More than 40 entrepreneurs from The Company community met at the inauguration of Think Tank The Company’s Entrepreneurial Poland Council. The Council’s main goal is to make the voice of Polish entrepreneurs heard in public debate. To achieve this, however, the commitment of the entire community of domestic business owners is needed. Think Tank The Company is currently supported by 75 donors, and over the next four months we aim to bring in another 75.
One table for all councils
The meeting began with conversations in networking rooms, after which representatives of the councils operating at Think Tank The Company took the floor. The Business Council was represented by Tomasz Misiak (Mizyak Investment), and the SME Council by Jędrzej Karasek (Primavera Parfum), Róża Szafranek (HR Hints), Ryszard Hołubniak (DCU) and Adrian Karpiel (Kanardi). Owners of companies of different sizes and from different sectors sat at one table, because the Entrepreneurial Poland Council is meant to unite all councils around common causes.
What the entrepreneurs said
Tomasz Misiak (Mizyak Investment) spoke about the strength that a collective voice gives entrepreneurs, and Marcin Ciecierski (Excellence) about the opportunity for the business community to have a real influence on the state. Łukasz Dojka (XF Franchise) recalled that Polish entrepreneurs generate 70% of Poland’s GDP. Katarzyna Malinowska (Raspberry Design) pointed out that a community works only when every member feels they have an influence.
Some of the speeches concerned specific regulations. Przemysław Tytro (Tedmark) announced action on the PPWR, the new EU packaging regulation. Jacek Wichorski (JW Investment) argued for raising the VAT threshold for micro-entrepreneurs, and Maciej Suski (PPHU Promerol) invited participants to discussions and to a webinar on the Public Procurement Act.
The SME Council Presidium shows how it works in practice
Ryszard Hołubniak (DCU) has already brought together five major partners from the insurance sector who jointly address specific regulatory problems in the industry. We want to build such groups in further sectors, wherever entrepreneurs share a common problem.
Jędrzej Karasek (Primavera Parfum) calculated that we need several thousand engaged entrepreneurs so that we cannot be ignored. Róża Szafranek (HR Hints) spoke about sharing knowledge and responding quickly to companies’ problems — this is how we acted on the changes concerning the National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) and B2B contracts.
The Council of Experts was represented by Łukasz Dziekoński (Montis Capital), who pledged expert support in areas ranging from innovation to energy.
