Innovation Nest

Industries: Innovation Nest specializes in investments in projects with global potential, operating in the SaaS (Software as a Service) model, aimed at business customers (B2B).

Activity: The Innovation Nest fund was established to help Polish entrepreneurs create global companies and develop technology businesses in international markets.

Origin: The founders of the fund, Piotr Wilam (co-founder of Onet and investor in Merlin.pl, among others) and Marek Kapturkiewicz (former vice-president of Onet.pl, among others), wanted to change the way Polish companies think, as they mainly focused on the local market, and help them expand into foreign markets as well.

At what stage must the project be: the fund invests in projects at an early stage of development (Seed Stage). Innovation Nest is interested in companies that already have a working product and initial traction. Ideally, the company should have revenues of USD 5,000-40,000 MRR. The fund also invests in more developed projects (Series A), but focuses on the Seed Stage.

Investment amount: the fund invests up to $500,000 in seed rounds. So far, the average investment has been around $200,000.

Investment examples: the fund has 33 companies in its portfolio. Some of them are:

• UXPin – an online tool for designing web and mobile application interfaces, also enabling effective collaboration between designers.
• Picodi – a website with discount codes and deals.
• Perfect Gym – a platform for managing fitness clubs
• iGrid Technology – the company launches and develops Smart Grid solutions in the area of the Internet of Things supporting the efficiency of photovoltaic farms and new, qualitative regulatory models in the energy sector based on intelligent networks.
• Elmodis – is an advanced module for monitoring, diagnostics and damage prediction with built-in electric motor protection circuits.
• Wayman – helps manage all projects in design companies. The system not only improves communication between team members, but also takes into account all changes, supervises resources and accurately estimates the implementation schedule for each project.
• POS Bistro – an application for handling orders in gastronomy (on-site and delivery), handling payments, generating invoices, bills.
• Estimote – production of beacons, i.e. small sensors that can exchange information with a cell phone equipped with an appropriate application.
• Silvair – a company that is working on a universal intelligent lighting platform for commercial customers.
• Growbots – artificial intelligence to automate the sales process
• Perdoo – a platform for managing company employees' goals
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The problem with Polish entrepreneurs is that they forget that building a global company is not just about having a good idea. It is a long road with many bends. Our market shows that there are many people who do not recognize the various aspects of running a global company. Unfortunately, it often happens that we reject projects at an early stage because they are not well prepared, the founders have not spent enough time to look for information about what is happening on the market.

Advantages of Polish originators: we can definitely boast about the technology that we manage to develop in Poland. In this respect, we are one of the world leaders.