for startups, the offer of Polish investors is far from expected. The funds’ competences, both in terms of assistance in obtaining new investors, and opening contacts in the industry, are derivatives of a dense network of contacts and a solid reputation. A workable strategy for building smart money capital can be specialization in specific sectors. The more companies in a given industry pass through the fund's portfolio, the more experience and industry relationships the manager will be able to acquire. Investors in Poland enable startups to network with other companies in their portfolios. The average portfolio of a Polish venture investor is only 9 companies, so it's not an added value of a large scale, but very much appreciated by local startups. New funds In 2018, new VC initiatives were introduced in Poland, including TDJ Pitango Ventures, a joint initiative of the Polish family enterprise TDJ and the Israeli fund Pitango; Manta Ray VC created by Sebastian Kulczyk; and Fidiasz led by Krzysztof Domarecki. Other new funds were capitalized by the European Investment Fund, including Market One Capital, Inovo and Innovation Nest. The third group are international funds that have not invested in the early stages, so far: the Dutch fund Finch Capital (supported by the Polish Development Fund), which invests throughout Europe, and the Austrian fund Speedinvest. Further funds were created ready to support companies at later stages, including Inovo Venture Partners and Cogito Capital, as well as many smaller funds created with the help of the PFR. Subsequent funds of this type are just being created. In March 2019, Sunfish Partners launched its PLN 65M (€15M) venture capital fund to invest in Polish deep tech startups. PFR Ventures is among the Limited Partners of Sunfish Partners. In May 2019, the creators of the Polish pre-accelerate program ReactorX, launched the fund SMOK Ventures, with the support of American entrepreneurs and PFR Ventures (80 percent of capital). The fund for investment in seed rounds will allocate PLN 46M (). State agencies and funds of funds Origin of capital Prior to 2018, approximately 81% of investment transactions in Poland over the last decade have had some public capital involved, including the National Capital Fund, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, the National Center for Research and Development, and European Union funds. Only less than one fifth of investments financing Polish startups took place completely with no public support. Financing in these