Paweł
Michalski

Get in touch Read my story ↓

I'm Paweł. I studied law at the University of Warsaw, with a year at Universität Bonn and an Erasmus year at the University of Zurich.

In 2017 I co-founded VCLeaders, which I run as CEO. I'm also a Venture Partner at World Fund and Country Manager Poland at CloudFerro. Before that I worked in project finance at PKO Bank Polski and was Managing Partner of COBIN Angels.

Studied
Law
Speaks
Polish, German, English

  • I lead go-to-market in Poland's regulated market: public sector, regulated enterprise and sovereign cloud.

    cloudferro.com

  • I'm building the bestest* community for VC professionals in Europe.

    vcleaders.com

  • I support world-class entrepreneurs who are building businesses with high climate performance potential.

    worldfund.vc

  • A peer-led leadership programme for founders and senior leaders: small, curated groups that meet every two weeks to trade advice and candid feedback on each other's goals.

    sidebar.com

  • I led Poland's largest professional business-angel club through COVID.

  • A Polish non-profit founded in 2003 in memory of Lesław A. Paga, the first chairman of Poland's Securities Commission, that develops young leaders through programmes such as the Capital Market Leaders Academy. I was its first alumnus to join the board, and helped develop and run several of its talent development programmes. VCLeaders grew out of the same idea: talent grows best in a small, close group, taught by the people who actually do the work.

    paga.org.pl

  • I worked on Poland's first sovereign green bond (€750M) and the €710M Marguerite infrastructure fund.

VCLeaders

Co-founder & CEO · 2017 —

A community for venture capital professionals that started with a simple idea: making VC more competitive in emerging ecosystems. Today it helps fund managers across Europe through education, connections and research.

What we built

  • VCLeaders Academy — four weekends of lectures by leading VC practitioners, up to 30 people a year, first held in 2017.
  • VC Central — the annual conference for GPs, LPs and angels from Eastern and Western Europe: five editions since 2021.
  • Ecosystem Compass: Poland 2023 — a data report on the Polish startup and investment ecosystem; co-author and foreword.
  • TheCurator — a newsletter on the European venture scene.

Deep Tech Summit

Advisor · 2024 —

A European deep-tech conference; its 5th edition runs on 26–27 October 2026. I've advised the team since 2024, helping make it a focal point for deep-tech companies in CEE and beyond.

What we built

  • An investor track that brings VC Central and the summit together under one ticket.
  • Matchmaking that schedules thousands of 1:1 meetings between founders, investors and R&D partners.

COBIN Angels

Managing Partner · 2019 – 2022

Poland's largest professional business-angel club, connecting individual investors with early-stage startups.

What we built

  • Took the club fully digital during COVID-19, then rebuilt it as a hybrid community.
  • A new investment process that grew the member base and sped up deals.
  • An education programme for prospective angels: VC fundamentals, strategy and best practice.
  • Partnerships with startup ecosystems and VC funds to strengthen deal flow.
  • Took the club's annual conference professional.

  • Community buildingMasterVII
    2200 XP · 600 to level VIII · show evidence ↓
    • +900 XPBuilding communities and C-level networks, since 2017
    • +300 XPBuilt VCLeaders from scratch: a network of VC professionals across Europe
    • +300 XPBuilt the foundations of COBIN Angels' angel community and club
    • +300 XPSupervisory Board, Lesław A. Paga Foundation
    • +200 XPFounding member of Sidebar, a peer-group leadership programme for founders and senior leaders
    • +200 XPVC Central, an annual conference: five editions since 2021
    • 2200 XPLevel VII, Master — 600 XP to Grandmaster
  • Venture capitalMasterVII
    2100 XP · 700 to level VIII · show evidence ↓
    • +700 XPSourcing, screening and facilitating deals at COBIN Angels, Earlybird and World Fund — since 2019
    • +300 XPManaging Partner, COBIN Angels
    • +300 XPVCLeaders Academy for emerging VC fund managers: four editions
    • +200 XPNine new VC firms started by Academy alumni
    • +200 XPVC Central, the annual GP–LP conference: five editions since 2021
    • +200 XPEcosystem reports on venture in the region, among them Ecosystem Compass: Poland 2023
    • +100 XPBeyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning Economies — Case Western Reserve University ✓
    • +100 XPPrivate Equity and Venture Capital — Università Bocconi ✓
    • 2100 XPLevel VII, Master — 700 XP to Grandmaster
  • Go-to-marketVeteranVI
    2000 XP · 100 to level VII · show evidence ↓
    • +900 XPVCLeaders, since 2017 — taking the Academy, VC Central and the reports to market across Europe
    • +100 XPFirst11, 2018 — Head of Business Development
    • +300 XPCOBIN Angels, 2019 – 2022 — a new investment process, partnerships for deal flow, and a club grown to over 50 active members
    • +100 XPShopee, 2021 – 2023 — Category Manager as Shopee entered Poland
    • +100 XPCloudFerro, since 2025 — go-to-market for sovereign cloud and AI in Poland
    • +200 XPDeep Tech Summit, since 2024 — advising the team on making it a focal point for deep-tech companies in CEE and beyond
    • +300 XPCountry Manager Poland, CloudFerro
    • 2000 XPLevel VI, Veteran — 100 XP to Master
  • StrategyVeteranVI
    1600 XP · 500 to level VII · show evidence ↓
    • +200 XPAdvisor — Earlybird (2021 – 2022), CloudFerro (2025 – 2026)
    • +300 XPVCLeaders, as co-founder and CEO — the Academy, VC Central, the reports and the community around them
    • +300 XPCOBIN Angels, as Managing Partner — its operating strategy, structure and documentation framework, still in place today
    • +200 XPShopee — co-created the commercial strategy for groceries, household chemicals and pet supplies as it entered Poland
    • +200 XPDeep Tech Summit, since 2024 — advising the team on making it a focal point for deep-tech companies in CEE and beyond: the investor track with VC Central and 1:1 matchmaking
    • +100 XPData-driven Decision Making — Coursera ✓
    • +100 XPAdvanced Business Strategy — University of Virginia — Darden ✓
    • +100 XPFoundations of Business Strategy — University of Virginia — Darden ✓
    • +100 XPOn Strategy: What Managers Can Learn from Philosophy — CentraleSupélec
    • 1600 XPLevel VI, Veteran — 500 XP to Master
  • Creating educational programsExpertV
    1300 XP · 200 to level VI · show evidence ↓
    • +600 XPSupervisory Board of the Paga Foundation, 2017 – 2023, as its first alumnus on the board
    • +300 XPDesigned and ran three editions of the Capital Market Leaders Academy (ALRK), the foundation's capital-market talent programme, among them an anniversary edition across CEE
    • +200 XPVCLeaders Academy
    • +200 XPDesigned COBIN's education programme for new angels
    • 1300 XPLevel V, Expert — 200 XP to Veteran
  • Corporate & project financeExpertV
    1300 XP · 200 to level VI · show evidence ↓
    • +400 XPPKO Bank Polski, 2014 – 2017: corporate finance and investment banking deals totalling over €2bn, among them a PLN 1.1bn consortium financing I coordinated and Poland's first sovereign green bond (€750M)
    • +200 XPBest capital-markets master thesis — awarded by Warsaw Stock Exchange
    • +200 XPEY Financial Challenger, 2016 — 2nd of 700 teams in EY Poland's national M&A competition for students, valuing a company and advising on its sale over three rounds
    • +100 XPMA studies in Finance and Accounting, Warsaw School of Economics, 2015 – 2017 (not completed)
    • +100 XPIntroduction to Finance — University of Michigan — Ross
    • +100 XPEconomics of Money and Banking — Columbia Business School
    • +100 XPPublic-Private Partnerships: How Can PPP Deliver Better Services — World Bank Group
    • +100 XPCorporate Finance Essentials — IESE Business School
    • 1300 XPLevel V, Expert — 200 XP to Veteran
  • LeadershipExpertV
    1100 XP · 400 to level VI · show evidence ↓
    • +300 XPCo-founder & CEO, VCLeaders
    • +300 XPManaging Partner, COBIN Angels
    • +300 XPCountry Manager Poland, CloudFerro
    • +100 XPInternational Leadership and Organizational Behavior — Università Bocconi
    • +100 XPInclusive Leadership: Becoming a Successful Leader — edX ✓
    • 1100 XPLevel V, Expert — 400 XP to Veteran
  • Deal structuringExpertV
    1100 XP · 400 to level VI · show evidence ↓
    • +100 XPMA Law, University of Warsaw, 2009 – 2014 — summa cum laude
    • +100 XPMA Business Law, University of Zurich
    • +100 XPDentons, 2013 — trainee in capital markets
    • +200 XPPKO Bank Polski — corporate finance and investment banking deals for Polimex Mostostal, Tauron, ArcelorMittal, Milarex, Solaris, Żabka, PESA Bydgoszcz and the Republic of Poland
    • +200 XPPKO Bank Polski — managed the bank's €100m LP stake in Marguerite I and prepared its €100m investment in Marguerite II
    • +200 XPCOBIN Angels — over 20 syndicate investments
    • +200 XPAdvised on numerous other deals under confidentiality, which I can't name
    • 1100 XPLevel V, Expert — 400 XP to Veteran
  • Writing & speakingExpertV
    1000 XP · 500 to level VI · show evidence ↓
    • +200 XPTheCurator newsletter
    • +200 XPEcosystem Compass: Poland 2023 — co-author & foreword
    • +200 XPSpeaker and moderator at conferences: European Economic Congress (Katowice), VC Central, Deep Tech Summit, Venture Café, HVCA – Portfolio Investment Conference (Budapest, 2023)
    • +200 XPInterviewed some 30 of Europe's leading VCs for VCLeaders, published on Medium and vcleaders.com — among them partners at Creandum, Project A, Earlybird, OTB Ventures, Viola Ventures, Redalpine and La Familia
    • +200 XPGuest on podcasts: Startup Kitchen, PIDU Podcast, StartUPwithPoland, Venture Central (formerly ZapytajVC)
    • 1000 XPLevel V, Expert — 500 XP to Veteran
  • Sovereign cloud & AIJourneymanIII
    400 XP · 200 to level IV · show evidence ↓
    • +100 XPCloudFerro, since 2025
    • +300 XPCountry Manager Poland, CloudFerro
    • 400 XPLevel III, Journeyman — 200 XP to Adept
  • Web developmentJourneymanIII
    300 XP · 300 to level IV · show evidence ↓
    • +200 XPThis website — HTML, CSS and TypeScript
    • +100 XPResponsive Web Design — freeCodeCamp ✓
    • 300 XPLevel III, Journeyman — 300 XP to Adept
  • Building with AIJourneymanIII
    300 XP · 300 to level IV · show evidence ↓
    • +100 XPDaily, with Claude, Conductor, Cursor and Devin
    • +200 XPThis website
    • 300 XPLevel III, Journeyman — 300 XP to Adept
How levels work

Every skill earns XP only from evidence listed under it — anyone can add it up.

Each year of active practice+100 XP / year
Led it — as founder, partner or head+300 XP
A verifiable result+200 XP
Taught it to others+200 XP
Formal training — a degree or certificate+100 XP

Each level takes 100 XP more than the last (100, 300, 600, 1000, 1500, … XP). Titles run from Novice to Mythic.

Being a father

The role that matters most to me, and the one I learn the most from.

Being a husband

Almost 20 years together, and counting.

Building VCLeaders from scratch

Started with my friends in 2017 and grown into a community for VC professionals across Europe.

The Paga Foundation's board

Served on the supervisory board of the Lesław A. Paga Foundation from 2017 to 2023, the first of its alumni to join it.

Degrees & schools

  • University of WarsawMaster of Arts, Law Summa cum laude2009 – 2014
  • University of ZurichErasmus, MA Business Law2013 – 2014
  • Universität BonnGerman Law School2012 – 2013
  • Augustum-Annen-Gymnasium, GörlitzAbiturGörlitz is drawn at the foot of the page 2003 – 2009

Certificates

  • Responsive Web DesignJul 2026freeCodeCampCertified
  • Data-driven Decision MakingJul 2018CourseraCertified
  • Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship in Transitioning EconomiesAug 2017Case Western Reserve UniversityCertified
  • Advanced Business StrategyAug 2016University of Virginia — DardenCertified
  • Private Equity and Venture CapitalJul 2016Università BocconiCertified
  • Foundations of Business StrategyFeb 2016University of Virginia — DardenCertified
  • Inclusive Leadership: Becoming a Successful LeaderMar 2015edXCertified
10 more courses
  • Fundamentals of Digital MarketingAug 2019Google
  • Inbound MarketingApr 2019HubSpot · expired May 2021
  • IELTS — band 7.5Oct 2017British Council · expired Oct 2019
  • Economics of Money and BankingAug 2015Columbia Business School
  • Public-Private Partnerships: How Can PPP Deliver Better ServicesJul 2015World Bank Group
  • International Leadership and Organizational BehaviorApr 2015Università Bocconi
  • Design Thinking for Business InnovationMar 2015University of Virginia — Darden
  • On Strategy: What Managers Can Learn from PhilosophyMar 2015CentraleSupélec
  • Corporate Finance EssentialsNov 2014IESE Business School
  • Introduction to FinanceSep 2014University of Michigan — Ross

Achievements

  • Awarded 2014

    Best master thesis on capital markets

    Warsaw Stock Exchange

    First prize

  • Awarded 2016

    EY Financial Challenger

    EY · national M&A competition

    2nd of 700 · top 0.3%

  • Awarded 2013

    Capital Market Leaders Academy

    Lesław A. Paga Foundation · ALRK

    8th edition

  • PolskiPolishNative
  • EnglishEnglishFull professional · IELTS 7.5
  • DeutschGermanFull professional · Abitur, but a little rusty
  • FrançaisFrenchElementary

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