The team is a key to successful entrepreneurship

Michael Szymanski ​​is one of the most prominent expert consultants for entrepreneurship within the World Bank. As a mentor in the Кatapult acceleration program, Michael prepares selected startups to conquer the market. The knowledge and experience that Michael and other Кatapult mentors share with startups will enable them to develop in the direction of defined business goals.

“It is of great importance that local and global mentors are present in Katapult because, in this way, we can contribute to the opening and expansion of not only the local network in Serbia and the region but also to making contacts on the global market that can help selected startups reach the next level in development”, says Szymanski.

Michael’s role within the program is to prepare Katapult participants for reaching additional investments and provide them access to tools for analyzing and evaluating achieved results.

Intensive interaction and communication are the basis for searching new markets where Katapult startups’ products should be accepted and recognized. The startup’s work with mentors strengthens communication and helps build a strong relationship between clients and investors.

Impressed by the Katapult program, Szymanski admires our first participants and the dynamics of their development. According to him, the startups and their innovative solutions are of exceptional quality, and, with the support of mentors, they will soon be ready to compete on a global market.

For Szymanski, a successful startup is profitable and has a clear vision. Also, the team’s ambition to continuously work on business improvement, product development, and commercialization is essential for success.

“The key is to have a passionate vision, behave as an entrepreneur, and be flexible and ready to learn from clients and the market,” Szymanski points out.

From an investor’s point of view, Szymanski advises the startup team to never give up on their ideas and create new goals at all times. For additional investments, it is necessary to show readiness for entrepreneurship’s challenges.

Within the World Bank, Michael Szymanski is focused on working directly with growth-oriented businesses at an early stage of development.

Entrepreneurship is Szymanski’s greatest passion. To provide full support to companies in the early stages of development, he organizes various training on current topics, such as raising funding, sources of funding, commercialization, and creation of a new product, effective sales methods, as well as building and managing professional sales organizations.

Dedicated to startups, Szymanski has successfully collaborated with companies for which he prepared robust go-to-market strategies that included “360 degrees interviews”, business model canvas, value proposition canvas, the definition of a minimum viable product, product testing schedule, pitch deck, market research, competitive landscape, and financial models.

In addition to a professional degree at the University of Oxford and an impressive professional career, Michael Szymanski designed and implemented a practical, business-focused accelerator program as a part of the World Bank Climate Innovation Center in Ghana.