From her early days of building a tech company in a male-dominated industry to her current role as an advocate for diversity, Agnieszka Maciejowska has not only navigated the challenges of entrepreneurship but has also sought to make the path more accessible for those who follow.

Born in Lublin, a city near Poland’s eastern border, Agnieszka found herself in Warsaw in 2006, drawn there by love. “The love for this boy ended, but my huge love for Warsaw remained,” she says of the city that would become her home. Two years later, after quitting her corporate job due to burnout – a term she wasn’t even familiar with at the time – Agnieszka found herself in a predicament. The 2008 financial crisis had made finding a new job nearly impossible, so she decided to start her own company. Her first venture was a ticketing platform inspired by Eventbrite, which she called Evenea. It was an undertaking that would last a decade. During these years, she learned the ropes of entrepreneurship, from scaling her business to eventually making an exit. “I was the last founder who stepped down,” she says. It wasn’t an easy decision for her, but it paved the way for her next big project.

The idea for her next company was born during a holiday in Italy in 2019, when she learned of the news that Poland was facing a serious drought. “With Poland being out of water for the first time in many years, I decided that I needed to do something against the worsening environmental crisis,” she says. She felt compelled to use her skills in technology and business to make a difference. Her next startup would be Plan Be Eco, a mission-driven company focused on helping businesses become more sustainable by integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices into their operations. “My goal and mission is to prove that impactful business can be profitable,” she says. The company provides tools and guidance for businesses to measure, report and improve their sustainability efforts. It proves that impactful, environmentally conscious practices can coexist with profitability, enabling companies to be more accountable and transparent about their environmental impact.

For Agnieszka, Warsaw was a catalyst for her startup’s success. The city’s robust startup ecosystem provided her with the network and resources necessary to launch and scale her ventures. “Warsaw is where many corporations have their headquarters,” she says, “so you can always meet your potential partners, customers and investors.” This sense of community was especially important to Agnieszka as a female entrepreneur. When she started in 2009, there were only a handful of women in the Polish startup scene. “Diversity in business was limited to five or six female founders,” she says. However, over the years, she has seen this change, and she is proud to have played a role in building both the startup ecosystem and a more inclusive environment for women in business. 

Agnieszka’s journey in Warsaw has been one of success, but it hasn’t been without its challenges. After giving birth to her daughter, she had to navigate the complexities of running a business while caring for a premature baby. “My daughter was born two months before schedule,” she says. “She fought for life for three weeks.” This experience changed her perspective on everything, especially when it came to the stress and demands of her professional life. Her daughter’s early struggles gave Agnieszka a new sense of resilience and determination. “Being both a mom and an entrepreneur is the biggest challenge,” she admits, but it also made her more efficient and focused. “When I became a mom, I became more powerful. I need to do everything when I have time, so it makes me more efficient at multitasking.” She points out that her male counterparts are often not asked how they balance their fatherhood with entrepreneurship. 

“It seems not to be an issue for them,” she says, showing how society still expects mothers to be the primary carers. After experiencing the challenges of running a business while caring for a premature baby, “nothing scares me,” she says. This shift in perspective also influenced how she approached her well-being as a founder, prompting her to find balance and mental peace amidst the chaos of running a business.

In fact, Warsaw itself has also shaped her approach to well-being. The city’s abundance of green spaces allows her to unwind and recharge. “I love Warsaw because of its parks,” she says. “I love to spend time in green spaces, especially in my neighborhood, Mokotów.” Physical activity also plays a crucial role in maintaining her mental health. Despite her busy schedule, Agnieszka makes time for jogging and other forms of exercise, which she considers essential for keeping her stress levels in check. “I’m a really energetic person. I need something that I can get swept away by, to feel myself in the present and find that inner connection with myself. Doing sports helps me keep my mental balance.” Because her work and downtime schedule revolve around her daughter’s school time, this usually means going back to emails after putting her to bed. But it’s important to her to find moments of calm in between work and motherhood. One way she does so is to read books, another reliable source of calm and inspiration. “Books help me chill,” she says. She’s an avid reader, often finishing four or five audiobooks a month.

Agnieszka learned some of her important lessons about running a startup through experience. “I didn’t know anything about entrepreneurship before quitting my corporate job,” she says. “My parents are not entrepreneurs, and I’m the first person in my family who decided to start a business. I was like John Snow in Game of Thrones: I knew nothing.” One of the biggest lessons she learned was the importance of launching a product that meets market needs, a realization that came after a significant misstep early in her career. “I thought the first thing we needed was a final product, with all the beautifully written buttons in the apps and every line of code like poetry,” she says. This meticulous approach, however, led her to overlook a crucial aspect: the customers themselves. “I forgot about the customers because I thought that the first thing we needed was a final product, and then to sell that,” she says, highlighting a common mistake among new entrepreneurs: the failure to start with a minimum viable product (MVP), which would allow for the testing of ideas with real users before fully committing to development.

“We didn’t know what an MVP was,” she says of her early ventures. “It wasn’t a term we used.” This experience taught her the value of getting customer feedback early and often. “You must attract potential customers, discuss your idea, and gather feedback.” However, she acknowledges how much the startup landscape has evolved since then and that entrepreneurs have a lot more support now. 

Another crucial lesson was to be agile enough to adjust the product based on this feedback. Agnieszka learned that a product should evolve with customer needs, not vice versa. “The final product should come after you talk with your customers, get feedback from them, and prepare your product to fit the market,” she says. This understanding of market fit became a cornerstone of her entrepreneurial philosophy, shaping how she approached future ventures, including Plan Be Eco.

Looking ahead, Agnieszka hopes to continue promoting diversity and inclusion in the Polish startup scene, using her platform and influence to champion these causes. “I want to support diversity – not just women but everyone who can contribute to the richness of our business environment,” she says. Her goal is to help build a business landscape that reflects the full spectrum of human experience, understanding that this diversity is not only morally right but also essential for innovation and growth.

As Agnieszka reflects on her journey, she sees her role in fostering diversity as one of her most significant contributions. It is a mission that ties together her experiences as a female entrepreneur, a mentor, and a leader in the Polish startup scene. For her, the work is far from over. “After my second exit, I would like to be a 
full-time diversity and sustainability evangelist,” she says, signaling her intention to dedicate even more time and energy to this cause.

Her journey through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship in Warsaw has shaped her career and outlook on life. With its vibrant startup ecosystem and close-knit community, Warsaw has been a backdrop and a constant driving force in her story.

As she continues to build and grow Plan Be Eco, Agnieszka remains deeply connected to the city that has given her so much. Warsaw is not only where she lives and works but where she found her purpose. Through her work, she hopes to make the world – and her beloved city – a better place.

What’s your favorite book?

The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch. 

Do you have a favorite podcast?

Techstorie, run by two female journalists in Poland.

What do you do to start your working day well?

I usually start my day with a glass of warm water with lemon.

When did you found your first business? 

I was twenty-nine.

Do you have a favorite place for deep work or creative thinking in the city?

Wars I Sawa w Nowym, a vegetarian restaurant.

Which restaurant would you recommend? 

Peaches Gastro Girls.

Which coffee shop would you recommend? 

I like Panna and Stolica Café.

Which museum would you recommend? 

The Zachęta National Gallery of Art.

Is there anything you always wanted to do in Warsaw but haven’t yet? 

I still haven’t gone to a Chopin Concert in Łazienki.

What’s your favorite activity on the weekend?

Breakfast Market on Mokotów with my friends and family

Plan Be Eco is automated and tailor-made software for companies to report environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

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This article is included in The Explorer Series Warsaw, alongside more founder stories and expert insights. Order your copy now!

Written by Yessica Klein

Photography by Sebastian Rzepka