Purpose: The article discusses the pace of internationalization by empirically verifying the speed of internationalization of Polish international firms and identifying which pattern is more frequently used by international startups from Poland: born global or born regional.

Methodology: The article employs a quantitative approach. It builds on a sample of 355 international businesses from Poland (CATI survey).

Findings: By using t test, U test, and ANOVA, the analysis showed a correlation between the compa-ny’s international strategy as a planning instrument and the speed and scope of internationalization. Research limitations/implications: Based on prior studies from other parts of the globe, we assume that among Polish companies the number of born regionals – i.e. businesses that are international from their inception – is growing, while their activity is mainly restricted to the European Union. Among Polish international firms, there are many born global. In the studied sample (selected randomly), the share of born globals was 61.5%, and global startups 43%, which is a very high rate. The results enable to adopt a hypothesis that the number of Polish-born regionals is relatively high in comparison with the traditional path and born globals.

Originality/value: The article describes one of the first studies to (i) capture the phenomenon of born regionals in Poland and (ii) enrich empirical studies on emerging markets such as Poland.