Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Misbehaving Helps Natalia Maczek Win the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards: Poland in Warsaw

By Paul Chen



With the 2013/2014 school year well under way, I have started my teaching again.  That would probably explain the drop in the amount of postings and writings.  Don’t worry, I still intend to provide you with the latest in the startup happenings here in Krakow.  I appreciate your patience and support.  Recently, I was teaching a group of fourth and fifth year engineering students at AGH about entrepreneurship.  I asked them,”When would it be a good idea to start your own business?”

I got such answers like:
  • When you have money
  • After graduation
  • When you have a good idea
  • When you have some special knowledge
  • When you have some years of experience in a field
  • When you see a gap in the market
  • Anytime

The answer is „G” all of the above or any combinations of the above. 

However, one doesn’t have to wait until after graduation to start a business.  The students competing at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards can tell you something different.  The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is a catalyst that inspires students and young people to start and grow entrepreneurial ventures. The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards are a program of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO).
The GSEA operates as an international series of competitions for student entrepreneurs who are attending a recognized high school, college or university, who own a for-profit business, are principally responsible for its operation, and have been operational for a minimum of six consecutive months.
Its mission is to inspire students to adopt entrepreneurial endeavors by bringing global visibility to student business owners whose companies are innovative, profitable, socially responsible, and adhere to high ethical standards.
It strives to be the most prestigious award for student entrepreneurs who are running viable businesses with sales.
On Friday, October 11, 2013  at the Centre for Entrepreneurs, in Warsaw for the first time ever in Poland student entrepreneurs competed to win the prestigious  Virgin Mobile – Global Student EntrepreneurAwards:  Polish edition.

Student entrepreneurs from Krakow, Nowy Targ, Poznan, Gdansk, Slomni, Wroclaw, Bydgoszcz, Kielce, and Warsaw were nominated and competed in the knock out regional events.

The Warsaw finalists were SpeedPhoto.pl, Automater.pl, MISBEHAVE MISBHV, Studio Prywatne, and Filmaster.

Student entrepreneur’s businesses were judged on criteria that included four major sections: The Entrepreneur, Business Fundamentals, Lessons learned, Growth & Future Plans.

The judging panel included, Jaromir Działo, Justyna Tymicka, Krzysztof Wieczorek, Aureliusz Górski, Daniel Lewczuk, Artur Kurasiński, Konrad Kurkowski, and Paweł Miller.

After more than two long and exhausting hours of deliberation by the judges, the final decision was announced.

 Natalia Maczek, founder of MISBEHAVE, MISBHV, a street wear clothing company based in Krakow Poland, was announced as the first ever-official Polish Student Entrepreneur winner.

MISHBV was founded by Natalia Maczek in April 2008 in the heart of former East Block as a one-off DIY t-shirt fashion line for a small circle of her closest friends - skaters, rapers, artists and models.

Just a few collections later, MISBHV grew into a global brand with a unique aesthetic vocabulary worn by global superstars such as Rihanna, Cara Delevigne, Jourdan Dunn and Azealia Banks.  Its collections are sold in a limited number of carefully selected retailers worldwide including: Browns Focus in London, Galleries Layafette in Paris and I.T. in Hong Kong.


Natalia Maczek, a student of Law and a former Akademickie Inkubatory Przedsiębiorczości member, was delighted that her company MISBEHAVE, MISBHV, was announced as the Poland National Winner, and Natalia is excited to be representing Poland, as she would travel to Washington, USA, to compete with other countries for the title of the Global Student Entrepreneur Champion at the Grand Hyatt Washington on the 23rd of November 2013. We wish her the best of luck!

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