Summary:

Have you ever heard of Stanford Prison Experiment? If you’re familiar with it, you must recognise our today’s episode guest – Prof. Philip Zimbardo who is one of the most known and respected psychologists in the world. Besides being a professor emeritus at Stanford University, he has just started a very inspiring project in Poland. Learn about the inspiring life of Prof. Zimbardo in our thirteenth Project Kazimierz episode of the second season!

Mentions and links:

* Philip Zimbardo

* Heroic Imagination Project

Summary:

Our next Project Kazimierz guest, Peter Sage is an international serial entrepreneur, business teacher and as you’ll find in the episode, a school dropout! Peter has founded his first business at the age he was 18 and up until that time he has run over 20 different businesses, the biggest of which is The World Wide Health Corporation and The Energie Fitness Group. Learn his story and get inspired by our twelve episode of season two!

Mentions and links:

* Peter Sage

* James Cook Media

Summary:

This episode guest is David Nothacker. David is a founder and CEO of Sennder – startup from Berlin that takes innovative approach on delivery business, allowing customers to get the package across all Europe the same day. David will tell us his story and his experience in contact with Polish software house and engineering talent. Learn how to build a reliable startup with David with the 11th episode of Project Kazimierz.

Mentions and links:

* u2i

* Apzumi

* James Cook Media

* Open Coffee

Summary:

Today we have Tom Clarke speaking to us all the way from New York. As CEO and founder of u2i, a web technology consulting company based in Krakow, Tom found success after doubling down on his core strength – technology. Now, u2i has over 40 employees and generates millions of dollars in revenue every year. Not only that, u2i employees co-own the company, and as a result, the level of creative effort they pour into every client project leaves a big impression!

Mentions and links:

* u2i

* Open Coffee

* Codility

Summary:

Sitting down with us today is General Secretary of ASPIRE, Andrew Hallam. As an influential part of a multinational corporation that aims to strengthen businesses in various sectors, and as a leader in the business world in Krakow, Andrew has a unique perspective on how multinationals and startups can work together to create far greater good than they could alone.

Mentions and links:

* Andrew Hallam

* ASPIRE

* Open Coffee

* Capgemini

* ACL

* Cisco

* Stadion Cracovii

* Google For Entrepreneurs

* Stadion Cracovii

* hub:raum

* Philip Morris

* James Cook Media

Table of contents:

* 00:48 Intro

* 02:53 Background of Andrew Hallam

* 05:00 Why Krakow is becoming a place other nationalities come to for work.

* 07:15 Krakow is no longer a place to get the cheapest labor you can.

* 09:00 The history of Krakow attracting people like a magnet.

* 11:30 The significance of the Market Square in the evolution of business in Krakow.

* 14:00 Why the corporate world has had to adopt the startup ethos of sharing ideas.

* 16:20 Should you do business face to face or through technology?

* 18:20 How corporations and startups help each other, despite suspicions they have.

* 20:15 Follow these steps if you want to come to Krakow for a startup adventure.

* 27:45 The hunger of the younger generations to be global.

* 28:50 How safe is Krakow?

* 34:40 What is the government doing to increase the prosperity of the city?

* 36:40 How governments can communicate better with business.

* 38:10 The startup community’s default mode is to pay it forward.

* 44:50 What’s the next step in the ecosystem for Krakow?

* 49:50 Outro.

02:55

RICHARD LUCAS:

Hello again, Project Kazimierz listener. My name is Sam Cook, your co-host as always with Richard. Richard in Krakow, myself in Warsaw. How are you doing, Richard?

02:51

SAM COOK:

And today we have a very special guest, Richard as tradition; I’m going to let you introduce Rafał. It’s actually someone you’re just saying before the show, you haven’t actually met but you both been in Poland for a long time in different cities doing a lot of great things, so we’re here with the head of Google Campus Warsaw. So Richard go ahead and introduce him.

03:01

RICHARD LUCAS:

Very well. Good morning, if it’s morning wherever you’re listening.

03:05

SAM:

Or afternoon, right Richard? Your trademark opening.

03:09

RICHARD:

It could be the middle of the night, Sam. Some of us don’t sleep.

03:11

RAFAŁ:

Whenever you happen to be listening to this podcast,

Summary:

As the head of Google Campus Warsaw, our guest today has had a critical role in the startup ecosystem in Poland. Rafał Płutecki started business in Poland by providing dial-up internet access to businesses that needed to be connected. Today, he’s connecting young businesses to much more than just a modem. Through the Campus he links entrepreneurs to the networks and resources they need to become global enterprises.

Mentions and links:

* Google Campus Warsaw

* Central-Eastern European Exchange

* Google for Entrepreneurs

* The University of Delaware

* Volvo

* Skanska AB

*

*

* Table of contents:

* 02:50 Intro

* 03:45 Rafał’s background

* 07:00 How Communism created entrepreneurs

* 09:00 Sweden proves you don’t have to be uncomfortable to be pushed into great entrepreneurship.

* 13:50 The launch of Google Campus Warsaw

* 19:30 Do bankers need to step up and support startups?

* 23:00 How Google Campus Warsaw plans to spread to the rest of Poland.

* 27:15 Does Warsaw or Cracow have the stronger starup ecosystem? ”

* 30:40 Upcoming events.

* 31:05 The Central-Eastern European exchange program

* 33:40 Outro

02:43

RICHARD LUCAS:

Good afternoon welcome Project Kazimierz listeners from Cracow and also we’re in two locations today.

02:51

SAM COOK:

And today we have a very special guest, Richard as tradition; I’m going to let you introduce Rafał. It’s actually someone you’re just saying before the show, you haven’t actually met but you both been in Poland for a long time in different cities doing a lot of great things, so we’re here with the head of Google Campus Warsaw. So Richard go ahead and introduce him.

03:06

RICHARD:

As you said I’m always a networker, so I’m happy to introduce people I don’t know. Basically Rafał has a key role in the pro entrepreneurship start-up ecosystem here

in Central Europe leading Campus Warsaw but if you look at his previous career, he is one of these people who isn’t like a professional ecosystem support person, he may be now but in the past he was a highly successful entrepreneur in Internet Service Providers and insurance company and an investment fund as well as a job sport or so. But I think itis perhaps better for Rafał to introduce himself, rather than me and get it right rather me get it the wrong. Rafał could you just tell the listeners a little bit about yourself that I haven’t covered just now?

03:44

RAFAŁ PLUTECKI:

Hello everyone, Rafał Plutecki, head of Campus Warsaw. I am very happy to be with you all. In a general term yes I have been a serial entrepreneur, for most of my professional life and… technology and the Internet was at the heart of what I have been doing and actually my first project was still back in nineteen nineties. It was nineteen ninety-three when the Internet, still without the graphical browser, started to appear. I set up one of the first Internet companies in Poland – Internet Technologies.

 

Summary:

Our guest today, Szymon Niemczura, is the founder and CEO of Kontakt.io, a famous beacon company which started two years ago here in Cracow, and already boasts a staff of 80 people. The rapidly growing Internet of Things is silently enhancing our world, and the amazing work of Szymon and his team is adding to this exciting next wave of innovation.

Mentions and links:

* Kontakt.io

* CodeWise

* iBeacon

* Sunstone Capital

* Estimote

* LeadersIsland.com

* James Cook Media

Table of contents:

* 02:45 Intro

* 05:00 From software to hardware. From CodeWise to Kontakt.io.

* 07:50 How to skip Seed funding and go straight to the A Round.

* 11:20 The competition between Estimote and Kontakt.io

* 16:10 How does a beacon work, anyway?

* 18:40 How beacons are being used on Alpacas.

* 20:00 The education system.

* 21:20 Beacons will slip silently into all our lives. ”

* 31:00 How to make your second startup the more successful one.

* 34:15 Answering the question of customer acquisition.

* 40:20 Scaling past 30 people.

* 45:25 Communication – The #1 tool of business growth.

* 48:30 Training leadership.

* 52:35 The values of Kontakt.io

* 56:00 How to juggle five offices.

* 01:01:00 Outro

00:43

SAM COOK:

Hello Project Kazimierz listener, it’s Sam Cook here and welcome to the seventh episode of season two of our podcast. Today’s guest is a very successful founder from Cracow, a former CEO of CodeWise, co-founder of this company which is now an advertising technology company. A few years ago he left CodeWise and co-founded and is now the CEO of kontakt.io. His name is Simon Niemczura and it’s very exciting to record a second episode with one of the top peaking companies in the world. As now we may say the Project Kazimierz podcast is a place to learn about beacon technology and business, just because Cracow has such an amazing position in the world of beacon technology and Internet of Things. Beside that, in this episode you’ll also learn how to make tough decisions how, the role of the CEO changes while your company grows and why leadership is a key for success and much, much more so I hope you enjoyed today’s episode.

01:49

SAM:

So hello again Project Kazimierz listener, my name is Sam Cook, here with as always my co-host Richard. How you’re doing Richard?

01:53

RICHARD LUCAS:

Very well, good morning it’s 5:12 in the May 2016 in Cracow in a country called Poland if you’re listening a thousand years from now.

02:02

SAM:

For historical purposes. We’re sitting here today, there’s a lot of noise around you

because we’re in a busy, let’s say hive of activity in the middle of the industrial part of Cracow. The, actually the former, industrial part of Cracow, another tech hub of the Zabłocie region and we’re in the headquarters of kontakt.io with the CEO and co-founder Szymon Niemczura and sorry for my pronunciations a little bit off on that but Szymon is the co-founder previously of CodeWise and now the co-founder and CEO of kontakt.io.

Aspire Conference May 2016: Polish Startups & Their Place in The World

Summary:

This May, Wojtek Burkot hosted a discussion about Polish startups at the Aspire Conference, in front of a live audience. Join Richard, John Straw, Tim Jackson, Andrzej Targosz, Paulina Mazurek and Joanna Chwastowska as they break apart the challenges facing young Polish companies, and how these hurdles can be overcome. Make sure you don’t fall into the typical traps of Polish startups.

Mentions and links:

* Aspire Conference

* Redhawk Global Business Services BPO

* Crowd Cube

* Scyscanner

* Base

* Estimote

* PMO

* Vale

* Nomad List

* Google Plus

* James Cook Media

Table of contents:

* 00:49 Intro

* 04:07 What does it take for a start-up to start here and not only here and go global?

* 05:55 Are you sure you want to go global?

* 10:03 Why do startups tend to set up in two continents?

* 15:06 What motivated some successful startups to stay in Poland?

* 17:42 Working from anywhere in the world.

* 20:00 The education system.

* 21:20 A 7-year-old’s perfect answer to “What is a business?”

* 23:56 How Google+ survived its difficult birth.

* 26:23 The origins of Entrepreneurship

* 28:20 Is it an opportunity or a danger for start-ups that the centers are getting involved?

* 31:01 Does Google let its employees quit to try a start-up, only buy them back later?

* 32:11 Thanks & Outro

0:49

RICHARD LUCAS:

Good evening Project Kazimierz listener if indeed it’s evening when you are listening. I’m Richard Lucas I’d like to welcome you for this episode of our season 2 podcast, recorded at the Aspire Conference in May 2016 in Krakow, Poland. The Aspire Conference is the main event for the Redhawk Global Business Services BPO in shared services sector in Cracow. Cracow is the number one city in Europe, and in the top 10 in the world for this type of business and already 60,000 people work in the sector here and the number is growing by 20% yearly. With new office blocks seeming to spring up on almost every street. This episode is a recording of a discussion moderated by Wojtek Burkot in front of a live audience – meaning the sound quality is slightly less good than usual, but the content is well worth listening to. Wojtek hosts a discussion about Polish start-ups and their place in the world. With myself, John Straw, Tim Jackson, Andrzej Targosz, Paulina Mazurek and Joanna Chwastowska from the audience. Wojtek’s first question was “what does it take for a start-up from Cracow to succeed here and to go global?” and it was first answered by Tim Jackson, stay tuned for his answer after the short break and enjoy the show.

4:07

WOJTEK BURKOT:

What does it take for a start-up to start here and not only here and go global?

4:17

Kimon Fountoukidis: Translating Success for Krakow

Summary:

He went from selling t-shirts door to door to running a global translation services company. Meet Kimon Fountoukidis, CEO of the ARGOS Multilingual and PMR. Kimon moved to Poland 23 years ago and in this time he became a highly successful entrepreneur with an innovative approach to doing business. Learn his story, his insights on how to do sales, why job automation is not a bad thing, why Krakow is the best place in the world and much more in this week’s episode.

Mentions and links:

*

" rel="noopener noreferrer">PMR

* Argos Multilingual

* Donnelley Printing

* Panorama Firm

* John Deere

* Unicode

* Ulysess

* James Cook Media

Table of contents:

The Beginning

* 02:18 Intro

* 05:49 Philosophy of Business

* 08:44 Why to start business in Poland

* 10:39 What is a translation company

Mistake is just a learning oportunity.

* 14:05 Sam’s experience with translations

* 16:44 Funny aspect of Business Angel cooperation

* 20:48 Why transparency is the key to trust.

Kimon’s Innovative approach to Business

* 27:02 Great use of Corporate Social Responsibility

* 30:41 Women in the workplace

* 33:19 Why competitive shouldn’t mean cheap

* 36:59 Jobs automation as a good thing

Personally from our speakers

* 43:44 What Kimon thinks about Krakow

* 45:29 Future of Argos

* 47:28 Richard’s Investment

* 50:22 How to choose your Business name

* 51:30 Outro

02:18

SAM COOK:

Hello again Project Kazimierz listener, my name is Sam Cook, your founder and co-host of Project Kazimierz. As allways with my co-host Richard. Richard, how are you today?

02:25

RICHARD LUCAS:

Very well, good afternoon wherever you are or depending what time of day it is good morning or good night.

02:30

SAM:

Richard with his trademark opening. Richard who is the guest today, you were very excited when you called me that our next guest was available, so why is it such a big deal ?

02:39

RICHARD:

Well it’s extremely exciting when my business partner for over 15 years Kimon Fountoukidis is available because I’ve been watching the tremendous progress with the business he’ve founded made over the years. We also have another business PMR together, but his the CEO of Argos Multilingual. I think we’ve first met on a small side street in the center of town called Sarejgo back in 1999 or 2000 and over the years he have build one of the most successful businesses I’m associated with. But I think it would be much more interesting for Kimon to introduce himself and tell us how he ended up in Poland and what he’s doing here than to me doing an accurate version. So over to you Kimon.

Jakub Krzych – A beacon of Innovation – Project Kazimierz S2Ep4

Summary:

It’s difficult to spend any time in the startup community in Poland without hearing the name “Estimote”. Today, we sit down with its founder, Jakub (Kuba) Krzych. Estimote’s core technology is beacons, small physical blocks that can be attached anywhere to boost wifi signal or push and pull location-specific data. Kuba’s success has been an inspiration to watch, and today he shared some great insight into what made it possible.

Mentions and links:

*

" rel="noopener noreferrer">Znani Absolwenci

* TEDxKrakow

* Ad Taily

* Colab

* Making Waves

* Agora

* Estimote

* Y Combinator

* Seed Camp

* Javelin Ventures

* Sam Altman

* Szymon Slupik

Table of contents:

* 04:49 Intro

* 06:44 Kuba’s beginnings.

Kuba’s First Successful Startup

* 08:38 How Ad Taily grew while the economy collapsed.

* 10:02 Are we too focused on digital opportunities?

Estimote’s Fast Growth

* 12:27 How Estimote was born.

* 14:07 What questions to expect when pitching you’re startup.

* 16:42 Why rejections can be valuable.

* 19:35 How young entrepreneurs network to get started.

* 21:50 When funding goes bad.

Beacon Technology & the Internet of Things

* 28:39 When Apple became Estimote’s competition.

* 30:57 How Estimote’s dev kit helped them take off.

* 32:07 Understanding liquidity vs equity in funding.

* 36:42 How BLE made the IoT possible.

Closing Thoughts

* 41:13 Kuba’s thoughts on Kickstarter.

* 42:57 How to lead an inspired and passionate team.

* 46:43 Outro

04:49

SAM COOK:

Hello again, Project Kazimierz listener this is your co-host Sam Cook, with my co-host

Richard Lucas. Richard, how are you today?

04:57

RICHARD LUCAS:

I am very well, thank you. Good afternoon, if it’s afternoon when you’re listening.

04:59

SAM:

With Richard’s trademark opening. We are here today with a very interesting member of the Krakow community. Someone who I’ve actually just gotten to know a little bit, because he’s been so busy we’ll let you know why in the last year he’s been hard to get I have seen him at some events and on stage and things like that but I’ve just finally had the chance to sit down with him; and Richard – the long-time observer of the Cracow start-up community,