Julia Krysztofiak-Szopa, the CEO of Startup Poland

Julia Krysztofiak-Szopa

Julia is a passionate entrepreneur, dedicated manager and startup coach, experienced
working with founders worldwide since 2008.

She currently serves as the CEO of Startup Poland, a Warsaw-based non-profit organization
that strengthens the startup ecosystem in Poland through research, education and public
advocacy initiatives. As the owner of the biggest curated database of Polish startups, the
organization publishes the annual report on the state of Polish startup ecosystem, identifying
its drivers, growth barriers, industry opportunities and trends. As of 2016 Startup Poland
coordinates similar research efforts in Czech, Slovakia and Hungary.

Julia moved back to Poland a year ago from Zurich, where she’d been leading growth for
Dealmarket, a private equity dealflow platform. Prior to that, she lived in California, where
she founded a fashion startup Wellfitting Inc., and served as the first Program Director at
Blackbox Accelerator in Palo Alto. At Blackbox she established its unique startup
bootcamps, that have helped over 200 non-American founders raise funding in Silicon
Valley.

Julia studied philosophy and Artificial Intelligence. Her personal mission is to empower
entrepreneurs to dream bigger in their early stage startups.