For two months several of O4’s residents participated in the first edition of the experimental mentoring program called Summer Mentor Camp. The participants had the opportunity to be in a regular contact with some extraordinary mentors from Silicon Valley who helped their business to reach the next level. It was fast-paced, substantial and in the American style.
O4’s summer mentoring program gave the participants a chance for the rapid acceleration of the business activities of companies from O4’s community. The mentors were exceptional professionals with whom they could meet both online and offline. Everyone of them has succeeded in various fields of business in Silicon Valley, which is still considered an icon of world development.
Was it worth it? Of course! It is always a good time to gain knowledge.
Anna Maria Wiśniewska from „Biznes in social media”: “Meeting with Magda Gacyk was for me a great opportunity to talk with a person of great experience who is looking at things on many levels. The conclusions that we arrived at during the meeting were surprising for me, but at the same time they assured me that I am going in the right direction, and showed new possibilities for the development of my business. Mentor Summer Camp is a great initiative that boosts your energy and gives you greater faith in your own abilities.”
Pinmaster team: “The main point that we’ve taken home is the certainty that the business model that we adopted is the correct one. We’ve benefited from the experience of others, and received valuable advice on how to deploy products on foreign markets, how to prepare and where to start. We made a lot of valuable business, contacts. It was a very valuable and important experience. ”
The main objective of the program was to support the participants in gaining competence and qualifications, so that they could effectively grow their business. As we know, mentoring is one of the most effective ways of gaining the knowledge needed to overcome the barriers of our own limitations, and to be able to pursue our own business dreams.
Many thanks both to the participants who jumped in at the deep end and learned actively during their holiday time, and to the mentors, who were eager to devote their time and were on hand for the students.
MENTORS OF THIS EDITION OF SUMMER MENTOR CAMP WERE:
Anna Bielicka – employee of the Ministry of Economy and the Polish Embassy in Washington, DC, and now at the Office of the Acceleration in San Francisco, working in support of technology companies wanting to expand into the American market. Responsible for management of the Polish Silicon Bridge aimed at accelerating the development of start-ups, and internationalization. She has many years of experience in the implementation of projects co-financed from EU funds. As the CEO of Global Consulting she worked both on the acquisition of EU funds, management of EU projects, and on internationalization.
Arek Bibillo – scientist, a specialist in the field of enzymology, specializing in rapid sequencing of human DNA and founder of the biotech startup Carom Tech. He worked at the prestigious National Cancer Institute, where he studied HIV resistance to drugs among other things. For 10 years he’s been living in Silicon Valley. During this time he worked in startups, and medium and large biotech companies (Pacific BioSciences, Genia Technologies, Roche). He was involved in scientific research, organization of projects, preparation of programs and research grants, and managerial supervision of teams.
Magda Gacyk – radio and television journalist, foreign correspondent (Polish Radio) and translator. She conducts training for politicians and entrepreneurs in the field of media relations, self-presentation and non-verbal communication. Spanish philologist and sociologist by education, she knows seven languages, and also advises on issues related to interculturalism and intercultural negotiations. A year ago, she published a book “Chasing Steve Jobs. The stories of Poles in Silicon Valley.”
Maja Kieturakis – lawyer specializing in American intellectual property law. Advises on planning, protecting, preparing contracts and enforcement of rights related to patents, trademarks and copyrights. She consults in other fields related to business activities (with particular emphasis on startups in the IT industry), such as establishment of companies, auditing, planning, promotion and advertising. She conducts internal employee training on the use of intellectual property.
Michał Skiba – high-class specialist in the field of marketing, working at Cisco System as a head of product development. He helps in valuing, positioning, market entry and the internationalization of products. He has experience as a business coach for Polish entrepreneurs. He graduated from the Universities of Toronto and Waterloo.
Michał Wroczyński – entrepreneur, passionate about so-called “deep technologies”. His fifth startup, Fido Labs, is engaged in artificial intelligence (AI) and develops groundbreaking computer technology to recognize human speech, including grammar. He is also a startup coach and therapist helping entrepreneurs with stress management. His specialization is mindfulness in business. He was the founder of one of the first startups in Poland.
The next edition will take place next year! SEE YOU THERE!