10 Polish startups to look out for in 2018 and beyond.

Poland’s startup ecosystem is robust. Industry titans, like Samsung and Microsoft, have contributed to this by setting up incubators and accelerators in the European Union’s sixth largest country.

The nation of 38.5 million boasts 400,000 graduates from institutions of higher learning each year, half of them engineers.

While programmers have put Central Europe’s biggest economy on the world tech map, their expertise often comes at a lower cost than that of their Western European and American counterparts.

This startup-friendly business landscape may be populated by budding local firms but they have ambitious global goals. Half of them export their products and services. Here are ten examples of successful and innovative startups to look for in 2018 and beyond:

Aiocare invented a portable spirometer which allows patients to permanently monitor respiratory functions. As it is connected wirelessly to an application for smartphones, users are able to perform an examination at any time and place, while the app keeps a detailed log of the measurement history and its algorithm analyses each and every result. The project is supported by the Joint Polish Investment Fund with a $1.1 million funding.

Callpage, a Krakow-based startup, helps commercial sites convert page views into inbound sales calls through an immediate callback to the real phone numbers. With more than 3,200 clients around the globe, CallPage claims that its clients may “gain 75% more calls, conversion, leads and deals. Backed by Startup Wise Guys, AIP Seed Capital and BValue, Callpage also analyzes behavioral data to optimize sales.

Cosmose is a behavioral targeting technology company that developed the OMNIcookie which enables retailers to target offline customers via online channels, giving brands, retailers and advertisers a second chance to retarget all their potential customers. The company has offices in Warsaw, New York, Shanghai and Hong Kong and was named New Europe 100 Emerging Tech by Financial Times and Google.

Eataway brings travelers together over local food by providing a worldwide community of local cooks offering great home-cooked meals. The platform allows cooks to offer a meal in exchange for a fee and join them at their home for an authentic feast and, hopefully, some new friends and memories.

Elmodis offers an end-to-end IoT solution that monitors performance and improves the operating efficiency of industrial machines. Connected directly to a machine’s electric motor, Elmodis’ solution detects malfunctions and calculates savings for optimal working conditions. In 2017 they secured $4.9 million in funding from Intel Capital, SET Ventures and Nest.

Five App is an application for mobile devices that allows easy communication between deaf people and sign language learners using a built-in avatar system. The app works with text messaging systems in iOS and Android and can also send animated messages over Facebook Messenger. Developed by a 17-year-old high school entrepreneur, the app managed to raise $150,000 in funding and got the UN to help with next iteration.

Husar Labs is developing solutions in the field of Internet of Things and Big Data for energy and industry sector. Their product, Lerta analyses the energy consumption of customers and recognizes individual appliances and their share in the electricity bill, allowing customers to make informed decisions, reduce the demand and CO2 emission and improve energy efficiency. Husar Labs won several awards and was selected as one of 100 most promising early-stage companies from the energy sector.

InStream provides a flexible SaaS tool, a CRM alternative for small and medium companies, aimed at strengthening business relations with customers. The tool allows for automatic importing of all contacts, integrating with platforms, suggesting the best approach and speeding up the communication process. The company is backed by Speed Up Venture Capital Group and a private investor from the UK.

Packhelp offers an online platform for creating and ordering custom-branded packaging. It takes less than 5 minutes to design your own packaging through their app. Founded in 2015, the company today has 5,000 customers from 29 countries and handles, on average, 600 orders a day. Recently, the company raised €2 million in seed financing from leading European seed funds.

Last but not least —

XTPL, is developing a breakthrough technology for ultra-fine printing of a variety of nano-materials. They are offering cost-effective, non-toxic, flexible, industry adapted solution for the market of displays TFT, LCD, OLED, solar cells market and many more. The company has been recognized internationally by receiving the European SME Instruments grant, as well as other numerous awards and investments.

It’s All About Funding…

It leaves no room for doubt that Poland is a country rich in tech talent and potential for innovation. As its economy grows, the focus may shift from startup to scalable startup. That’s the only way for Polish startups to start attracting growth funding.

And that’s especially important since funding is the single most significant factor that inhibits growth in this area. While EU funding is helpful, it only works in the short term. Unfortunately, Poland still suffers from a lack of substantial private funding opportunities. Growing seed startups will at some point require access to more funding from overseas investors, especially in later stage investments rounds.

Still, the Polish economy is making strides and there are some VC funds operating in Poland that are starting to support the promising local startup ecosystem.

Monika A. Underwood J.D.

Written by

Entrepreneur; Tech & Startup Enthusiast; Born & Raised in the heart of Europe; Lives in San Francisco, CA.