Q: Shortly after BAS started its operations, it has received more than 200 business plans. Government institutions have had a similar experience – more than 700 projects were submitted within three months after the “Technological fishing rod” government programme was announced. It may appear that Poland is an elderado of ideas but short of capital and enforcement potential. Is that really so?
A: It’s hard to say whether the several hundred projects submitted to BAS or government institutions is a number large enough to describe Poland as an ”eldorado”. What counts for us are projects which are excellent, related to BAS speciality and pursued by competent and honest people. But all these three things taken together hold true for only several percent of proposals submitted. Terms of cooperation satisfactory to both parties cannot always be agreed in all cases. Sometimes talks on matters of shares and money cannot even be started, especially when dealing with academic inventors. I must admit that projects we have been receiving from outside Poland are better prepared and more innovative.
Q: You are said to know very well what legal changes are required to transfer the findings of research carried out in institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences(PAN), R&D centres and universities to the marketplace. Could you elaborate?
A: Under the present law, PAN units are not allowed to subscribe share of commercial law companies. Basically, this is justified, as public organisations should not get involved in investment operations because that is the task of entrepreneurs. However, the point is that the law does not allow bringing in a patent or new technology owned by a PAN institute as contribution to a new company. As a result, commercialization of inventions by a special-purpose company, that is a spin off, is not possible at all, although in many instances it would be the most proper method. Therefore, we propose to change the law on PAN so as to allow its institutes to contribute non-material values to private companies. BAS is ready to subsidize such companies
Q: Business Angel Seedfund has been in operation for a year now. With what results?
A: BSA invests in companies which depend on innovations and commercialisation of scientific discoveries for their business. The “business angels” investors are getting personally involved in carrying out projects along with entrepreneurs. BAS investors have great expertise in building companies’ value from zero up to several hundred million zlotys. My partners are Maciej Duda (Polski Koncern Mięsny Duda) and Maciej Grabski as well as Jacek Kawalec (Wirtualna Polska).
We decided to invest more than PLN20 million in BAS. In addition, we received a sum of PLN17 million from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) within the framework of the EU programme launched in support of nucleus capital. After one year of operations, the BAS holds seven companies: Screen Networks S.A. (with its own technology for managing a big screen LCD/Plasma advertising network of four thousand locations in Poland), Polymem Ltd. (manufacturing micro, ultra and nano-filtration membranes for environment protection, petrochemical and food industry purposes), Hub 3.0. Ltd. (pro-consumers’ e-commerce service) and Centrum Podróży SA (a new concept for sale of tourist services). Three transactions have been launched at the turn of 2007 and 2008 in the field of information a communication technology. The début of the first is planned in May, the next in August and September this year.