Small technology companies (STCs) are a significant component of advanced economies. They are a kind of a bridge between R&D and industry, stimulating transfer of new solutions from research laboratories to the economy. Scientists setting up their own STCs or co-operating with the existing entities have a unique opportunity to verify market applicability of their research projects’ results. STCs contribute to a rise in the level of innovativeness of the national economy. Close cooperation between STCs and the R&D sector may be a positive pattern to be followed by larger entities. This article is to present basic characteristics of STCs operating in the Łódź agglomeration, including the scale of the phenomenon, the composition of STCs by industry and the structure of sales revenues by market. The article also tackles the issues of STC financing and barriers to co-operation with financial institutions. Later on, the article also covers issues concerning STCs’ co-operation with other entities, including the scope of co-operation with other businesses, dominating relationships between STCs and other firms, as well as main barriers to co-operation between STCs operating in the same industry.