Sources of Knowledge and Networking as Conditions for Development of Innovative Undertakings in Poland

Start-up enterprises play a vital role in the knowledge economy, commonly acting as links between invention and innovation. Their development depends on an efficient start-up ecosystem including institutional environment. It comprises such classic institutions as business incubators, accelerators, technology parks, centres of technology transfer as well as increasingly popular forms of support like: mentoring, industry meetings, competitions, and hackathons. This paper is intended to analyse and evaluate non-financial support, mainly knowledge and business contacts (networking), in development of start-up enterprises in Poland.