Opinion

December 5, 2019

Polish startups ensnared by toxic government money

State money is pouring into Polish startups, but entrepreneurs have ended up with toxic investors in their cap tables and financing tied to onerous conditions.


Mathias Pastor

5 min read

On a recent trip to Poland I met two types of entrepreneurs. The first was the warriors who had gone out alone and built cash-generating local businesses without state support. The second was those who had decided to take the poisoned chalice of government money. The trend was clear: the former were thriving, the latter were often floundering.

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