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Overview
Company: Klaster Multimediów i Systemów Informacyjnych (Multimedia and Information Systems Cluster
Interviewee Krzysztof Wnek, Executive Director of the Multimedia City Project
Business Description: An association that focuses on new technology and new media businesses all over Poland.
Web site: www.multimediacity.pl
“I think [BizSpark] is an excellent accelerator for SMEs. Right now in Poland, we are getting our first round of EU funding for startups and SMEs. Together with your BizSpark offer, we provide an excellent mixture. So, I think the program is a 10. It’s just in time.
— Krzysztof Wnek, Executive Director, Multimedia City Project
“Our mission is to support small and medium enterprises in development. So, our key goal is to support this activity in the Polish economy…. Altogether we are going to spend in the next three years more than 30 million Euro. Nearly 85 percent of our project is funded by EU.”
— Krzysztof Wnek, Executive Director, Multimedia City Project
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Last week we interviewed Krzysztof Wnek, Executive Director of the Multimedia City Project, an initiative in which the Klaster Multimediów i Systemów Informacyjnych (Multimedia and Information Systems Cluster) plays a key role. MultiCluster consists of 50 innovative and highly specialized small and mid-sized companies working in the sector of new technology and new media businesses all over Poland. MultiCluster is part of a larger initiative, the Multimedia City Project — an organization that combines sectors such as: technology park, R&D centre, business incubator, cluster, and venture capital. Multimedia City was formed in collaboration with Nowy Sacz School of Business National-Louis University, the leading private Polish business school.
Q. Tell us a little bit about your organization?
“MultiCluster is an association in Poland that is part of a larger project which is Multimedia City (Miasteczko Multimedialne). It’s an initiative by Nowy Sacz School of Business National-Louis University, the leading private business school in Poland. The intention of this project is to build and create an innovation center that focuses on e-learning, mobile technologies, 3D graphics, and games. That’s basically the core of the innovation center. MultiCluster, which is a Microsoft BizSpark partner, is the first, and so far, the most important organization on the entire project. Right now we have 50 entities that are members of the association.
“Our mission is to support small and medium enterprises in development. So, our key goal is to support this activity in the Polish economy. Recently, we have some push on the innovation program of the Polish economy — one of the key initiatives for the Polish government is our project. In fact, the Multimedia City project was put on the list of the strategic projects for the Polish economy. And what is more, it is supported with EU funding. Altogether we are going to spend in the next three years more than 30 million Euro. Nearly 85 percent of our project is funded by EU.”
Q. How do you select the companies that are part of the program?
“MultiCluster’s role is to help companies that are normally competing in the marketplace. So under this one umbrella, which is the association, companies that normally compete in the markets, are creating joint ventures, partnerships or alliances. So, they make common projects, and by teaming up with three or even five companies, they can cover all competencies and have the capability to apply for bigger contracts and bigger projects. Our role is to get these people talking. We support them in promotion through the money we get from the EU — over the last two years, most of the money was spent on networking improvement and promotion. An example of our support and promotion, in Barcelona at CeBIT, the biggest European fest for mobile technology, we help initiate cooperation with other clusters, which are in the other countries. We focus on Scandinavian countries, which are the most innovative countries in Europe. So in these ways, we are a support unit. We do not lead the business, but we enhance companies that are in our association to be active.”
Q. Tell us how you first heard about the BizSpark program?
“We were looking for one of the strategic partners for the initiative, which is the larger project, which is the Multimedia City, and we decided to work with the best ones. Of course, Microsoft is the leading company in terms of software production. And we were trying to get in touch in your local office in Poland, and were successful. We met people, and got to know that there was a new program that was about to be launched. So, we were very eager to cooperate with you, because it's part of our mission. BizSpark fits perfectly to the mission and to our goal, meaning the goals of MultiCluster.”
Q. So far, what have you done to promote your BizSpark relationship?
“We started with our core communication tool, which is our Web site, — our association members, are Multi Cluster members. We have also a regular newsletter where we include information, new and useful information. But on the occasion of BizSpark, we launched a special edition, and we informed members about the opportunity, and asked everyone to pass the message to other people who are even not members of the association. And what is more, wherever we go and whenever we present the benefits of joining MultiCluster, we also talk up the benefits of joining BizSpark. So, actually doing our regular promotion we simply include BizSpark as part of the attractiveness of the business.”
Q. Any other message to the thousands of startups who may be reading this?
“Go to our web site, www.multimediacity.pl, to learn more. Right now, we’re building up the technology park, which is a high level infrastructure for research and development in multimedia. We offer financing from private equity and venture capitalists, which are cooperating with us. And we are searching for partners like you who are interested in the development of SMEs. “
Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, how would you rate the BizSpark program?
“I think it's an excellent accelerator for SMEs. Don’t know if you are aware of this, but right now in Poland, we are getting our first round of EU funding for startups and SMEs. Together with your BizSpark offer, we provide an excellent mixture. So, I think the program is a 10. It’s just in time.”
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