What I'm focused on now
Investing via SMOK Ventures
Actively deploying capital into pre-seed and seed stage startups in Central & Eastern Europe. Looking for deeply technical founders building in AI, DevTools, Gaming, and infrastructure.
Learn about SMOKConnecting via SMOK Angels
Hosting dinners, founder retreats, and community events to connect founders and investors. I spend a significant chunk of my time just helping smart people meet other smart people.
Join as founder or angelThe Journey So Far
From writing early web scripts to building communities and backing founders. A non-linear path through the tech ecosystem.
Got My First Job As Programmer
Stefan Batory took a chance on me and hired me as a junior programer. At eo I made very little money and very good friends for life.
Graduated From PJATK
I wrote my first computer programs when I was 10, but college helped me understand how to design software and inspired to start a business at some point.
Built The Largest Open Source Community in Poland
I built jakilinux.org, LinuxNews.pl and OSnews.pl, a group of online news and community services around GNU/Linux and open source. This is how I met top Polish hackers who later helped me build my startups, including my first co-founder Adam and my founding engineer Mariusz.
Moved To London
Relocated to London to check out investment banking. Turned out I hated it. Go figure.
Filmaster Journey Begins
Founded Filmaster, a personalized movie recommendation engine. Learned the hard lessons of building a consumer product and raising capital.
Reaktor Erupts In Warsaw
I co-founded Reaktor Warsaw, a coworking space that became the heart of the local startup scene. Started hosting Open Reaktor events to connect founders.
Startup Poland Launched
Together with fellow startup founders launched Startup Poland foundation - the voice of Polish startups.
Acquisition & San Francisco
Filmaster was acquired by Samba TV. Moved to San Francisco to join the leadership team, scaling the engineering organization globally.
Kicked Off ReaktorX
Together with Diana we launched the first private acceleration program for first-time founders in the CEE region, out of Warsaw.
Growing Samba TV Europe
Moved back to Europe to establish and grow Samba TV's European engineering hub. Scaled the team from 0 to over 50 brilliant engineers.
Invests in Dziki Warszawa
I fulfill my childhood dream and become a minority owner of Dziki Warszawa, a baskeball club that eventually got promoted to the major Polish basketball league and took part in multiple European cups.
SMOK Ventures is Born
Transitioned from operator to investor. Co-founded SMOK Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund backing exceptional CEE founders.
Fund II Launched
Successfully raised a $25M fund II for SMOK Ventures, expanding from Poland to CEE & diaspora.
Launched SMOK Angels
Got together 200+ active CEE entrepreneurs to build an unusual angel network - a pure community effort with no fees. Made 20 investments in year 1.
Watch My Story
In an interview with Irina Obuchtarova from The Recursive I tell my story of how I transformed from an engineer to an entrepreneur and eventually a VC.
Writing & Thoughts
I occasionally write about startups, venture capital, and engineering leadership.
Building something interesting?
I'm always open to chatting with founders, engineers, and community builders. Whether you're raising your first round or just exploring ideas, say hi.