Why a US family office invests in Polish startup Pergamin

Polish startup Pergamin, which specializes in automating contract management for businesses, has secured $3 million in funding from OnDean Forward. This investment marks OnDean Forward’s first direct backing of a company outside the US, signaling growing interest in the Polish and broader Central and Eastern European (CEE) tech ecosystem.

Transforming Contract Management

Pergamin simplifies contract handling for medium and large enterprises by streamlining document workflows, automating contract creation, and expediting the signing process. By converting contracts into a structured database, the platform enables seamless data exchange with systems managing employee records, client agreements, and order processing.

One of Pergamin’s primary focuses is its Employee Contract Platform, designed to tackle inefficiencies in labor contract management. The company estimates that manual and paper-based HR contract processes cost Polish SMEs and corporations up to €700 million annually.

“Creating, negotiating, signing, and then storing contracts is a headache for every company. In the case of employee contracts, there are also a number of additional documents required by law. Pergamin accelerates the whole process by 10x while reducing preparation costs by 75% and recovering two-thirds of each HR manager’s workload,” said Jakub Barwaniec, co-founder and CEO of Pergamin.

A Growing Client Base and International Aspirations

Since its founding in 2017 by Barwaniec, Piotr Łuczak, and Antoni Wędzikowski, Pergamin has attracted over 130 clients, including prominent names such as Bolt, Heimstaden, Renault Trucks, Toyota Material Handling, Vienna Insurance Group, Volvo Financial Services, Volvo Trucks, and Westwing. So far, nearly 400,000 contracts have been processed through the Pergamin platform.

With the new investment, Pergamin aims to further refine its product offerings and scale operations, both in Poland and internationally. OnDean Forward’s backing brings not just financial support but also strategic guidance, particularly in scaling Pergamin’s Employee Contract Platform to new markets.

Why OnDean Forward is Betting on Pergamin

OnDean Forward, an investment vehicle affiliated with Relativity, was founded by Andrew Sieja and Marcin Wojtczak. Having built Relativity into a global legaltech leader, Sieja and Wojtczak bring deep industry knowledge and a track record of scaling legal technology firms. The firm has already invested in five legaltech companies in the US, and its decision to invest in Pergamin reflects confidence in the growing digital transformation of legal services in Europe.

This investment also aligns with the broader trend of increased interest from US investors in Poland’s burgeoning tech ecosystem, where legaltech solutions are increasingly in demand as businesses seek to digitize operations and improve efficiency.

A Broader Shift in Polish Venture Capital

OnDean Forward’s investment in Pergamin also highlights a broader shift in Polish venture capital. SMOK Ventures, another prominent early-stage venture capital fund in Poland, launched its first $10 million fund in 2019, investing in 24 startups, including SunRoof, Vue Storefront, and inStreamly. While the first SMOK fund was primarily backed by PFR Ventures, a state-backed investment entity, its second fund has drawn more private capital, including from OnDean Forward.

The new SMOK fund includes over 60 private LPs, many of whom are entrepreneurs from the CEE region. Among the major new investors are Andrew Sieja and Marcin Wojtczak, demonstrating their continued commitment to fostering Poland’s startup ecosystem beyond Pergamin – and the important role of the US family office OnDean investing in the Polish venture capital world.

Source: The Recursive (20.02.2025)
Picture Source: Money Knack (15.02.2025)