The story of Autenti’s collaboration with Google for Startups
In 2015, Autenti was only just beginning its journey. We were a small team with a mission: to simplify document workflows and enable fully online signing, without printers, scanners or paper folders.
A decade ago, the founders of Autenti – Grzegorz Wójcik, Tomek Plata and Bartosz Wojciechowski – had already developed electronic signature technology, but they faced a much bigger challenge: convincing the market that an electronic signature was just as secure and trustworthy as a traditional one.
“We had the technology ready, but we wondered whether we could persuade the conservative business market, so accustomed to paper documents, to trust electronic signatures. After all, our solution involved working with sensitive data. We were not certain the project would succeed,” recalls Grzegorz Wójcik, CEO of Autenti.
Today, ten years later, we can say one thing – we’ve made it! Autenti now has over 13,000 paying customers in Poland and across Europe, and our solutions are used by thousands of companies, regardless of industry or size.
Trust that builds a market
The early days were not easy. The market had long been used to paper documents and in-person meetings to sign contracts. The breakthrough came in 2016, when we won Wolves Summit, beating 300 other start-ups. This gave us credibility and opened the way to our first investment round in 2017 (PLN 6.3 million). In the years that followed, we secured almost PLN 60 million in funding, which enabled us to scale our business and invest in technology development.
“Winning Wolves Summit translated into recognition within the expert community, which became the foundation for building the company’s credibility. The market began to take greater notice of us, and we ourselves gained confidence in the project,” says Grzegorz Wójcik.
Mentorship and support from Google for Startups
The Google for Startups Residency programme played a huge role in our story. Thanks to mentoring and the chance to work with Google experts, we were able to refine our strategy, build our team, and prepare for subsequent investment rounds.
“We realised then that achieving 60% of a very ambitious goal is better than reaching 100% of a cautious one. That shifted our whole approach to growing the company,” emphasises the CEO of Autenti.
We also made use of Google tools – from Workspace and Ads to the Warsaw Campus, where we hosted our events. Meetings with mentors and entrepreneurs from around the world gave us a global perspective and the courage to operate on a larger scale.
A European path to success
While many start-ups dream of Silicon Valley, we focused on Europe. Today we operate in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Germany and Austria. We know local regulations, we understand cultural specifics, and we deliver products that meet the real needs of businesses. This gives us a natural competitive edge.
“Instead of competing in the American market, already dominated by strong players, we are focusing on Europe. We have deep knowledge of local regulations and cultural specifics, which gives us a natural advantage,” notes Grzegorz Wójcik.
Our platform is available in 11 languages, and we support the signing process in all 24 official languages of the European Union. This makes collaboration with international clients and partners fast, secure and compliant with regulations.
What’s next?
Today, we are evolving not only as a provider of electronic signatures. We are carrying out research and development projects such as eDelivery, co-financed by the European Union, which is transforming how businesses and public administration communicate with one another.
Our mission is to make the processes of sending, signing and archiving documents even simpler and more accessible – not only in Poland, but across Europe.
Read our story in the Google for Startups article
