Characteristics of Polish startups
Startups are a relatively new phenomenon in the Polish economy. More and more companies appear on the Polish startup scene, giving employment to dozens of people every year. The very young age of startups characterizes the market. Every third company operates for one to two years. Regarding location, startups are spread all over the country, with a small share of companies operating in foreign markets. However, the most significant number of startups were registered in the Lower Silesia and Mazovia provinces.In 2022, healthcare startups were the most sought-after by investors in Poland and received the most funding. Investors were also eager to invest their funds in startups from the transportation and delivery and IT and Internet services sectors. Most startups target companies and corporations (B2B) with their products and services. The target group for one in three startups was individual customers (B2C). The most common product/service offered was applications - web and mobile. SaaS services were also very popular.
In 2022, Venture Capital investments reached 775 million euros, with the largest funding going to the startup Iceye, the global leader in using SAR (synthetic aperture radar) technology in microsatellites. The largest startup in terms of total funding received was Ramp, a fintech startup offering payment infrastructure to connect crypto and traditional finance.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) impact on startups
More than every third of startup managers saw the pandemic's negative impact on their companies. On the other hand, an equal number of startups were positively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Startups were not forced to lay off their employees. They introduced products to new markets, gained new customers, and their products and services sold better than before. Therefore owners are optimistic about the future. Nearly one in five startups believed that COVID-19 would not impact company operations. However, for 44 percent of startups, the impact would be positive. Maintaining market stability was undoubtedly influenced by the type of business, as most startups operate in the technology industry, selling digital services or products.
