Is studying abroad always the best choice? How is artificial intelligence changing the way we learn, build startups, and connect science with business? And how do you know when to keep fighting for your idea and when it’s time to pivot?
The guest of the latest Fireside Chat episode is Szymon Jackowski, a Rafał Brzoska Foundation scholar since 2024 and an Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences student at the University of California, Berkeley.
Szymon brings together the sciences and economics, and his studies with a lot of community work. He helps develop Econverse, which supports young people interested in entrepreneurship and startups. He is also active in the Polish Club of Berkeley, the SGH Investor Club, and the Go4Poland initiative.
In his conversation with Rafał Brzoska, he explains how AI is democratising startup creation, why a foreign university should be a deliberate choice rather than a goal in itself, and how much community and mentoring matter for personal growth.
At the end, the roles are reversed. Szymon asks Rafał Brzoska how to recognise the moment when you need to shut down a project or change its direction completely. The answer takes us back to the early days of Paczkomaty® (InPost parcel lockers), a project whose first financial results suggested it should be ended.
Should business always follow the numbers? Or do you sometimes have to trust your intuition?
Watch the new episode of Fireside Chat.
