Peculiarities of doing business in Poland for startups
Startup in Poland is attracting more entrepreneurs due to its favorable geographical location, access to the EU market and growing venture ecosystem. In 2024, Polish tech companies attracted $2.1 billion in investments in Poland, an increase of 35% over the previous year.
How did Poland become attractive for startups?
Ten years ago, registering a company in Poland took a month and required going to many institutions. Taxation did not provide any benefits for IT companies.
The attempt to create technoparks according to the old model failed due to the lack of connection with real business. State support programs worked only for traditional industries.
Today, everything has changed. Digitalization of public services has reduced the opening of a business to one day. Tax incentives for IT have been introduced according to the Estonian model. A developed startup ecosystem with local and international funds has been created.
Company registration and business forms in Poland
The registration process takes 1-3 days if you apply online and costs 500-1500 PLN depending on the type of company.
The three main forms of business in Poland:
- Individual entrepreneur (JDG) - the easiest option. Registration costs 290 PLN, no minimum capital required. Suitable for testing the idea, but there is full personal liability for debts.
- Limited Liability Company (sp. z o.o.) - the best choice for most start-ups. Minimum capital of 5000 PLN can be contributed by intellectual property. The cost of registration is 500-800 PLN.
- Joint Stock Company (S.A.) is necessary only if you plan to enter the stock exchange. Minimum capital 100,000 PLN, complicated registration procedure.
Step-by-step process of registration sp. z o.o.:
- Reserving a title through the S24 system (free of charge)
- Preparing a charter describing the activities under PKD codes
- Notarize the documents (200-400 PLN)
- Filing a lawsuit through the S24 system
- Get a KRS number within a week
Expert Tip: "Include activity codes in the charter with a margin - programming, IT consulting, data processing. This will save you from changing the charter when expanding your business."
How to do business with startups in Poland: tax advantages
The effective tax rate for IT startups can be as low as 5% when using the IP Box incentives and the Estonian model.
| Mode | Bid | Turnover limit | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income tax | 12%/32% | No limit | Individual entrepreneurs |
| Linear tax | 19% | No limit | Stable business |
| Estonian model | 0%/19% | No limit | Growing startups |
| IP Box | 5% | No limit | IT and development |
The Estonian model is a revolutionary solution for startups. No profit tax is paid as long as the money is not withdrawn to the founders. All profits used for development remain in the company without taxation.
IP Box applies to revenue from licensing of software and other IT products. The rate is only 5% instead of the standard 19%.
Peculiarities of doing business in Poland for startups
The accounting for combining the two regimes gives the maximum benefit - license income under 5%, the rest profit tax free before withdrawal.
Expert Tip: "It is only possible to switch to preferential regimes from the beginning of the year. Plan your tax strategy in advance to avoid losing the benefit."
Fringe Benefits:
- R&D benefit allows 200% of development costs to be written off
- Income tax exemption for new companies for up to 5 years
- Accelerated depreciation of IT equipment to 50% in the first year
Peculiarities of doing business in Poland for startups by sector
Promising directions
Three sectors show the highest investment growth: fintech (+340%), gaming (+280%) and e-commerce (+190%) over three years.
Fintech is developing thanks to open banking and PSD2. The average check for B2B solutions is 15-50 thousand euros. Lots of opportunities for niche products around big players like PayU.
Gaming - Poland's traditional strength after the success of CD Projekt. The government subsidizes up to 50% of development costs through the GameINN program.
E-commerce infrastructure is growing with Allegro. We need solutions for logistics, payments, and sales analytics.
Complex industries
PropTech faces a conservative real estate market. The sales cycle stretches up to 18 months.
HealthTech requires certification of medical devices, which increases time to market by a year.
DeepTech suffers from a lack of specialized investors who understand the technology.
Expert Tip: 80% of successful startups work in boring niches - HR-tech, accounting, logistics. Everyone wants to create a new Facebook, and the money is in automating existing processes.
Support for startups and sources of funding
The average seed round in Poland is 300-500 thousand euros, Series A - 1.5-3 million euros. The time to attract investment is 4-7 months.
Major sources of funding:
Local VC funds:
- Innovation Nest (B2B SaaS, checks 100-500K euros)
- Experior Venture Fund (fintech, up to EUR 1 mln)
- Sunfish Partners (medtech and deep tech)
State Programs:
- PARP Start in Poland - up to PLN 200,000 per MVP
- NCBiR Fast Track - up to 8.5 mln PLN for R&D
- Poland Prize - PLN 1 mln for the best startup of the year
Business incubators and corporate foundations:
- Allegro.pl (e-commerce)
- PKO Bank (fintech)
- Orange Ventures (telecom and IoT)
Comprehensive support from advice on choosing a company form to receiving your first investment can significantly speed up the startup process and reduce mistakes. Read more about our business incubator.
Out of 100 bids, 30 get a meeting, 10 go through due diligence, 2-3 get an offer. Conversion from offer to deal closing - 80%.
The most common mistakes of startups
- Reassessment without metrics. The founders are asking for a 5 million euro valuation with revenue of 10k per month. Investors perceive this as a lack of understanding of the market.
- Product presentation instead of business. Focus on technical fixes instead of an earnings model. 40% presentations end with the question "how will you earn money?"
- Copying Western models without taking into account the peculiarities of the Polish market. Direct porting of American solutions without adaptation increases the cost of customer acquisition by 2-3 times.
- Late start looking for money. Seeking investment with a 3 month balance weakens the negotiating position and results in unfavorable terms.
- Lack of a Plan B. Dependence on a single investor with no alternatives. 35% of such startups are closed within a year of failure.
Each business incubator has its own selection criteria, mentorship programs and investor relations, which requires careful analysis before applying. Read more about, How to choose a business incubator in Poland.
View from the other side: why not to go to Poland?
The main argument against is that it is an emerging market with limited purchasing power and a lack of major exits compared to Germany or France.
This is true for premium B2B products with a check above 100 thousand euros, deep tech startups with a development cycle of 5+ years and companies aiming for an IPO.
But for B2B SaaS with a check of 5-50 thousand euros, e-commerce solutions and fintech, Poland offers an optimal ratio of market size, competition and cost of customer acquisition. Plus it is an excellent springboard for scaling a startup in a region with 165 million consumers.
Practical Startup Checklist
Preparation (2-4 weeks):
- Choosing the form of the company
- Reserving the title
- Preparing documents
- Choosing a tax regime
- Defining activity codes
Registration (1-2 weeks):
- Notarizing documents
- We're suing CRS
- Registering with the tax authorities and social insurances
- Opening a bank account
- Contributing share capital
Startup Operations:
- Configuring the accounting system
- Organizing the first employees
- Filing for tax credits
- Register trademarks
- Getting the right licenses
Total costs: 8-15 thousand PLN including legal support and basic setup.
Many startups start working with Polish developers even before the company is officially registered, using Employer of Record services to quickly hire local specialists. We also provide such services services.
Legalizing a business in Poland requires attention to detail, but with the right approach provides access to a developed economic zone and opportunities to expand your client base.
Startup business in Poland offers a unique combination of developed infrastructure, access to talent, tax incentives and a growing venture capital market. With the right approach, the country becomes an ideal platform for launching a technology business in Central Europe.