Huge Thing was created in 2012 as one of the first acceleration programs in Poland.

Huge Thing has almost 10 years of experience in supporting the development of startups in acceleration programs and supporting them in cooperation with corporate partners.

We have been working with global and local organizations since 2012 when Huge Thing created as one of the first acceleration programs in Poland. Since then we have successfully implemented several editions of acceleration programs for various business partners.

Current editions

Ongoing project initiatives.

1st Edition (2023)
Collabor8
Collabor8 powered by Huge Thing is an innovative modular training program designed to empower startups to effectively cooperate with corporates and venture capital funds.

Through this comprehensive program, startups gain the knowledge and resources necessary to identify, negotiate and execute successful partnerships with larger entities.
Partners
2nd Edition (2023)
Żabka Future Lab

Żabka Future Lab is the flagship acceleration program of Żabka Group, the ultimate convenience ecosystem in Poland, with more than 3 million consumers using their services every day.

We partner with Żabka Group in organizing this program edition.

Partners
13th Edition (2022)
Poland Prize
The 13th edition Poland Prize powered by Huge Thing aims to attract startups to Poland and help them validate their business models with dedicated partners. We partner with Veolia, Coca-Cola HBC Poland & Baltics, Żabka Polska, EIT InnoEnergy, Black Pearls VC, Innovation Nest, Market One Capital, CofounderZone, Enterprise Singapore.
Partners

Previous editions

All programs we have successfully led so far.

2nd Edition (2023)
Żabka Future Lab
Żabka Future Lab is the flagship acceleration program of Żabka Group, the ultimate convenience ecosystem in Poland, with more than 3 million consumers using their services every day. We partnered with Żabka Group in organizing 2nd program edition.
Partners
13th Edition (2022-2023)
Poland Prize
The 13th edition Poland Prize powered by Huge Thing aims to attract startups to Poland and help them validate their business models with dedicated partners. We partner with Veolia, Coca-Cola HBC Poland & Baltics, Żabka Polska, EIT InnoEnergy, Black Pearls VC, Innovation Nest, Market One Capital, CofounderZone, Enterprise Singapore.
Partners
12th Edition (2022)
Pre-accelerator

Huge Thing Pre-acceleration Online Program is the fourth edition of the program run in partnership with Google for Startups. 20 pre-seed and seed-stage startups from CEE developed a draft version of MVP or first version of product together with mentors.

Partners
11th Edition (2022)
Pre-accelerator

Huge Thing Pre-acceleration Online Program is the third edition of the program run in partnership with Google for Startups. 15 pre-seed and seed-stage startups from CEE developed a draft version of MVP or first version of product together with mentors.

Partners
9th Edition (2021)
Pre-accelerator
Huge Thing Pre-acceleration Online Program is the second edition of the program run in partnership with Google for Startups. 13 pre-seed and seed-stage startups from CEE developed a draft version of MVP or first version of product together with mentors.
Partners
10th Edition (2021-22)
Poland Prize
The 10th edition of Huge Thing was carried out as a part of Poland Prize Initiative. It aimed to bring start-ups to Poland, and help them validate their business models with dedicated partners.

We partnered with Black Pearls VC, Coca-Cola HBC Poland & Baltics, Veolia, Market One Capital, InnoEnergy and Innovation Nest.
Partners
6th and 7th Edition (2018-2020)
Poland Prize

The 6th and 7th edition of Huge Thing was carried out as a part of Poland Prize Initiative. For this edition, we partnered with Santander Bank Polska, Procter and Gamble and SpeedUp Venture Capital Group.

Partners
8th Edition (2020)
Pre-accelerator
Huge Thing Pre-acceleration Online Program in partnership with Google for Startups was dedicated to a pre-seed and seed-stage startups from CEE with a draft version of MVP or the initial version of product.
Partners
4th and 5th Edition (2017-2018)
ScaleUp
The 4th and 5th edition of Huge Thing was carried out in cooperation with Alior Bank within the ScaleUp program – supported by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development. This edition of Huge Thing was addressed to startups from CEE which have a MVP (minimum viable product – a basic form of a product/solution) that passed its first market testing.
Partners
3rd Edition (2016)
Fintech & Insurtech
The third edition of HugeThing.vc was carried out in cooperation with Aviva which is one of the largest insurance companies in Europe. We selected the best startups from CEE that had the potential not only to improve Aviva’s market competitiveness, but also its operational activity as an organization.
Partners
2nd Edition (2015)
Huge Thing Pre-accelerator
Huge Thing Pre-acceleration Online Program in partnership with Google for Startups was dedicated to a pre-seed and seed-stage startups from CEE with a draft version of MVP or the initial version of product.
Partners
1st Edition (2012)
Huge Thing Program

The first edition of the Huge Thing program took place in 2012 and lasted for 6 months. Its applicants were people with ideas, who were building their first prototypes during the program.
The program’s goal was to create a basic version of a startup with
a global potential as well as to develop its business model.

Partners

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Community partners

We constantly grow our business network.

Join the group of many companies and organizations that trusted us.

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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.

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.

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.

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. :)

 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Preparing the resources

Acquiring innovation

Preparing the resources

Acquiring innovation

Huge Thing Programs

Monetizing innovation

Acquiring innovation

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