and corporations, and our team’s experience, we have defined 7 key factors that define success in working with innovations. These factors can occur jointly or individually, they can differ in the intensity of impact, but one thing is certain - they affect the value that innovations may bring to the company. Which ones apply to your organization?

HT Case Study – How to identify innovation needs

The Huge Thing team designed and conducted workshops on innovation needs mapping based on a combination of our methodology with best market practices. Check out how we worked with Global Pharma.

Report: How corporates works with startups

What are the biggest corporate challenges in working with innovations? Why do companies want to cooperate with startups? What forms of cooperation are possible and who is responsible for this cooperation? The answers to these and other questions can be found in the report we have prepared together with PFR Ventures.

Report: cooperation between startups and corporations – process analysis [PL]

Cooperation between startups and corporations is a complex process. Using our experience and qualitative research conducted among startups and corporations, we have developed the following stages of verification of solutions by corporations, testing, and implementation.

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Maria Tyka-Majewska

Senior Project Manager

Project manager, Expert in creating innovation and acceleration programs.

As a member of the Huge Thing team, she is responsible for the creation and coordination of acceleration programs and direct cooperation with startups.

Before joining the Huge Thing team, she gained experience at the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, Startup Academy and the Polish Development Fund, where she was responsible for coordinating incubation and acceleration projects. 
 
Italian and Spanish cuisine enthusiast.

Mateusz Szymański

Junior Program Manager

Tech and innovation enthusiasts, especially those with positive social impact, Greentech, and health tech solutions. In Huge Thing, Mateusz is responsible for co-running acceleration programs. In 2022 he was co-running the 12th edition of the Google for Startups pre-acceleration program. 

Previously he worked in the sales and product departments, where he was responsible for outreach activities and product communication. He’s also gained experience in project coordination and internal communication, working as a Spokesperson for Poznań’s department of NGO organization The Polish Forum of Young Diplomats. He was a co-creator of the social campaign “Paragraphs without blunder” which mission was to educate high school students about their rights.

During his spare time, he likes to read about international politics and the economy. Strategic games enjoyer. He’ll surely like to play chess with you.

Monika Synoradzka

CEO of Huge Thing and managing partner at Speedup group

Monika together with the HT team is responsible for the company’s development in startup acceleration and activities aimed at supporting organizations from the private and public sectors in their work with innovations.

She specializes in implementing innovations in organizations and building a culture of innovation in companies from various sectors. For years, she has supported the development of Poland’s startup environment.

Monika is also a Managing Partner at SpeedUp Venture Capital Group.
Thanks to her knowledge and experience, she helps portfolio companies to understand the operation of large organizations and corporations and prepare to work with them. She also supports them in building business relationships.

Natalia Sadownik

Delivery Lead, Senior Program Manager

Natalia joined Huge Thing in 2019. As a Senior Program Manager, she implements acceleration and educational programs (Poland Prize, PlusJeden do Rozwoju) in line with Huge Thing’s standards.

As a Delivery Lead, she focuses on the operation of Huge Thing as an organization, financial issues, team planning, and quality of activities carried out by the company. Natalia loves to sail around Masuria and Croatia, and on gray days eats sushi and watches tennis.

Agnieszka Cichocka

Head of Acceleration

Agnieszka joined Huge Thing in 2021. She is responsible for our acceleration programs. She is passionate about art, technology, and gendered innovations. Previously, Director of District Hall Warsaw and Startup Development Department Manager at Incubator Starter. 

Co-creator of Techseed.me technological acceleration program and the first coliving space in Poland for digital nomads. 

Damian Wielechowski

Senior Marketing and Communication Manager

Damian manages the external and internal communications of SpeedUp Group, including Huge Thing. He joined the team in 2017 and since then has been working with business representatives, business environment institutions, public administration, media, and the academic community.

In addition to activities related to Speedup Group, Damian supports the fund’s portfolio companies in the area of marketing and PR. He has served on the jury of many competitions, including ImpactCEE, and acted as a mentor at startup events such as hackathons and Startup Weekend.

Damian is also the author of the Poznan Startup Guide and co-author of the Krakow Startup Guide, as well as organizer of many events dedicated to startups and investors.

Magda Stachowiak

Project Manager

Magda joined Huge Thing in 2021. Responsible for our Gov Tech inno_Lab acceleration programs and cooperation with the public administration. She runs projects for smart city. She is also responsible for building bridges between innovators – corporations, startups and the administration.

Previously, since 2015, she cooperated on our projects for Gov Tech and corporations. Connected with the Poznań Startup Community. Experience in organizing events for the MedTech community. She worked in advertising and interactive agencies, creating brand campaigns and loyalty programs. She helped implement technologies into the organization.

Passionate about personal development, psychobiology, and supporting women in creating businesses. The creator of the projects Kobiecy Poznań Przebudzenie and Joy of Life.

Zuza Kowala

Innovation Manager, Program Manager

Zuza joined Huge Thing in 2021. She is responsible for acceleration programs like GovTech Inno_Lab and Żabka Future Lab.

Also as Maryla, Zuza supports large organizations in processes related to innovation. That includes, among others: design of processes, innovation framework design, structuring the work of innovation teams and facilitating cooperation with startups.

Before joining Innovation Monsters, Zuza led projects at Żabka Polska, earlier connected with automotive at Volkswagen Group Polska. In Żabka, she was responsible for project management, coordinating the teamwork according to the best practice – she was looking for the best way to keep the process alive.
Zuza is also a sportaholic, innovation seeker, and book lover.

Kaja Kulas

Program Manager

Kaja joined the Huge Thing team in May 2022. For several years she’s been connected with the startup ecosystem. She helps international startups in growing their businesses in Poland and across Europe.

In Huge Thing, Kaja is responsible for project management which include running educational programs for startups in their development and acceleration phase. She organizes events, workshops and trainings for the program participants. She monitors their growth and connects with partners and technology recipes. Also, Kaja takes care of relations, community building, recruitments and explorations of startups’ needs to bring them the best value of our programmes.

Before Huge Thing, she gained her experience in Poznan Science and Technology Park developing international projects funded by the European Commission. Kaja was a part of the PSTP Capital Fund and Regional Contact Point for Research Programmes of the European Union. She is passionate about travels, sports, music and dogs. Kaja is a happy “dog mom” of our team member – Nala whom you can pet while visiting us. :)

 

Nala

Cummunity Builder

Since 2022 Nala has been working like a dog to build the Huge Thing community.

She’s always happy to welcome you in our office and you can be sure to get a huuuge hug from her!

PS: don’t forget to bring some treats.

Marta Truś

Innovation Designer

Marta joined Huge Thing in 2023 and strengthened the consulting team. Together with Maryla and Zuza she supports large organizations in processes related to innovation. That includes, among others: design of processes, innovation framework design, structuring the work of innovation teams and facilitating cooperation with startups.

Before joining Innovation Monsters, Marta worked in consulting and was involved in business process mapping, user experience research and design. She is interested in digital accessibility and the changes that digital reality brings to our lives. A careful observer of change. Hackathoner, yogi and dog mom.
Previously, since 2015, she cooperated on our projects for Gov Tech and corporations. Connected with the Poznań Startup Community. Experience in organizing events for the MedTech community. She worked in advertising and interactive agencies, creating brand campaigns and loyalty programs. She helped implement technologies into the organization.

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Maryla Wojcieszek

Interim Head of Knowledge, Innovation Shaper

As Innovation Shaper at Huge Thing, Maryla supports large organizations in processes related to innovation. That includes, among others:  ‘as is’ diagnosis, analysis and (re-)design of processes, innovation framework design, structuring the work of innovation teams, and facilitating cooperation with startups. As the Interim Head of Knowledge, Maryla is responsible for the materialization and transfer of knowledge as well as talent management within the Huge Thing team. She designs and creates new products/services based on internal knowledge resources as well as new models of delivery and dissemination. She’s also a workshop designer and facilitator.

Experienced designer of (public) programs supporting the startup ecosystem in Poland. In her professional experience, as an Expert in the Startup Development Department at PARP, Maryla co-created, among others, the Scale UP program – the first public acceleration program connecting startups and corporations.

A gardener and a LEGO fan.

Download this resource

In order to download this resource, we ask you to fill a form. After that you’ll receive the download link diretcly to your inbox!

Download this resource

In order to download this resource, we ask you to fill a form. After that you’ll receive the download link diretcly to your inbox!

Dziękujemy za wypełnienie formularza.

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Sektor publiczny

Magda Stachowiak

Project Manager

We want to share our Playbook with you.

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Wkrótce otrzymasz Playbook na podany adres email.

Kontakt
Sektor publiczny

Magda Stachowiak

Project Manager

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Acquiring innovation

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Acquiring innovation

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Acquiring innovation

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