Warsaw — San Francisco
The world's first sleep mask with brain wave monitoring and light therapy
I founded it in Warsaw and grew it to San Francisco. Kickstarter goal was $100K — we raised $438K from 1,944 backers, funded in one day. Built partnerships with Lufthansa, KLM, ANA, Joie de Vivre, Virgin Hotels. Won the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Award.
The pivot: my original thesis was polyphasic sleep — too niche. I spent a year consulting sleep medicine experts. Reframed to general sleep optimization and light therapy. Manufactured in Krakow — I chose Poland for quality and engineer access, not prestige.
When the market tells you to reframe, listen — but talk to the experts before you move.
Smart lamp for circadian rhythm support
Light direction, color, and intensity tuned to the time of day. UC Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator. Based on 15+ years of research from Harvard Medical School, NASA, and NIH. I was VP of Business Development, on the founding team.
I chose hardware again despite knowing the difficulty from Neuroon. The science was right.
Conviction is not stubbornness. Choosing the hard domain again because the science is right is a different thing from refusing to pivot.
Technology Strategy, Office of the President
I built strategies for products complementing Samsung's consumer device ecosystem. Worked directly with the President of Samsung Research America. I learned how billion-device ecosystems actually work — from the inside.
To help founders build, I first needed to understand what scale looks like from the inside.
BUS 182 — Starting New Ventures
Adjunct professor, College of Business, School of Global Innovation and Leadership. Since 2013 — through my founding, corporate, and VC phases. Judge, Silicon Valley Business Plan Competition. Mentor at Techstars and 10X Innovation Lab.
The thread that never broke. I kept teaching through every career phase.
Teaching is not a side activity. It is how I consolidate what I know. The lessons I can teach are the lessons I actually learned.
Operator-model venture capital
Co-founded with Angel Kolodziejak. Our thesis: AI, frontier tech, systems infrastructure, the human stack. Product validation, technical architecture, brand, distribution, mentorship, fundraising prep. We help international founders expand to the U.S.
We don't compete on check size — we compete on the depth of hands-on support.
The best vehicle is the one that uses everything I have built.
From a sleep mask manufactured in Krakow to strategies for a billion-device ecosystem, I have always been the person who builds the thing. Not advises. Not funds. Builds. 415 Ventures does not change this. It scales it.
Since 2013, through every career phase, I have taught. Not because adjunct pay is good. Because teaching is how I know what I know. The founders I mentor now are the next version of BUS 182 — the same instinct, higher stakes.
Warsaw to San Francisco is not a line on my resume. It is who I am. Every company, every partnership, every decision to manufacture in Krakow instead of Shenzhen — I have always been the person who holds both worlds at once. 415 Ventures makes this the product.
The three threads converge. 415 Ventures is where they arrive.