In Poland’s increasingly dynamic business landscape, the intersection of technology, finance, and entrepreneurship is creating new opportunities for growth and innovation. At the forefront of this movement is Patrycja Strzelecka, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of CashDirector, a pioneering fintech company redefining the way small businesses manage their finances. Her professional journey is a powerful testament to visionary leadership, resilience, and the belief that technology can democratize access to financial services for all.
What begins with a vision becomes a movement — when it’s fueled by clarity, commitment, and the courage to reinvent what’s possible. Patrycja Strzelecka’s career is not just a story of fintech innovation, but of bold leadership, purposeful risk-taking, and an unwavering drive to empower others at every step.
The Inspiration Behind CashDirector
The idea for CashDirector was born from a clear and urgent need: to revolutionize the delivery of accounting services to micro and small businesses. Drawing on years of experience in financial outsourcing and a successful exit from their first venture, Patrycja and her team recognized that millions of small enterprises lacked access to affordable, intuitive financial management tools typically reserved for large corporations.
Additionally, they observed that many accountants were confined to repetitive tasks, limiting their potential for professional development. The vision was to digitize accounting, integrate it directly with online banking, and create a seamless, empowering financial management experience for SMEs.
“Our journey has been about consistently realizing this vision,” Patrycja shares. In 2016, CashDirector achieved a milestone by executing the first full integration of a cloud-based accounting system with online banking in Europe. Since then, the company has expanded its reach significantly, now serving 250,000 users and collaborating with six major banks in Poland.
Initially envisioned as a pure SaaS platform, CashDirector quickly evolved into a comprehensive Tech-Enabled Accounting Services provider. Recognizing that clients needed full-service offerings, including handling tax and accounting matters, the company’s technology now enables accountants to manage up to 150 micro-companies per month — an extraordinary leap in efficiency and scale.
Balancing Strategy with Innovation and Agility
As Managing Director, Patrycja embraces a leadership philosophy centered around trust and transparency. She fosters an environment where innovation thrives, encouraging her team to experiment, propose ideas, and learn from their experiences.
“I believe in a participative leadership style — encouraging decision-making, solution testing, and quick learning from mistakes,” she explains. Setting clear strategic goals provides a vital compass, ensuring that creativity is aligned with the company’s mission and market needs.
Patrycja’s approach to leadership highlights the importance of balancing ambition with clarity. Strategy, in her view, must be flexible enough to adapt to new realities but structured enough to provide direction. By embedding openness, mutual respect, and continuous improvement into CashDirector’s culture, she has cultivated a resilient and dynamic team capable of thriving in the fast-moving fintech sector.
Modernizing SME Banking: Overcoming Challenges
Introducing innovation into traditional industries often means challenging established mindsets. For CashDirector, one of the greatest hurdles was winning the trust of both banks and small business owners — stakeholders who are, by nature, cautious and skeptical of new technologies.
The solution was simple but powerful: deliver measurable results. By demonstrating how their platform could save time, reduce costs, and minimize financial risks, Patrycja and her team slowly but steadily built confidence among their partners.
Banks came to realize that integrating accounting and banking services into a single, user-friendly platform could provide them with a competitive edge. It allowed them to deepen customer relationships, increase transaction volumes, and enhance user loyalty. Strategic partnerships with forward-thinking banks became instrumental in scaling the adoption of CashDirector’s services, ultimately setting a new standard for SME banking in Poland.
A Career Shaped by Global and Entrepreneurial Experience
Patrycja’s career path reflects a unique blend of corporate rigor and entrepreneurial daring. She began her professional journey in global organizations such as AT&T and Raiffeisen Bank, where she honed her leadership skills, mastered large-scale project management, and learned to navigate complex, international environments.
“Working in these well-organized structures was like a practical MBA,” she reflects.
After nearly a decade in the corporate world, Patrycja made the conscious decision to transition into entrepreneurship. She wanted the freedom to innovate, to build something impactful, and to invest her energy and resources into projects she believed in. The combination of corporate discipline, startup agility, and international perspective equipped her with the resilience and adaptability necessary to lead a fintech venture in today’s volatile business environment.
Above all, it gave her the ability to recognize moments of transformation and the courage to act upon them — a skill that has proved invaluable throughout her journey.
Empowering Small Businesses Across Borders
At its core, CashDirector is about empowerment — giving even the smallest businesses access to the kind of real-time financial insights and tools traditionally available only to large enterprises.
The company’s platform integrates seamlessly with banking services, offering users a full suite of capabilities: financial data organization and visualization, automatic cash flow forecasting, intelligent reminders, receivables and payables monitoring, direct payment functionality, and even automated settlements with national authorities.
Beyond technology, CashDirector also uplifts the accounting sector through OSCBR, a network of 3,000 modern accounting partners. Through this initiative, accountants receive training, technology, and support designed to help them unlock new levels of efficiency and client service.
“Our mission is to democratize access to high-quality financial management and to transform the role of accountants from number-crunchers to strategic advisors,” Patrycja emphasizes.
Women don’t need to wait until they’re ‘ready’ — they already are. Confidence comes from stepping in and speaking up.
Guiding Principles Behind CashDirector’s Vision
Patrycja’s leadership is deeply rooted in two core principles: “Think big” and “Give first.”
Thinking big drives her to set ambitious, global goals — envisioning CashDirector not merely as a Polish success story, but as a European standard-bearer for SME-focused digital ecosystems. Giving first reflects her commitment to sharing knowledge, supporting others, and building authentic partnerships grounded in mutual trust.
Diversity, transparency, and authenticity are not just buzzwords in Patrycja’s leadership philosophy — they are lived values. She believes in fostering diverse teams, leading with sincerity, and creating a company culture that combines technological excellence with responsible, human-centered leadership.
Inspiring Future Female Leaders
For women aspiring to leadership roles in technology and finance, Patrycja offers heartfelt advice: take action even before you feel fully prepared.
“Women often over-prepare, waiting until they feel 100% ready. Confidence is built through action, not theory,” she advises.
She encourages aspiring leaders to build strong support networks, seek out mentors, and surround themselves with driven, intelligent individuals. Above all, she reminds women that they already possess the competence, empathy, and resilience necessary to not only participate in innovation but to lead it.
Shaping the Future of SME Digital Banking
Looking ahead, Patrycja sees SME banking evolving into integrated, holistic ecosystems — platforms that offer much more than just banking products. These ecosystems will empower entrepreneurs to manage their businesses comprehensively, with fintechs like CashDirector providing the technological backbone for this transformation.
“Embedded finance, accounting-based data services, and seamless integration with management tools are the future,” she asserts.
CashDirector’s vision is to act as a catalyst, enabling banks across Europe to offer intelligent, user-centric services to small businesses. By setting new benchmarks for service quality and technological innovation, the company aims to help SMEs not just survive, but thrive in an increasingly complex economic landscape.
Defining Moments of Courage and Leadership
Throughout her leadership journey, two moments stand out for Patrycja. The first was the bold decision to reinvest the proceeds from the sale of their first company into the CashDirector project — a move filled with risk but underpinned by deep belief in the vision.
The second defining moment came when the company chose to raise its service prices by 50% during a critical growth phase, trusting that their commitment to quality would prevail. It did — validating the principle that value-driven, courageous decisions often lead to transformational success.
The future of SME banking lies in ecosystems — connected, intelligent, and built to serve business owners holistically.
Passions and Values Beyond Business
Beyond her professional achievements, Patrycja’s life is guided by fundamental values: business ethics, authenticity, and respect for others. These values shape her approach to leadership, partnerships, and personal development.
Sports and nature play essential roles in her personal life. “Sports teach resilience and perseverance, while nature provides a space for reflection and perspective,” she shares.
One cause especially close to her heart is mentoring young female entrepreneurs. Through mentorship, she aims to empower the next generation of leaders to realize their full potential, just as she was fortunate to receive guidance and support throughout her own journey.
A Broader Vision of Entrepreneurship
For Patrycja Strzelecka, entrepreneurship is about much more than financial success. It is about the courage to drive meaningful change, the commitment to building something that serves others, and the investment of time, energy, and heart into a purpose larger than oneself.
Through her work at CashDirector, and through her example as a leader, mentor, and innovator, she is helping to shape a future where small businesses are empowered, women are leading transformation, and technology serves the greater good.
