Kris Palucki did the full loop most startup people dream about: VC → Operator → Founder → back to VC.He started as an Investment Director at OTB Ventures (one of CEE's top VCs), left to become a Product Manager at Contractbook (Google-backed CLM platform), co-founded Owlright (an AI documentation agent), and is now back at OTB as Investment Director.In this episode, we break down:→ Why asking engineers for feedback killed his first startup idea (spoiler: Lovable proved him wrong)→ The biggest problem with scaling companies that VCs don't see (hint: it's not communication)→ When to take VC money vs. bootstrap (and why inbound offers can be a trap)→ Product-led vs. sales-led: How to know which motion your idea needs→ What PMs need to know before breaking into VC→ Why company culture isn't a buzzword (and how ESOP actually works in Poland)

Piotr Kacała is the former CTO & Board Member at Displate, and now founder of Product Cards and AI Product Heroes. With 20 years building world-class engineering teams, he's seen what works and what destroys great teams.In this episode, we discuss:

• Why telling engineers what to build kills innovation (and what to do instead)
• The 3 team sizes where everything breaks (10, 50, 150)
• How Polish tech companies get product development wrong
• Why founders wait too long to fire under performers
• The real cost of leadership (mental health, loneliness, stress)
• How to scale yourself as a leader without burning out
• Why AI won't replace your engineering team (but will change everything)

In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Marta Rzymek, Head of Sales at Brand24, to unpack what real sales leadership looks like after nearly 20 years in the trenches.We talk about: • Growing from individual contributor to Head of Sales inside the same company • Why great salespeople can’t sell just anything • Product quality vs people: what really matters more • Remote work, team sensitivity, and modern sales leadership • How AI is actually being used in sales (and what’s just noise) • Why losing deals is part of winning long-termNo buzzwords. No fake growth hacks. Just honest conversations about sales, leadership, and building teams that actually work.

Patricia Serafin-Wynne has scaled teams from 5 to 200+ people THREE separate times - at NetGuru, Money Boomerang, and Publicis. In this episode, she pulls back the curtain on what actually happens when you're growing that fast (spoiler: it's chaos).We cover:

• Why onboarding breaks when you scale fast (and how to fix it)
• The moment trust stops working and processes take over
• Building a 150-person operational hub across 3 countries in 3 MONTHS
• Managing crypto projects during the 2019-2023 bull market (without knowing anything about crypto)
• Why people leave managers, not jobs
• When AI automation actually makes sense (hint: earlier than you think)
• The hardest part of leading teams through pivots
• Why "burnout is NOT a leadership badge"

• 4+ years at NetGuru managing crypto/FinTech projects
• Scaled teams 5→200 people (3x)
• Built 150-person hub across 3 countries in 3 months (Publicis)
• Managed $5M+ advertising budgets
• Co-founder of Shift and Pause
• Operations expert for fast-growing companies

In this episode of Messy Growth, I sit down with Aleksandra Korczynksa, one of Poland's most experienced B2B SaaS marketing leaders and current CMO at Survicate.Ola shares her unconventional career move: stepping down from managing a 40+ person marketing team and $10M budget at GetResponse to become hands-on at an early-stage startup. We dig into why senior leaders should embrace "stepping down," how to build scalable marketing engines, and what actually works in 2025.🎯 WHAT WE COVER:

• Why she left GetResponse after 5 years as CMO
• How to decide between PLG vs Sales-Led motion (and when to use hybrid)
• The truth about attribution models (spoiler: stop overcomplicating it)
• Hiring for sense of ownership (and how to check it in 30 mins)
• Why Reddit won't save your GTM strategy
• Launching Uber Eats in Poland from zero
• Going international as a Polish B2B SaaS company
• The coordination tax of managing large teams
• How AI is changing marketing roles (and why technical skills matter more than ever)

Ewelina Chrzanowska started as a CSM at Codewise, led a team of 16 across EMEA at Splunk, and now manages three teams (support, tech support, CSMs) at Edrone while training Polish CS managers through CS for Poland School.In this conversation, we break down:→ The biggest misconception about customer success (hint: it's not just tech support or sales catch-all)→ How to build a CS team from zero (and why hiring right is more important than perfect processes)→ The one trait every great CSM needs (open-mindedness and handling hard situations)→ When to implement customer success at your company (before churn alerts become a crisis)→ Do QBRs actually work? (Only if you do them right)→ How she improved renewal rates by 10% in one year (the exact process)→ Managing CS across EMEA: different languages, cultures, and customer needs→ Why metrics aren't everything (and the worst advice in CS)→ Should CSMs handle renewals and expansions or just retention?→ Will customer success exist in 15 years or get absorbed back into sales?→ How AI/LLMs are actually helping CS teams (not replacing them)Ewelina went from studying tourism and leisure to building customer success teams at fast-growing startups and global enterprises. She's managed teams from 16 people across EMEA to now leading three different functions (support, tech support, CSMs) at Edrone.If you're a founder trying to reduce churn, a CS leader building a team, or a CSM trying to level up, this conversation is packed with tactical insights from someone who's built CS functions multiple times at different scales.

Ewelina Chrzanowska started as a CSM at Codewise, led a team of 16 across EMEA at Splunk, and now manages three teams (support, tech support, CSMs) at Edrone while training Polish CS managers through CS for Poland School.In this conversation, we break down:→ The biggest misconception about customer success (hint: it's not just tech support or sales catch-all)→ How to build a CS team from zero (and why hiring right is more important than perfect processes)→ The one trait every great CSM needs (open-mindedness and handling hard situations)→ When to implement customer success at your company (before churn alerts become a crisis)→ Do QBRs actually work? (Only if you do them right)→ How she improved renewal rates by 10% in one year (the exact process)→ Managing CS across EMEA: different languages, cultures, and customer needs→ Why metrics aren't everything (and the worst advice in CS)→ Should CSMs handle renewals and expansions or just retention?→ Will customer success exist in 15 years or get absorbed back into sales?→ How AI/LLMs are actually helping CS teams (not replacing them)Ewelina went from studying tourism and leisure to building customer success teams at fast-growing startups and global enterprises. She's managed teams from 16 people across EMEA to now leading three different functions (support, tech support, CSMs) at Edrone.If you're a founder trying to reduce churn, a CS leader building a team, or a CSM trying to level up, this conversation is packed with tactical insights from someone who's built CS functions multiple times at different scales.

Most SaaS companies are at "zero level proficiency" in pricing - and it's costing them at least 10% in untapped revenue.Krzysztof Szyszkiewicz, co-founder of Value Ships and former McKinsey pricing strategist, breaks down the three massive revenue leaks killing SaaS growth:- Discounting disasters - One company was leaking $2.4M ARR from grandfathered pricing alone- Underpricing epidemic - 95% of companies increase prices after proper analysis- Broken packaging - Features people want ≠ features they'll pay forThe counterintuitive truth? Discounted customers churn FASTER than full-price customers. They're cost-sensitive deal-hunters, not loyal users.🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS:- Why dynamic pricing fails in SaaS (but works for marketplaces)- The escalation ladder framework to stop discount bleeding- How to price for growth vs. profitability vs. retention- Internal data + competitive data + prospective user research = optimal pricing model- Why 15% discounts require selling 66% more units to hit the same margin

Abby Hehemann spent over a decade building her career in Poland, climbing from customer support to Global Marketing Officer at GetResponse. Then she left. Twice.In this raw conversation, Abby breaks down what it actually takes to stay somewhere for 12 years, why she walked away from a CMO role, and what she learned about loyalty, burnout, and knowing when it's time to move on.We talk about:✅ The hidden cost of attaching your identity to your job✅ Why product marketing is about asking the right questions—not more features✅ How to differentiate in a crowded market (hint: talk to your best customers)✅ The hard truth about transitioning from IC to director✅ Why "career suicide" is better than "suicide by career"✅ What it's really like building a career abroad as an immigrant✅ How to recognize burnout before it's too lateIf you've ever felt stuck in a role, burned out from climbing the ladder, or wondered if loyalty is actually hurting your career, this episode is for you.

Anna Zarudzka runs Boldare, a 100-person digital product company in Poland that's built 300+ products and operates without traditional managers.But she didn't start in tech. She started in jazz, painting, and TV production at Poland's biggest channels.In 2008, she left a dying industry (TV) to co-found what became Boldare. They scaled to 200 people using Holacracy (no hierarchy, no bosses), then intentionally scaled back to 100.Why? Because fast growth broke their leadership, killed operational excellence, and turned the company into something they didn't recognize.In this conversation, Anna breaks down:→ Why she chose client services over building a SaaS unicorn (and why most founders are chasing the wrong thing)→ How Holacracy actually works at scale (and where it broke)→ What it's like to fire 100 people (and why she still doesn't sleep well)→ Why "being at the top" is a myth that keeps you stuck→ How her chaotic creative background (film, jazz, law) prepared her to run a tech company→ The difference between strategy that works on slides vs. strategy that survives reality→ Why she co-founded a democratic elementary school where kids vote on budgetsWe also talked about:✅ Co-CEO dynamics (sharing power without killing each other)✅ Why most Polish tech talent stays in smaller cities (not Warsaw)✅ The worst project disasters and what they taught her✅ How to compete with massive outsourcing shops (EPAM, Soft Serve) with only 100 people✅ Why "top of the mountain" thinking will burn you outIf you've ever felt like you need to build a unicorn to matter, or wondered what leadership looks like without traditional hierarchy, this one's for you.