Poland stands at a critical juncture. The country's economic backbone – its family businesses – face an unprecedented succession crisis that threatens jobs, communities, and economic stability. With some 1.7 million SMEs accounting for 40% of Polish GDP and providing more than 3 million jobs, the stakes could not be higher. Yet a startling statistic reveals the depth of the challenge: only 8.1% of these companies have identified a successor within the family circle.
Many of these enterprises were founded during the political transformation of the early 1990s, and their owners – now approaching retirement age – face a difficult question: What happens to a lifetime of work when there's no one in the family ready or willing to take over?
Recent data from Poland's Ministry of Development and Technology underscores the urgency: up to 57% of family businesses now face succession challenges, and some 40% of Polish entrepreneurs over 65 continue planning succession without any specific strategy in place. The window for action is closing.
Historically, Polish family business owners facing succession challenges have had limited options. The most commonly discussed paths include selling to a strategic industry buyer, pursuing an initial public offering, or finding a private equity buyer. Each option, however, comes with significant drawbacks that make many owners hesitate.
Strategic buyers often dismantle what the founder built, absorbing the company into a larger corporate structure and potentially eliminating jobs in search of synergies. Private equity firms typically seek quick returns and may not preserve the company's culture or long-term vision. IPOs remain accessible only to the largest enterprises. For the vast majority of Polish family businesses – small and medium-sized enterprises with strong local roots – these options feel like betrayals of everything they've built.
Yet an alternative model that has gained significant traction in Western Europe and North America remains little known in Poland: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA). In this approach, rather than starting a business from scratch, aspiring entrepreneurs acquire an existing, profitable company and step into the role of owner-operator.
The Polish market presents ideal conditions for Management Buy-Ins (MBI) and other kinds of ETA transactions including search funds. An MBI occurs when external managers acquire and take over the management of an existing company. Unlike a Management Buy-Out (MBO), where existing management buys the business, an MBI brings in fresh leadership from outside. The incoming management typically combines their expertise with financial backing from investors to acquire the business.
According to research published in the Central European Management Journal, ETA emerged in the United States to address succession crises similar to what Poland faces today. In America during the 1980s, companies founded after World War II confronted succession challenges as founders retired. The ETA model provided an elegant solution: connecting businesses needing leadership with capable, motivated entrepreneurs seeking established companies to run.
Poland's situation mirrors this historical precedent. Many of today's Polish family businesses were established during the economic transformation of the early 1990s. Three decades later, these founders are reaching retirement age, often without successors. This demographic wave creates enormous opportunity – and urgent necessity.
Poland's ETA scene took its first concrete step in 2020 when Nextline, founded in 2018 by Andrzej Basiukiewicz and Wojciech Korpal, acquired MotionVFX, a family-owned software company. MotionVFX developed plugins and templates for Apple video editing software, generating approximately $5 million in revenues with high margins. The company was 100% owned by founder Szymon Masiak, with his wife also working in the business.
The transaction exemplified why MBIs can be ideal for family businesses. The owner wanted to sell the business and step away from day-to-day management – something that posed challenges for traditional buyers. Private equity firms typically want the founder to stay on during transition. Strategic buyers might have dismantled the brand or moved operations. As a search fund, Nextline could meet the seller's needs: complete acquisition, immediate operational control by new management, and commitment to building on the existing brand and team.
Since this pioneering transaction, the Polish ETA ecosystem has begun to develop. By the end of 2020, at least three additional search funds had been established in Poland: MWI (founded by M. Wrzos with backing from investors across Poland, Germany, Spain, the UK, and the USA), KCP (founded by M. Kołata with support from international entrepreneurs and investors), and Stability Capital (founded by P. Malon and M. Jakubów).
Perhaps the most encouraging sign of a maturing Polish ETA landscape is the June 2025 sale of Formeds to Enterprise Investors, one of the CEE region’s largest private equity players. Formeds was acquired through a management buy-in by seasoned operator Waldemar Pilch in 2022 – with the support of AIA’s Ralf Grass and other investors. After 3 years of dynamic transformation and strong growth, the business was ready for sale and snapped-up by Enterprise Investors. Pilch stays with the business as CEO and co-owner in a sign of his long-term commitment to the company.
Legislative developments are also creating supportive conditions. The 2023 Family Foundations Act introduced new succession planning tools for Polish family businesses. While not specifically targeting ETA, this legislation signals governmental recognition of succession challenges and openness to innovative solutions. The regulatory environment is becoming more conducive to structured business transfers.
Academic attention is increasing as well. The Central European Management Journal published research specifically connecting search funds with Polish succession challenges. As more Polish business schools incorporate ETA into curricula and more research emerges, awareness among potential sellers will grow.
The alignment between buyers and family business sellers is compelling across multiple dimensions:
First, ETA leaders commit to personally operating the business for years. This resembles the founder's own commitment far more than typical private equity or strategic acquisition scenarios.
Second, for many founders, the company name represents decades of reputation building. Operators have strong incentives to maintain and build upon existing brands, rather than subsuming them into larger corporate identities.
Moreover, family business owners often view employees as extended family. Operators need existing teams to succeed and typically prioritize retention and development.
In addition, because entrepreneurs typically purchase just one company and commit to it long-term, they become embedded in local communities. They're building a legacy.
Finally, unlike PE buyers who may require the founder to stay for years, MBI operators can assume full management responsibility after a condensed handover period, if the founder wishes to step away rapidly.
Despite promising fundamentals, significant challenges remain for MBI adoption in Poland. Most Polish business owners have never heard of ETA or MBI. They equate “selling” with strategic buyers or private equity, neither of which may appeal. Extensive education efforts are required to reach potential sellers.
Polish banks have limited experience underwriting ETA acquisitions. The debt markets that enable many European and American deals are not yet well-established for this asset class in Poland. This financing gap limits deal sizes and structures.
Poland needs more, capable ETA entrepreneurs. While programs at international business schools (IESE, INSEAD, etc.) are producing some Polish leaders, domestic programs and accelerators would dramatically expand the pipeline.
Business brokers, M&A advisors, and other transaction intermediaries in Poland are still learning about ETA. Until these gatekeepers understand and promote the model, many potential transactions will never materialize.
For Poland to fully realize the potential of MBIs as a solution to its succession crisis, focused ecosystem development is essential across several key priorities:
1. Accelerator Development: Poland would benefit from developing a structured accelerator program, providing know how and support to aspiring ETA entrepreneurs. Such an organization could establish best practices, aggregate investor capital, and create deal flow visibility while helping normalize the model among sellers and lenders.
2. Seller Education: Systematic outreach to family business owners through associations, conferences, and publications can dramatically increase awareness. The Polish Craft Association, Polish Chamber of Commerce, and regional business groups should incorporate ETA education into their programming.
3. Financing Solutions: Polish banks and alternative lenders need education about ETA deal-making. Partnerships with international lenders experienced in this space could help establish local expertise. Government-backed loan guarantees might accelerate market development.
4. Academic Integration: Polish business schools should develop ETA coursework and research programs. Warsaw School of Economics, SGH, and others could establish research centres or certificate programs focused on MBI and ETA.
5. Policy Support: While the 2023 Family Foundations Act represents progress, additional policy tools could further facilitate business transfers. Tax incentives for sellers might accelerate adoption.
6. Community Building: Regular conferences, networking events, and online communities connecting Polish searchers, investors, advisors, and successful operators would accelerate knowledge sharing and ecosystem development.
7. International Linkages: Poland's searchers can benefit from connections to established international MBI and ETA communities. Partnerships with well-known business schools and other global programs can provide Polish entrepreneurs with best practices while attracting international capital to Polish deals.
What's needed now is acceleration. Poland has the opportunity to build on early successes, adapt proven international models to Polish circumstances, and create a robust ecosystem that serves family business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and the broader economy. The demographic wave creating the succession crisis is the same force creating unprecedented opportunity for those positioned to act.
This article draws on research from the Central European Management Journal and emerging data from Poland's developing ETA ecosystem.
All Interests Aligned (AIA) is proactively entering the Polish market as an MBI platform, recognizing the compelling combination of factors that make Poland particularly attractive: the demographic wave of post-transformation business owners approaching retirement, a critical mass of SMEs with the inverted demographic pyramid, growing GDP, and a market where MBI transactions remain relatively uncontested. AIA is actively seeking both operating partners and acquisition opportunities in Poland, offering aspiring entrepreneurs not just capital but comprehensive support throughout the deal origination, acquisition, and operational phases.
For Polish business owners facing succession challenges, AIA represents a partner committed to preserving company legacies, protecting jobs, and maintaining local community ties – ensuring that a lifetime of entrepreneurial work continues to create value for employees, customers, and communities. Polish entrepreneurs, advisors, and business owners interested in exploring MBI opportunities are encouraged to reach out to AIA to discuss potential partnerships and transactions.
