This edition of Poland Prize powered by Huge Thing was carried out in cooperation with 7 partners – The fifth edition of Huge Thing was carried out in cooperation with Alior Bank within the ScaleUp program – supported by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development.
The goal of the program was Poland Prize is a programme inviting foreign startups to start activity in Poland. Its objective is to effectively attract and adopt foreign technology and business culture into the Polish startup ecosystem.
Hardwario smart box monitors the climate in forests and overheating of motors in production lines
identifies faults in a Brick and Mortar Performance Best Practices, as wellas automate the adjustment process by providing a list of major inefficiencies and optimization hypothesis to all involved actors in the selling process from CEO to store managers.
is an app-based platform that connects creditors, debt advisors and consumers in a seamless and meaningful way (data enriched, automated) to improve the financial wellbeing of the mass retail banking market. We’re helping institutions build long term relationships with their customers, serve them better and building long term resilience for consumers across our network.
FreemiumPlay provides gift-card solutions, white label websites, APIs solutions, and soon more services, in order to give access to those premium contents.
is a ground to sky technology company building stations and operating systems for drones to sustain, improve or save lives.
is the missing ingredient in seamless and trustless exchange of future central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which will mitigate risks related to cross border transactions. Frostchain substantially lowers friction and expense related to sending money internationally resulting in significantly lower fees paid by the end users to perform international money transfers.
VITS helps companies to manage health & safety processes in a more efficient way. We help companies move from paper and excel to digital space with health & safety processes. Our solution helps to save time on bureaucracy and spend more time in the actual workplace preventing risks.
Thermosphr develops a suite of SaaS solutions to improve the energy efficiency of heating and air conditioning systems in commercial buildings. Our SaaS controls heating, ventilation and AC systems in real-time and remotely, resulting in energy savings >30% in just a few days.
GridPocket is an innovative energy software company. The product PowerVAS is an energy customer engagement platform for utilities. The customers include some of the largest electricity, gas and water utility companies in Europe, as well as cities and governments.
The internet after cookies. [me]mento is disrupting adtech and big data by using decentralized user information to drive on device personalization and targeting. Patent pending.
DARVIS utilizes artificial intelligence and computer vision to provide solution driven data focused on solving health safety concerns in the medical industry and supply chain inefficiencies across the a variety of industries.
is your new digital accountant. Automated accounting, VAT, payroll, tax advice on mobile & desktop. 0-24 support, real-time reports at half the cost of an accountant.
Fusebox is an open platform for managing and trading flexible electricity consumption for balancing supply and demand in the electricity system. Fusebox reduces CO2 emissions of the electricity systems globally.
PatronGo is a mobile application monitors the financial health of family budgets - finds overpriced payments and helps reduce them with the help of a non-stop online specialist.
Tarot Analytics provides last-kilometer route optimization and a delivery management SaaS platform for enterprise.
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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.
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.
