I soon landed a role as a Junior Social Media Specialist at a local PR agency. I remember the complete U-turn in my mindset in just 24 hours. The only thought I had was: “These people have no clue what they are doing. If they can service top-tier brands, I will soon be the best in this.”
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A few years as an online journalist, reaching hundreds of thousands of views and page visits without a penny in the media budget, have paid off. I spent every free minute acquiring performance marketing skills, and soon this combination gave the status of the agency's social media champion.
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Little did I know, this was just a foundation for something much bigger.

Founding Social Tigers When the UFC hired me as a digital content producer, the euphoria blinded me to a crucial detail... the need to invoice them for my services. After receiving three months of gentle reminders from my then-boss, who was eager to pay me, I took decisive action.
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On May 11th, I entered the government office and officially founded "Social Tigers." The name was inspired by my tiger-themed grappling tights and the mindset that had landed me my dream job.
At that moment, Social Tigers was merely a vessel for my freelance work.

Starting a real business was not on my radar, let alone the idea of scaling it substantially.

After a year of my debut as a social media trainer, our diligence began to pay off. In 2016, I contributed hundreds of insightful comments in industry-focused social media groups to put our name on the map. I reached out to numerous businesses, challenging their untapped marketing potential.

Our team grew to six, and we moved to a 137-square-meter apartment adapted to our office needs.
To me, it has symbolized a leap in our maturity as a company. We tripled our revenues, even though it was fueled more by my relentless hustle than by a conscious strategy.
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Planning the next year, I verbalized my vision to become a top-of-mind social media agency in Poland.

2018 was a paradox. It was a year of soaring highs and almost catastrophic lows.
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On the one hand, we experienced strong business growth and gained industry recognition. I even launched the second edition of the 'Ads Book,' a 127-page guide that saw great success. Our revenues surged by over 100%, and in fact, we became a top-of-mind social media agency in Poland, especially in the SMB segment.
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Our content was just so specific, actionable and helpful. And it was delivered and rationally distributed through detailed targeting.
But on the flip side, my managerial choices nearly led us to financial ruin. My utopian vision of a 6-hour workday resulted in a perception of frantic pace for my team. I was slow to make tough calls, including providing timely feedback or letting people go when needed. I naively believed that systems alone could take on the complex task of leadership.
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I came dangerously close to maxing out bank loans with a net loss in my P&L. It made me mature as a leader. I understood that pure inspiration and trust are not enough to run a team. It caused me a very serious burnout and has built a distance toward people - a trench yet to be fully filled.

One of the managers, Karolina, returned to Social Tigers to the company after a 1.5-year break. I had promised her an easy-going role as the Head of Social Media in a radically professionalized company with a strong brand. But just a month into her tenure, COVID-19 struck, slashing our revenue by a third. We were plunged back into the Scylla and Charybdis of net losses, and the team scared for their job safety.
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During the strict lockdown, I wrote my second book focused on organic reach and started a rebranding initiative. Our revamped brand and website soon became the foundation for our current holding design system. This year also marked my farewell conference and webinar tour as a marketer. I wanted to pivot fully towards business, as our audacious objectives mandated.

2022 was the year when I decided to move from the CEO role to an owner role in the biggest leap possible. I started with launching Automation House with my cofounders Grzegorz Róg and Adam Gospodarczyk, and executed a smooth succession in TIgers in May, after just a quarter of preparations. This led to the formal creation of XXII Ventures in August, consolidating our future business empire.
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War in Ukraine brought the love of my life into my world, Mira. Meeting her wasn't just a personal highlight - it was a catalyst that recharged my drive and focus. The emotional stability and happiness from my personal life spilled over into making braver, more intuitive business decisions.
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The timing for business moves was perfect. The world started to get hyped and scared of AI, and when the ChatGPT craziness started, we were already ahead of the curve with our Automation Heroes.
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The overarching theme for the year was venture building and redefining my roles across various companies. It's no surprise that one of my personal goals for the upcoming year was to restrain from starting another new company—a goal I really thought I would be able to accomplish...