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The article is of theoretical and empirical character. The main objective is to identify certain conditions related to the innovative ambidexterity of Polish startups. The objective implementation protocol of the study determined its structure. Its first part presents the most important theoretical concepts related to the presented issues. In particular, on the basis of the literature on the subject, analyses of the innovative ambidexterity. Moreover a start-up was equated with a company operating no longer than a year, which offers an innovative solution. Theoretical considerations provided the basis for the empirical presentation of the results of the author’s own research conducted in 2019 in Poland on startups. On the basis of the outcome it has been established the most important factors determining innovative ambidexterity in startups are: having access to external source of financing and to external infrastructure as well as the acquisition of a license/patent. Moreover it has been diagnosed that create innovation and simultaneously reduce in startups the tension between exploitation and exploration activities to a large extent rely on external sources when implementing their innovation processes. For the theory on management, the theoretical-empirical deliberations presented in the article may be a valuable source of information within the scope of the influence the particular elements of innovative ambidexterity have on startups. However, for entrepreneurs they may be an impulse in the field of effective use of the innovative ambidexterity in the process of building competitiveness of young companies in Poland.