urbanist VC

Thank you for stopping by!

My name is Dominik Zalewski. I am an urbanist turned VC.

Early on, I found clarity in what I wanted my professional journey to be about. It helps me tremendously to stay on course. No matter the challenges, setbacks, unexpected pivots and moments of chaos, I keep doing “my thing”.

I was fortunate to learn venture capital from some of the best pros in the field. Starting from the engine of fund structuring and operations over a decade ago, through fundraising my own fund, to investing as an angel and VC now.

The other part of my heart beats for the world of cities. As an urbanist, I worked on various urban renewal projects before founding Urban Impact in 2020 – a digital advisory practice for sustainable cities. Over the years I’ve built a completely different network of professionals: architects, urbanists, designers, system planners.

Despite the many differences between urban and VC worlds I found lots of meaning and joy in finding their overlaps and building bridges between them. I believe cities must embrace technology not only to flourish, but to endure – and startups hold immense potential to rewire the systems that shape urban life.

I back entrepreneurs, investors, thinkers, activists, and ecosystem builders working at this intersection. I do it with capital (angel tickets and through Early stage VC - The Bau Ventures), knowledge and networks access.

I refine my lenses and focus over the years by diving deeper into topics like climate, ESG/impact, real estate, construction, architecture or urban design.

At the core, I strive for deeper understanding and genuine human connection. I minimize my social media exposure to bare minimum of LinkedIn prioritizing conversations and pursuing curiosity the old way (reading, reflection, listening to people).

Outside of work, I am a husband and father, splitting my time between Berlin and rural Poland. I read, write, draw, whittle, hike, run, bike and collect old and quirky stuff.

VC Funds I worked with:

Point Nine, Headline, Urban Impact Capital

OTHER Funds I supported or invested in:

Nucleus Capital, Hello World, Pale Blue Dot, Market One Capital, Niterra Venture Lab, BrightPoint, Inno, EIT Urban Mobility

Startups I worked with:

100+ as a finance guy at funds, including Revolut, Typeform, Delivery Hero, NGNIX, Algolia, Mambu.

Go to market and fundraising: Carbo Culture, EcoBean, CityLegends, Nesetten, Catalyco, Beholder AI, Hepta, DUCKT and more.

Cities I worked with:

Berlin, Barcelona, Warszawa and many smaller ones.