Poland Prize powered by Huge Thing 13th Edition

2022 Edition

Pilot to Poland,
Expand in Poland

Poland Prize powered by Huge Thing aims to help non-Polish startups by:

Setting up their entity in Poland
Providing up to €65K funding for expansion plan
Connecting them with Technology Recipients and VCs for up to 6 months of validations or pilots

We help you understand Polish business better so you can focus on acceleration with our Partners.

Some startups might want to focus on opening a company in a new country and high-quality mentoring and professional workshops at every stage. Others might be willing to test their product with partners. We help to find the best path for you and your team!

At Huge Thing, our goal is to connect startups with partners so you can show what you do best – develop tech solutions. This usually means: accelerating you to the point where you’re ready to validate your business with corporations or VC funds. Then we can introduce you to a larger network — who knows maybe you will raise your next investment round in Poland.

Who are we looking for?

If you want to participate in the Poland Prize program, you must meet the following requirements:

Poland is for your potential next market to enter

You are willing to set up a company in Poland – Don’t worry! If you get in, our legal team will help you through the process of registration, opening a bank account etc.

At least 50% of shares in the new Polish company will belong to the founders of the team from outside Poland and at least one of the management board members comes from outside Poland

Your Polish company wasn’t created through a merging or splitting of already-existing companies

Your team is ready to respond to areas of interest identified by partners of the accelerator

You have a proof of concept for your idea

Your business idea already generates revenue

Your team is well-motivated and ready for new challenges

Program Highlights & Timeline of 13th Edition

What are your options?

Phase 2 is available only if your Partner is still interested in your solution and there's potential for PoC

Phase 1 (3 months)

After entering the program firstly you will take part in Phases named Soft-landing and Development. This part is focused on creating a company on Polish law, knowing more about the Polish market and checking the possibility of POC with the Partner.

Main goals for this phase:

Established company with a bank account with the support of the dedicated legal team
Gaining the necessary knowledge – you will take part in several workshops dedicated to startups entering the Polish market
Knowing the community and market – You will get access to a Huge Thing network of experts and other startups from your industry
Checking if you have a match with a potential partner and you can realize the POC together
an equity-free grant worth PLN50k (EUR 10,5k)

Phase 2 (6 months)

If you get a match with the Partner, you enter the next program Phase named Acceleration. During this phase, you will run the POC with the Partner to check how the solution works and if there is a possibility for further cooperation.

Main goals for this phase:

Setting the POC Plan – 3-step Acceleration Plan prepared especially for you with the Huge Thing team and Partner.
Leading the POC with the Partner
Gaining the necessary knowledge – you will take part in several workshops dedicated to startups and work with dedicated mentors and tutors
an equity-free grant worth up to PLN250k (EUR 65k)

Meet our Partners

Do you want to join the group of program partners? Check HERE who can be a partner and what benefits from working with startups under the program.

Water

How to treat industrial wastewater for reuse in industry and agriculture
How to implement methods for the recovery of phosphorus from wastewater
How to optimize investments into DWN pipelines in order to reduce non-revenue water while minimizing costs
How to aerate wastewater in wastewater treatment plants in an energy efficient way
How to compost wastewater sludge in an odorless way (“no-smell composting”) while maintaining a high quality of compost

Energy efficiency

How to measure and analyse the consumption of energy (heat and electricity) in residential buildings?
How to manage and control the thermal comfort of residents in multi-apartment residential buildings?

Production, storage and recovery of energy

How to maximize the heat-generation capabilities of PVT (Photovoltaic Thermal) panels in low outdoor temperatures
How to efficiently store heat (daily and seasonal storage)?
How to recover heat from municipal wastewater in order to supply heat to individual buildings or to the District Heating Network?

Other

How to support the collection, organization and analysis of data needed for ESG reporting.
How to bring contextual information to technicians through Augmented Reality technology

Veolia Group in Poland has been a reliable partner of cities and industry in the area of effective energy management, water and wastewater management and waste management for over 25 years. Based on knowledge and experience, it offers innovative services tailored to the needs of Customers. By investing in the expansion and modernization of its production and distribution infrastructure, it ensures the highest quality of services. Veolia constantly looks for innovative solutions in areas such as decarbonization, energy efficiency, e-mobility, indoor air quality and energy balancing. Taking into account the circular economy model, it creates and implements economically and environmentally effective solutions contributing to the sustainable development of cities and industry.

Collection of waste
Packaging
Manufacturing
Deposit approach (both products & services)

Coca Cola HBC Poland & Baltics is a branch of Coca-Cola HBC AG, a strategic partner and the world’s second largest bottler of The Coca-Cola Company beverages, reaching over 590 million consumers. We operate on 4 among: Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian, and our portfolio includes: Coca-Cola carbonated drinks, Coca-Cola Zero, Coke Energy, Cherry Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Kinley Tonic, juices and nectars Cappy, Kropla Beskidu and Kropla Delice mineral waters, Burn energy drinks, Monster Energy and Predator and Fuzetea iced teas.

Żabka Polska is the owner of the fastest-growing chain of convenience stores in Poland and one of the most dynamic formats in the world, opening more than 4000 new stores in 2016-21. There are over 8,400 stores operated by more than 7,100 franchisees under the Żabka brand. About 15.5 million Polish consumers live no further than 500 m from the nearest Żabka store. To provide them with convenience and the highest quality of service, Żabka Future develops technological and system tools for the future. As part of the Żabka Group responsibility strategy, the chain has made commitments in the areas of good nutrition, services that facilitate sustainable life, the development of entrepreneurship, diversity and inclusive organizational culture, corporate governance, as well as decarbonization and circular economy. More information about Żabka Polska on: www.zabka.pl.

EIT InnoEnergy is a leading fund investing in energy, cleantech, mobility, and broader smart technology solutions, both in Europe and beyond. Since its creation in 2010, and with the support of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), it has invested €560 million in sustainable energy innovation, providing funding and additional support to approximately 380 start-ups.

Black Pearls VC is a Polish based early stage venture capital firm focused on seed, post-seed and Series A investments in leading tech startups from Northern & Central Europe. Focusing on supporting ambitious entrepreneurs in building companies with a global reach, Black Pearls VC is usually one of the first investors in the company, helping founders scale and reach their goals. Typical ticket ranges between €100k – €1m, with follow-on investments in later rounds. So far Black Pearls VC has invested in over 30 companies.

Innovation Nest is a European VC that invests in early-stage B2B software companies. We’re a group of serial entrepreneurs applying diverse perspectives within industries ready for a transformation. Our diversity gives us a broader perspective, allowing us to empower entrepreneurs working on different projects within various disciplines and sectors.

Market One Capital is a 45M pan-European VC, led by an experienced team of entrepreneurs. We invest tickets from 200k up to 1.5M EUR in early stage network effects platforms. We are a Pan-European early stage VC fund investing into marketplaces / digital platforms and SaaS. We founded and scaled 3 online platforms ourselves as entrepreneurs. We have invested in 60+ early-stage tech startups (majority of them being platforms or SaaS), including Docplanner, Brainly, Tier Mobility, Packhelp and Genial.ly

CofounderZone aims to build an ecosystem where two coexisting worlds can find common ground to cooperate. As we believe, collaboration of that kind needs proper facilitation and fitting personalities. That is why CofounderZone puts strong emphasis on people – cofounders of startups and founders of established businesses, turned angel investors – all in order to propel the exchange of experience, as well as human and investment capital.

Supporting Partner

Enterprise Singapore’s partnering in the Poland Prize program is a step towards bridging Singapore and Poland as well as the CEE region.
Visit website

Enterprise Singapore is the Singapore government agency championing enterprise development. It also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups. The agency attracts global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Today, Singapore is a leading global trading hub with a complete ecosystem for the energy, agri-commodities and metals & minerals trading clusters. Singapore is also home to many global enterprises, startups and investors that operate in its robust pro-enterprise environment. With Enterprise Singapore’s global network in over 35 locations spanning many developed and emerging markets, it connects businesses with relevant Singapore companies for their business expansion.

Program summary

We look for non-Polish startups with at least one founder without Polish citizenship and a at least 50% of shares belongs to non-Polish board members. Teams must have the ability to answer the technical challenges defined by our Partners.

Acceleration is for startups that already gained customers for their product who are ready to start into the Polish market.

The recruitment process consists of 3 stages: enrollment of application, interviews followed by verification, and Bootcamp.

Top teams are invited for an online, 3-day Bootcamp consisting of 1:1s, workshops and more.

The program consists of workshops, mentoring sessions, Polish lessons and individual work on your projects.

We share our best practices to support the strategic and measurable growth of your business at scale Startups chosen for the program will receive up to €65 000 in financial support & a huge dose of know-how.

You can take part in the program for free – no cost or equity. We do not cover the expenses of establishing the company, your meals and accommodation.