Pro Bono for Polish Business

Why We Run a Pro Bono Program

Pixel of Software was born in the Polish technology ecosystem — from Polish universities, Polish companies, the Polish labor market. We operate globally, but our engineers, offices, and most of our capital stay in Poland. The pro bono program is our way of returning value to the local ecosystem that shaped us.

It's not about marketing. It's about the fact that Polish SMEs, NGOs, and social organizations make technology decisions today (DORA, AI, hiring engineers) with the same complexity as large companies, but without the budget for strategic consultants. We close that gap.

What We Specifically Offer

1. Free DORA Audit (4 organizations per quarter)

A full 4-week audit of our flagship DORA Metrics program, at no cost to selected Polish organizations.

• Measurement of all four DORA metrics (Deployment Frequency, Lead Time for Changes, Change Failure Rate, MTTR) based on your last 90 days of GitHub and incident system data
• Comparison to our benchmark of 30+ Polish and international SMB teams
• 15-25 page diagnostic report with ranked structural blockers
• 60-minute presentation for management / key decision makers
• 30-day remediation plan with prioritized interventions and projected impact

After the audit, Notion + Google Sheets templates stay with your organization. No license, no vendor lock-in, no requirement to continue.

2. AI Strategy Consultation (8-12 organizations per quarter)

A 90-minute session with a company partner (not a junior, not a salesperson) about a specific AI use case for your organization.

• Assessment of data and process readiness for the selected use case
• Ranking of the 1-3 most profitable AI workflows ((value × probability of implementation) ÷ implementation cost)
• Pilot plan: time, cost, measurable success criteria
• Specific tool recommendations tailored to your scale (not "buy OpenAI Enterprise")

If the application shows that an AI consultation doesn't make sense (because the problem isn't the type AI solves profitably), we'll say so directly instead of wasting your time.

3. Engineering Leadership Mentoring (2 cycles per year)

Once a year we open 2 pro bono spots for our 6-month engineering manager coaching program for Polish technical leaders from non-profit or educational organizations.

• Weekly 1:1 with a senior coach (45 min)
• Monthly group sessions in a 4-person pod (90 min)
• Quarterly 360 review

Who This Program Is For

Polish organizations (headquarters in Poland, Polish NIP/KRS number) that are:

• SMEs up to 50 people in a growth phase, where technology is core business
• NGOs and foundations running programs with a technology component (education, health, accessibility, community development)
• Social cooperatives building digital products or using technology platforms
• Polish startups at pre-seed or seed stage without significant VC funding (cap: up to 2M EUR raised)

Not eligible: companies with significant VC funding (>2M EUR), public companies, Polish branches of foreign corporations, marketing agencies.

Application Process

1. Submit application — short form (5–7 minutes). We ask about organization context, specific problem, expected outcome.
2. Initial conversation (if positive selection) — 30 minutes with a partner, verification of fit.
3. Decision — within 14 days of initial conversation.
4. Execution — in the quarter for which the application was accepted (Q1: January–March, Q2: April–June, Q3: July–September, Q4: October–December).

Applications are ongoing, but we make decisions once per quarter. An application submitted March 15 is reviewed with other Q1 applications, for execution in Q2.

What Happens After the Audit

• You receive the full set of materials (report, presentation, remediation plan, templates) for unlimited use in your organization.
• Your organization is first in line for a published case study (with name mention, if you consent).
• There is no automatic sales follow-up. If you want to use our paid services in the future, you know the address. If not — we sincerely wish you success.
• Your organization becomes part of our benchmark dataset (anonymously, unless you consent to named publication) — which translates to better quality reports for all program participants.

Why Polish Companies Participate

Three specific motivations we most often hear from program participants:

1. Access to strategic diagnostics without a consulting budget. A DORA audit on the commercial market costs 25–50k PLN. For a 12-person engineering team, that's often the entire quarterly development budget.
2. External validation for management. Management is reluctant to invest in "internal engineering claims" that CI needs to be rebuilt. A third party with numbers changes that conversation.
3. Leadership competency development. The Polish market for engineering manager mentors is thin. Six months of coaching with an industry practitioner is an investment most Polish leaders can't buy individually.

Apply

Next intake: quarterly, 1st day of each quarter. Decisions within 14 days of initial conversation. Execution in the quarter you're applying for.

Apply for pro bono→

Questions about the program not answered in the FAQ above? Write to us at the same address — we respond to all pro bono inquiries within 7 days.