This content was originally published in Polish on Borys’ LinkedIn profile. Borys kindly agreed to republish what we think is of great value to our readers.
Olga Malinkiewicz, PhD told the story of the rise and fall of her company Saule Technologies, known for inventing perovskite-based technology, on Kanał Zero.
Dr Olga Malinkiewicz, Co-Founder and CTO at Saule Technologies
Unfortunately, the template of its ‘investor’ is well known and has been repeated to me for years in conversations with many founders who have received financing from him in the form of loans for their startups.
The scheme always looks similar:
- Enthusiastic first meeting and promise of quick investment.
- Long negotiations, often linked to public grants awarded.
- A last-minute change in the agreement — usually on the day of signing — consisting in adding collateral for the loan on the founders’ private assets.
- Drawing the company into a spiral of further loans.
- Getting founders to resell all or most of their shares in exchange for canceling debts.
- Alternatively – bringing the company to bankruptcy and extracting its assets thanks to registered pledges.
Lessons to remember:
- Never sign a convertible debt agreement without very precise conversion terms.
- Never ever agree to secure the loan with your private assets.
- Always do investor due diligence — talk to founders who have worked with them before. If something is wrong, they will tell you about it.
The story of Saule Technologies is a stark reminder that not all capital is created equal, and that predatory financing can destroy even the most promising innovations. Founders must protect themselves by conducting thorough due diligence and refusing terms that compromise their personal security or long-term control of their companies. A healthier startup ecosystem depends on transparency, ethical investors, and founders who know how to recognize red flags before it’s too late.
Engineer turned entrepreneur turned investor, Borys is a founding Partner at SMOK Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm bridging Silicon Valley to Poland and the CEE region.
Formerly as an entrepreneur, co-founded Filmaster, a personalized recommendation startup acquired in 2015 by Samba TV. During his four years at Samba he built a team of 40 engineers in Warsaw and helped grow the company’s products onto the British and German markets.
Borys also co-founded ReaktorWarsaw startup hub, ReaktorX accelerator which helped 100+ first-time founders kickstart their startups, and Startup Poland, a leading think tank.
PJAIT graduate. Prior to founding his own projects, worked as a software engineer and team lead for both startups and large corporations in Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Listed as one of 50 most creative Polish entrepreneurs by BRIEF. Mentors at Google for Startups, Founder Institute, Huge Thing.
Film buff. Basketball junkie.
