6+ reasons why you should bring your startup to Poznań, Poland!
The most exciting city for new companies in Poland
1. The business-friendliness of the city.
Poznań was awarded the third place in the category of ‘business-friendly cities’ in Financial Time’s ranking of European cities, just behind Zurich and Wroclaw (mind there are two Polish cities in the top 3!).
In the report, in the commentary to the assessment of the capital of Wielkopolska region, attention was paid to the amount of tax entrepreneurs have to pay, ease of doing business, the number of jobs created by foreign investors over the last 5 years, the number of companies from the high technology sector (high-tech) and the time it takes to set up a company in Poznan. Credit ratings and investor protection were also important factors. The high position of Poznań is yet another confirmation that the city is attractive for investors who want to locate their businesses here. Poznań provides well-qualified employees and a wide market of sub-suppliers and customers.
Worth noting is the fact that Poznań has the largest fair in Poland: Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie, where many international fairs and expos are being organized annually. It’s also a place where many events and summits are taking place.
The city lies in close proximity to numerous capitals, including Warsaw (3h long drive) and Berlin (3h long drive as well). The city has an international airport and a train stations with connections to all major cities. All these factors contribute to the excellent location of Poznań.
2. The highly competent labor force and ease of cooperation with academia.
Poznań gives access to educated, experienced and well-trained labor. Every year the city sees over 40k new graduates enter the market with lots of excellent developers, scientists and business specialists among them. There are also many universities open to collaboration around R&D and commercialisation of technologies, including the Poznań University of Technology, Poznań University of Economics and Business and Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. There are also numerous private universities and schools working closely with businesses.
A fact worth noting is that Poland boast one of the best software developers in the world. Not only has this been recognized by the many companies operating here, but IT Specialists from Poland are known to constantly win medals in Science and IT Olympiads. Many, if not the majority of those winners are students. To quote this article about the accomplishments of polish programmers:
Poles won top prizes in competitions such as Top Coder Open, Google Code Jam, Facebook Hacker Cup, IBM sponsored ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) and Hello World Open.
On top of that Polish Mars rovers constantly take part in prestigious competitions like University Rover Challenge in the Utah desert, in conditions similar to Mars, you can learn more about it here. It doesn’t stop at competitions though!
Polish companies work closely with ESA and NASA in building hardware used for space exploration! NASA’s ‘Curiosity’ rover which successfully landed on Mars, is fitted with infrared detectors manufactured by the Polish VIGO System company (more info on the subject here).
The conclusion? If you’re looking for the best hardware engineers and software developers in the world, you will find them in Poland! The country is en route to become the hardware hub of Europe, with Brinc Poland leading the charge. Poznań as a city is especially well suited for developing hardware thanks to its design and production capabilities and new companies helping startups achieve success creating hardware, such as Hardware Hub.
3 .The beauty of the city.
One of the most impressive things about Poznań and Poland in general is its history and architecture. In the city there are a lot of buildings connected to important events from the country’s very rich history, for instance: The Imperial Castle, beautiful churches, The Old Market and many more. They are now often entwined with the most modern business and apartment buildings in the country which best depicts both Poznań’s heritage and its approach towards the future. The city connects its famous traditions, including legends such as “Koziołki Poznańskie” and a vision of a future full of innovation and entrepreneurship, which has also long been a characteristic associated with people living in Greater Poland. For a list of all interesting landmarks and sites worth visiting in Poznań visit this link.
4. Modern offices.
Poznań is the city where numerous world-know companies have decided to set up their offices, headquarters and shared services centers including all of the big 4 consulting companies (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG), Volkswagen Group and numerous domestic leaders in their respective fields. The reason, among others, is the number of high-quality office spaces Poznań enables. Companies can choose from a wide range of modern offices catered to all their needs. There are also many co-working spaces, with ones that can be used for free, for example: Plus Jeden Poznań. Brinc and companies working in close cooperation with the accelerator will have access to the office space in the modern Business Link Maraton office building. As mentioned in our article about our new office here, the building lies in close proximity to many key business, trade and cultural places in Poznań, such as Stary Browar, Półwiejska Street, the Old Market and many more. It is perfectly equipped for all possible business needs, has charging stations for electric cars, is fully accessible for the disabled and houses lots of amenities for cyclists. It is also 3 minutes of walking dinstance away from the nearest tram station and 10 minutes away from the Poznań Central Train Station, making commutes quiet easy to and from any part of the city.
One of the most notable recent investments in Poznań, to name a few, include the newly finished Bałtyk Office Building and Allegro’s Pixel Office, both depicted below.
Numerous companies are in the process of building their new offices and headquarters in the area, on definitely worth mentioning in Franklin Templeton Investments. The world‘s biggest companies see lots of opportunities in developing their businesses in Poznań and setting up their operations here.
5. The city lifestyle and culture.
Poznań is well known for it’s engagement in promoting arts and culture. There a lots of concerts and art festivals being organized in the city, including worldwide recognized ones such as Ethno Port Festival, Malta Festival Poznań, Made in Chicago or Short Waves Festival.
You’ll find many art galleries, museums and other cultural objects waiting to be explored in Poznań. The most interesting ones include The Poznań National Museum, Zamek Cesarski w Poznaniu (one of the main cultural hubs in the city), The Archeological Museum and Brama Poznania ICHOT, a modern and interactive museum of the history of the region.
Poznań doesn’t fall short of theaters as well! Definitely worth paying a visit are the Opera of Poznań, Teatr Polski, Teatr Nowy, Teatr Muzyczny and Teatr Wielki.
6. Sports and green areas!
One of the first sports organizations in the city was the Sokół Gymnastic Association in Poznań, founded on June 2, 1886, at the initiative of Ignacy Andrzejewski. From that time on Poznań has continued to support sport initiatives and raised many successful althetes.
Poznań is the perfect city for sports lovers. There are numerous modern gyms, horse-riding stables, sports clubs, swimming pools — also the biggest one in Poland called ‘Termy Maltańskie’ — tennis courts, stadiums, wake parks and watersports in general. There are also many sports events happening in Poznań, among them the famous Poznań Marathon, Poland’s largest marathon.
There are also many sports facilities and sport teams in the city, the most famous one being Lech Poznań, Poznań’s successful football team: a six-time Polish Champion in football, a five-time winner of the Polish Cup and a four-time Polish Super Cup winner.
Poznań is a great bike city with over 70 kilometers of cycling routes. In the city there functions a system of free city bikes called Nextbike, used by a lot of people to get around the city. The unique urban greenery system in Poznań is made up primarily of the Stubben ring, the ring of forts, greenery in the vicinity of the former medieval walls and five green wedges combined with suburban forest complexes. Residents of most districts have quality routes for morning jogs, a family walk or a bike ride. Close to Poznań lies the Wielkopolski National Park, 75.84 km2 of protected green areas, perfect for a day spent in the woods or at one of the beautiful lakes.
BONUS: The food!
Poznań boast a very rich regional cuisine, definitely worth trying. But one ‘dish’ definitely stands out. It is the ‘Rogal Świętomarciński’. It’s a croissant with a white poppy seed filling traditionally prepared in Poznań and surrounding areas of Wielkopolska on the occasion of St. Martin’s Day (November 11). St. Martin’s Croissants are the main baking during the St. Martin’s Day celebration in Poznań. They are absolutely delicious and a must-try for everyone! Other regional specialties and dishes are worth exploring as well.
So there you have it, 6+1 reasons why you should bring your company to Poznań!
Oh, and there is still one more! Poznań is the city where the Polish sexiest startup accelerator, Brinc, is headquartered…
You can visit us in the Business Link Maraton Office building on ul. Królowej Jadwigi 43.
Let’s be friends! If you want to learn more visit our website: brinc.pl
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