Looking to decode modern recruitment, master team dynamics, and meet key industry players face-to-face? Join us for Thursday Gathering #266: CIC Global Innovation Festival!
Next Thursday, we’re hosting an exciting lineup of speakers, VCs, and visionaries. As part of the festival, CIC has curated insightful sessions for our main agenda, along with interactive surprises scattered throughout the networking area. You’ll get the chance to join VC Speed Dating with Orbit Capital, watch live pitch presentations, and explore international support programs like EBRD’s Ukraine Crisis Response. Whether you want to turn a pitch into funding, learn from industry experts, or connect over the networking surprises, there’s a seat at the table for you.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
REGISTRATION VIA LINK - LIMITED NUMBER OF SLOTS
Got a groundbreaking idea or a startup ready to scale?
Here is your chance to get face-to-face with a VC investor. Lock in a private, 1:1 session to pitch your project, receive candid feedback, and talk strategy with an industry expert
Orbit Capital is a growth-stage investor managing over €200M in AUM through venture debt and growth equity vehicles. Founded in 2019, the firm has a primary focus on technology leaders in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), while remaining actively engaged in opportunities across the DACH region and broader European markets. Its Growth Debt strategy provides flexible, founder-friendly capital designed to protect ownership structures while accelerating international expansion.
Orbit Capital portfolio companies include category leaders and unicorns such as Preply, Booksy, MEWS, Rohlik, CloudTalk, ThreatMark, Boataround, and Jutro Medical.
In 1990, Poland's economy was worth about 66 billion dollars, and by 2026 it has grown past 1.1 trillion, a fifteen-fold rise that has quietly made it the world's 20th-largest economy. How does a country pull that off without headline patent counts or deep R&D budgets? This talk argues that Poland's secret was never inventing more but implementing faster, driven by speed, adaptation and a relentless focus on execution. We'll look at the factors behind that shift: one of the largest tech talent pools in Central and Eastern Europe, around 3,300 startups, a steady flow of venture capital, and a society that adopted digital payments and public services at a pace few countries have matched. Underneath it all sits something rarer than capital, namely 37 years of institutional, social and political stability, combined with the sheer drive of people who remember what came before. Since so much of this energy is concentrated in Warsaw, we'll close with the role CIC Warsaw plays in turning that ecosystem into connections that get things built, and share one fun fact about why Polish might be the best language for prompting an AI.
Yet the moment cross-functional teams wage a Montague vs Capulet feud over competing priorities, your roadmap becomes a hostage situation, and leaders get dragged in to play the weary Prince of Verona.
-
A disarming formula to stop defensive posturing before meetings escalate.
-
A reframing tool to shift warring factions from "you vs. me" to "us vs. the constraint."
-
The referee-exit rule to get teams to solve their own operational friction autonomously.
What is really happening on today's job market, and what does it look like from the recruiter's side of the table? In this fireside chat, Karina Wozniak, Global Head of HR at CIC, interviews Od, CIC's Talent Acquisition Lead, about the trends shaping hiring right now.
Expect candid stories about AI-written CVs, disappearing candidates, salary expectations and what actually gets someone hired. You won't just listen: you will vote live, guess the answers before Zuzanna reveals them, and play a round of "Myth or Truth" about recruitment. Whether you are looking for your next role or building a team, you will leave with practical tips you can use the next morning. Bring your phone and your toughest recruitment questions.
Dive into the future of language learning with My Way! Join us for an exciting Breakout Session where we will unveil the technological evolution of the Kids&Us method. See how My Way is the key to "Upgrading the essence" of our program, taking learning to new heights through a unified digital ecosystem. Discover the value of My Way as we showcase how this innovative approach revolutionizes how we design, deliver, and monitor learning. By merging content, data, and classroom practices into one cohesive system, Kids&Us offers a cutting-edge experience like never before. In this dynamic Presentation session, immerse yourself in the possibilities of My Way and learn how it sets a new standard in language education. Get a firsthand look at the enhanced control and seamless integration that this digital ecosystem brings to our program. Be inspired by the future of learning and how we are shaping it at Kids&Us.
Venture Pitch Session is a dedicated pitch session showcasing selected startups. Founders will present their technologies and market strategies to the Venture Café community. Selected startups will have around 5 minutes to present their solutions, followed by immediate feedback from a panel of expert reviewers. It’s a unique chance to engage with startups, business angels, and investors – all in one place.
Join the audience to explore actionable innovations!
For the Audience – How to Give Valuable Feedback:
- Be Clear and Direct: Keep feedback concise, focusing on specific areas for improvement.
- Get Specific: Break down your insights into actionable points – think clarity, design, coherence, etc.
- Offer a Comprehensive Critique: Provide constructive feedback on slide count, content density, timing, storytelling, and presentation style (avoid reading from a phone!).
We tend to follow the person who sounds most sure of themselves. Sometimes that works out, often it doesn't. Sounding sure and being right are two different skills, and most of us have never checked how well they line up in our own heads.
This workshop is a practical chance to check it. You'll see how well your confidence matches your accuracy, and how much it sways the people around you. Expect plenty of discussion and at least a few disagreements.
⚠️ Fair warning: the results can be a little humbling.
Looking to decode modern recruitment, master team dynamics, and meet key industry players face-to-face? Join us for Thursday Gathering #266: CIC Global Innovation Festival!
Next Thursday, we’re hosting an exciting lineup of speakers, VCs, and visionaries. As part of the festival, CIC has curated insightful sessions for our main agenda, along with interactive surprises scattered throughout the networking area. You’ll get the chance to join VC Speed Dating with Orbit Capital, watch live pitch presentations, and explore international support programs like EBRD’s Ukraine Crisis Response. Whether you want to turn a pitch into funding, learn from industry experts, or connect over the networking surprises, there’s a seat at the table for you.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
REGISTRATION VIA LINK - LIMITED NUMBER OF SLOTS
Got a groundbreaking idea or a startup ready to scale?
Here is your chance to get face-to-face with a VC investor. Lock in a private, 1:1 session to pitch your project, receive candid feedback, and talk strategy with an industry expert
Orbit Capital is a growth-stage investor managing over €200M in AUM through venture debt and growth equity vehicles. Founded in 2019, the firm has a primary focus on technology leaders in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), while remaining actively engaged in opportunities across the DACH region and broader European markets. Its Growth Debt strategy provides flexible, founder-friendly capital designed to protect ownership structures while accelerating international expansion.
Orbit Capital portfolio companies include category leaders and unicorns such as Preply, Booksy, MEWS, Rohlik, CloudTalk, ThreatMark, Boataround, and Jutro Medical.
In 1990, Poland's economy was worth about 66 billion dollars, and by 2026 it has grown past 1.1 trillion, a fifteen-fold rise that has quietly made it the world's 20th-largest economy. How does a country pull that off without headline patent counts or deep R&D budgets? This talk argues that Poland's secret was never inventing more but implementing faster, driven by speed, adaptation and a relentless focus on execution. We'll look at the factors behind that shift: one of the largest tech talent pools in Central and Eastern Europe, around 3,300 startups, a steady flow of venture capital, and a society that adopted digital payments and public services at a pace few countries have matched. Underneath it all sits something rarer than capital, namely 37 years of institutional, social and political stability, combined with the sheer drive of people who remember what came before. Since so much of this energy is concentrated in Warsaw, we'll close with the role CIC Warsaw plays in turning that ecosystem into connections that get things built, and share one fun fact about why Polish might be the best language for prompting an AI.
Yet the moment cross-functional teams wage a Montague vs Capulet feud over competing priorities, your roadmap becomes a hostage situation, and leaders get dragged in to play the weary Prince of Verona.
-
A disarming formula to stop defensive posturing before meetings escalate.
-
A reframing tool to shift warring factions from "you vs. me" to "us vs. the constraint."
-
The referee-exit rule to get teams to solve their own operational friction autonomously.
What is really happening on today's job market, and what does it look like from the recruiter's side of the table? In this fireside chat, Karina Wozniak, Global Head of HR at CIC, interviews Od, CIC's Talent Acquisition Lead, about the trends shaping hiring right now.
Expect candid stories about AI-written CVs, disappearing candidates, salary expectations and what actually gets someone hired. You won't just listen: you will vote live, guess the answers before Zuzanna reveals them, and play a round of "Myth or Truth" about recruitment. Whether you are looking for your next role or building a team, you will leave with practical tips you can use the next morning. Bring your phone and your toughest recruitment questions.
Dive into the future of language learning with My Way! Join us for an exciting Breakout Session where we will unveil the technological evolution of the Kids&Us method. See how My Way is the key to "Upgrading the essence" of our program, taking learning to new heights through a unified digital ecosystem. Discover the value of My Way as we showcase how this innovative approach revolutionizes how we design, deliver, and monitor learning. By merging content, data, and classroom practices into one cohesive system, Kids&Us offers a cutting-edge experience like never before. In this dynamic Presentation session, immerse yourself in the possibilities of My Way and learn how it sets a new standard in language education. Get a firsthand look at the enhanced control and seamless integration that this digital ecosystem brings to our program. Be inspired by the future of learning and how we are shaping it at Kids&Us.
Venture Pitch Session is a dedicated pitch session showcasing selected startups. Founders will present their technologies and market strategies to the Venture Café community. Selected startups will have around 5 minutes to present their solutions, followed by immediate feedback from a panel of expert reviewers. It’s a unique chance to engage with startups, business angels, and investors – all in one place.
Join the audience to explore actionable innovations!
For the Audience – How to Give Valuable Feedback:
- Be Clear and Direct: Keep feedback concise, focusing on specific areas for improvement.
- Get Specific: Break down your insights into actionable points – think clarity, design, coherence, etc.
- Offer a Comprehensive Critique: Provide constructive feedback on slide count, content density, timing, storytelling, and presentation style (avoid reading from a phone!).
We tend to follow the person who sounds most sure of themselves. Sometimes that works out, often it doesn't. Sounding sure and being right are two different skills, and most of us have never checked how well they line up in our own heads.
This workshop is a practical chance to check it. You'll see how well your confidence matches your accuracy, and how much it sways the people around you. Expect plenty of discussion and at least a few disagreements.
⚠️ Fair warning: the results can be a little humbling.