The Recursive Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Recursive Media
The Recursive podcast is your weekly wander inside the minds of innovation leaders across SouthEast Europe. Each week our hosts cozy up with a digital economy champion and dive deep into their life philosophy, values, leadership style, and personal development. Join us for inspirational stories on how to grow, learn and think big.
Our guest today is Krzysztof (Chris) Wrobel, the founder and CEO of Virbe AI, a startup incorporating a one-stop-shop solution to extend your team with AI-powered digital employees. With passion and experience for the future of digital interaction, Chris founded Virbe AI, a Virtual Being creation suite, designed to transform Conversational AI and chatbots into interactive human-like avatars. Chris is also involved in mentoring and guiding other companies in embracing emerging technologies. In this episodes, he touches on: How he started his entrepreneurial journey by accident; What can a Virtual Being do for a business and why we need this technology;The balance between innovation and ethical implications in VR/AR; TIME STAMPS 0:00 Trailer 1:53 Intro 2:40 Chris’s entrepreneurial journey from hospitality to engineering10:00 The skills one need to have in a startup 15:33 How Virbe started and what’s the story behind?21:22 The business model of AI solutions 24:41 The EU AI Act and its impact 25:54 How to explain a new technology to investors 31:38 Virtual being vs chatbots 36:42 How is metaverse fitting in Virbe’s business?39:33 Will AI steal our jobs? 47:27 What big problem is Virbe solving 53:04 Outro
Our next guest is an engineer turned entrepreneur turned investor. Borys Musielak is a founding partner at Polish SMOK Ventures, having a particular focus on software development tools, game development, and artificial intelligence. In 2007, he founded OSnews.pl, a pioneering news site covering tech, marketing, and business. He also co-founded Filmaster, a platform providing personalized analytics solutions, acquired by Silicon Valley-based Samba TV in 2015. His contributions to the ecosystem extend to mentoring early-stage startups across various platforms and accelerators in the CEE region.He talks about:Focus and motivation when starting a venture;How to elevate the CEE potential;The future of venture capital;And more!TIMESTAMPS0:00 - 1:42 Teaser1:42 - 3:33 Intro3:34 - 12:28 Perks in being a VC with engineering and entrepreneurial background 12:29 - 15:19 The path on establishing your first venture15:21 - 17:10 Focusing on one thing as a founder17:11 - 21:24 Satisfaction as a VC investor21:25 - 26:55 The art of being wrong26:56 - 30:59 Lessons on fundraising31:00 - 33:46 What is the secret of success in venture capital?33:47 - 48:28 Potential across the CEE region48:29 - 52:13 Thought on sales and marketing52:14 - 54:09 Are founders couchable? 54:10 - 1:01:48 Working with youngsters1:01:49 - 1:05:38 Hypothesis for the future & outro
Our guest for this episode has a big, bold ambition to make digital identity services the cornerstone of all economic and social activities of people around the world.
Konstantin Bezuhanov is co-founder and CEO of Evrotrust Technologies, the company that aims to solve the challenges associated with secure digital identification.
Evrotrust's products are adopted by over 1.3 million users across 58 countries. The company has attracted partnerships with industry giants like Mastercard and leading banks such as Unicredit Bulbank, and KBC, and it has been recently recognized by governments and the European Commission.
In this episode, we learn more about the complexities of identity in the digital age, but also what it takes to solve meaningful problems.
Konstantin also shares:
- How it is to build a global identity system transcending national borders and work with strict entities like banks or government;
- Views on mission-driven entrepreneurship how a strong sense of purpose guides decision-making and success metrics;
- How the future would look if digital identity seamlessly integrates into daily life;
- The importance of data protection and compliance in Evrotrust’s solution;
TIME STAMPS
00:00 Trailer
0:56 Introduction
1:47 Moving from the comfort zone to entrepreneurship and what it takes
4:41 Konstantin’s endeavors in London and why he lived there
10:08 Why Konstantin moved back to Bulgaria
11:03 Why execution matters more than the idea
13:00 Evrotrust’s story and how the founding team was formed
20:42 Choosing the best market and end users for Evrotrust
24:00 The most difficult problem in the space of digital identity
28:58 The mission and vision of Evrostrust
36:08 Early adopters for digital identity solutions
38:05 Konstantin’s many hats and switching them
44:39 Finding success as a founder and in life
47:30 The future of digital identity
55:43 Outro
Our guest today is Radoslav Gaydarski, co-founder of CleverPine, a company that has made significant strides in the tech industry since its inception during the pandemic. Prior to this position, he was the co-founder and CEO of Upnetix, offering client-tailored software solutions, which was acquired by Scalefocus.
With a deep background in software development and a passion for entrepreneurship, Gaydarski shares his journey from tinkering with computers in his youth to leading a company that has seen substantial growth and has recently partnered with Lufthansa Technik to innovate within the aviation sector.
In this discussion, you will discover Radoslav’s approach to leadership style,but also CleverPine's way of delivering exceptional value to its clients.
On top of that, he touches on:
- How their company cultivates a positive and productive workplace culture;
- The importance of surrounding oneself with the right team;
- Learning from past challenges, and how these principles have guided his strategies for talent development and company growth;
TIME STAMPS:
00:00 Trailer
01:47 Introduction
03:27 Why Radoslav Moved to the US and Back to Bulgaria
08:11 Choosing Entrepreneurship and What Does It Take
13:25 Radoslav’s Failures and What He Took Out of It
20:00 What Is a Lifestyle Company
20:33 Upnetix’s Acquisition and the Learnings Learned
23:20 Cleverpine and Lufthansa Technik’s Partnership and What Is ViTech
39:06 The Importance of Studying the Client’s Industry and How Cleverpine Does That
42:41 How a Lifestyle Company Works and Why It Doesn’t Care About Metrics
51:59 CleverPine’s Working from the Office Culture
54:59 Team Structures and How to Deliver Quality Projects on Time
1:01:17 Developing Yourself as a Leader and Self-Reflection
1:04:58 CleverPine’s Flans for the Future
1:10:20 CleverPine Ventures and Supporting New Businesses
1:16:30 The Happiness Culture and How Can a Leader Foster This
1:21:40 Outro
Our guest today is Milen Manev, the co-founder and CTO of PlanDelta, a next-generation planning tool bridging the gap between strategic and financial planning.
With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, Milen has a wealth of knowledge in software product development and has held various leadership positions, including Vice President at the American software company SyncHR.
He holds a Master Degree in Management of Information Systems from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.
In this episode we discover Milen’s approach to entrepreneurship, fundraising and what he learned from pitching to the biggest VC funds.
He talks about:
- How visualizing failure and making peace with the worst case scenario can help you prepare for hard decisions;
- Why self-promotion and highlighting your capabilities is crucial during fundraising;
- What sacrifices comes with entrepreneurship and what mental health challenges occur;
*This episode of The Recursive Podcast is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.
TIME STAMPS:
00:00 - Trailer
01:56 - Introduction
02:27 - How PlanDelta Choose the Problem They Want to Solve
05:52 - How to Know if You Are Solving the Right Problem
09:22 -Carving a Niche in Complex IT Ecosystems: How PlanDelta Identified Its Place in the Big Picture
15:09 - Data Integrity for Strategic Decisions in Fast-Moving Startups
17:06 - Mastering the Pitch and How Many Meetings With Investors You Need
27:48 - The Truth About Fundraising as an Early Stage Startup
30:32 - Why and How PlanDelta Fundraised from 17 Angel Investors
34: 54 - Step by Step: PlanDelta's Methodical Approach to Growth
39:00 - The Fine Line Between Ego and Ambition
44:28 - Navigating the Competitive Landscape of Tech Startups
51:09 - How to Get Energized as a Founder and the View on Failure
1:04:37 - Mentorship and Asking for Support
1:08:33 - Outro
Our guest today is Diana Aladzhova, an experienced investment manager and partner at the first Bulgarian mezzanine fund Silverline Capital. Shе is also the founder of the cloud-based provider of CFO services CFO Insights. Diana has a background in banking and the private sector, with a focus on investment structuring, due diligence, financial analysis, and company valuation. She holds a Master's degree in Finance and Private Equity from the London School of Economics and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). In this episode we follow her journey from finance, to private equity and entrepreneurship. In her conversation with Irina, Diana Aladzhova talks about: How her experience as an investor helped her found her own company focused on supporting startups and scaleups with financial expertise;The importance of strategic financial management vs. “growth-at-all-costs” strategy; How to build the right foundation for sustainable growth as a company;Achieving balance between life and work is about building efficient work habits and self-awareness; *This episode of The Recursive Podcast is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.TIME STAMPS: 0:00 Trailer 03:13 Introduction 04:16 From LSE to Building Bulgaria's Private Equity Landscape13:00 Learning Curve: First Experiences as Equity Investor18:00 The Hedgehog Concept: Mastering the Art of Exponential Growth25:40 How to Build A Sustainable Business Model: Lessons from an Investor Turned Founder34:29 The Perils of Growth-at-All-Costs: A Financial Perspective38:32 Building Strong Foundations: Resilience and Responsibility in Startup Culture44:55 How to Scale a Service Business Efficiently: CFO Insights Long Term Vision 49:45 Creating Social Impact Through Business Logic: The Story of Box to Remember 54:55 Balancing Act: Juggling Work, Family, and Passion Projects1:02:15 Balancing Vision and Action: Strategies for Long-Term Success1:07:20 Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Self-Doubt 1:14:31 Outro
Our next guest has come a long way in his professional and personal development - from investment banking, through digital media and marketing, and e-commerce to rethinking humanity’s relationship with food. Victor Penev is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of the food database and nutrition data provider Edamam. He is also a mentor and investor in food tech startups and an advisor to early-stage entrepreneurs.Before that, Victor co-founded and sold Bulgaria’s largest Internet Company NetInfo BG. In this episode we discover what is next on his journey.In his conversation with Irina, Victor Penev talks about: The legacy of one of Bulgaria’s firsts digital media companies and the early days of the Bulgarian Internet;The bittersweet experience of selling your company as an entrepreneur; Building a business on the intersection of food and technology without traditional fundraising;Defining success beyond financial metrics, focusing on long-term impact;His new longevity project: redefining health and food in Bulgaria *This episode of The Recursive Podcast is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.Time Stamps: 0:00 Trailer 03:25 Introduction 04:13 After the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Student Ventures and First Media Startups08:50 From Investment Banking to Entrepreneurship10:52 The Origin Story of NetInfo: Bulgaria’s First Digital Media Company 12:45 How NetInfo Shaped Bulgaria's Internet Landscape19:25 Trust and Transition: Victor Penev's Experience with Succession at NetInfo23:14 Cooking Up Ideas: The Birth of Edamam on a Thai Beach24:30 Breaking the Mold: Building Edamam without VC Money 30:40 Reflections on Venture Capital: Addressing Inefficiencies in Investment Practices33:26 Meditative Entrepreneurship: Finding Calm Amidst Chaos37:20 Do You Have to be Competitive to be a Good Entrepreneur? 45:10 The Art of Mentorship: Nurturing Organic Connections49:50 The Relationship between Food and Longevity: Victor’s New Project 1:03:10 Life as a Puzzle: Entrepreneurship, Home, and Identity1:09:29 Outro
Our next guest is an entrepreneur in the promising field of circular economy, advocating for the continuous use and reuse of materials.
Mihail Dimitrov is the co-founder and CЕO of Swipe.bg, a Bulgarian marketplace for buying and selling used smartphones. The company recently raised an investment to expand regionally and grow its market share.
Mihail Dimitrov comes with vast experience in e-commerce and business development. He previously worked for the world's largest classifieds platform OLX and Bulgaria’s largest mеdia group Nova Broadcasting Group.
In this podcast episode, Mihail and Irina talk about:
*This episode of The Recursive Podcast is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.
Our guest is on a quest to redefine the way businesses collaborate and work with data in the cloud.
With more than 20 years of experience in building successful enterprise software products, George Dochev is the co-founder and CTO of US-Bulgarian scale-up LucidLink.
The company’s solution is used by the biggest names in the media, health, and finance industries, namely Adobe, Spotify, and WebMD.
At the end of 2023, LucidLink closed the largest round for the Bulgarian ecosystem - a 75M dollars Series C.
Is LucidLink on its way to becoming the next Bulgarian unicorn? Watch the episode to find out for yourself.
In this conversation with George Dochev we unpack some of the big questions around scaling and growing a company to a multibillion dollars business:
*This episode of The Recursive Podcast is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.
Our guest is only 27 years old but he already has several successful ventures in the e-commerce industry. Ruslan Leteyski founded his first company while still in high school.
He’s the founder of CheckOutX and Vanga AI, e-commerce solutions for Shopify & WooCommerce that help merchants increase their revenue.
His current project TimeCraft is a platform for providing session-based digital services.
Ruslan Leteyski is also an active angel investor. Some of the businesses he supported include CloudCart, Klear, Puzl Coworking, and CoLiving Semkovo.
In this episode, we follow his journey in building, scaling, and exiting profitable businesses in the e-commerce industry - from CheckOut X becoming the industry's top checkout alternative to being rejected by Shopify, through the challenges of transitioning to a WooCommerce ecosystem.
The episode is packed with actionable insights on:
- The balance between validating a product idea through development and user feedback;
- The challenges of receiving feedback and managing imposter syndrome (while feedback is valuable, it's essential to filter and assess its relevance);
- Lessons learned from failure in building a lean startup
In his conversation with Irina, Ruslan Leteyski introduces his latest project TimeCraft, a platform designed to streamline and support various session-based services such as coaching, therapy, and teaching. Leteyski aims to empower individuals to monetize their time effectively and to provide freedom for service providers.
Ruslan Leteyski is also a prominent critic of the prevalent startup culture's fixation on fundraising and the misconception that raising capital equates to success. He advocates building a solid business model and addressing real market needs rather than solely chasing investment rounds. And urges the media to cover and recognize the stories and potential of bootstrapped companies more often.
*This episode of The Recursive Podcast is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.
Time Stamps:
0:00 Introduction
01:17 Curiosity Fuels Entrepreneurial Journey
03:39 Building a Profit-First Mindset
8:56 E-commerce Disruption: The Rise and Fall of CheckOut X
12:00 Navigating the Shift from Shopify to WooCommerce Ecosystem
18:15 The Product Validation Journey: Balancing Vision with Customer Feedback
26:56 Vanga AI: Lessons Learned From the Transition and Exit
32:15 TimеCraft: Redefining Session-Based Services in the Digital Era
43:11 The Digital Nomad Lifestyle and the Future of Remote Work
52:12 Why Startup Success Shouldn't Revolve Around Investment Rounds
59:10 Outro
In today's special episode, we're breaking away from the norm to revisit some of our most memorable conversations and catch up with our guests to see where life has taken them since.Our guest for today is none other than Ivaylo Slavov, a veteran in Bulgaria's IT industry. Last time we spoke, his company BULPROS had recently merged with the German giant ec4u, forming DIGITALL and setting ambitious goals to lead the digital cloud services market in the US.Fast forward almost two years and Ivaylo has traded his CEO hat for that of an investor, diving into projects at the intersection of AI and HR. After 13 years at the helm, he reflects on the transition, marked by international travels, and reevaluation of life priorities.Ivaylo shares his decision to step away from operational duties, focusing instead on providing advisory support to tech startups. He unveils his involvement in four impactful projects: Transforming Easy Consult into a flexible workforce service provider;Supporting Team Schedule's shift management software, which addresses scheduling and resource challengesWork Talent, a modern job board, aiming to streamline hiring processes and better match candidates with employers;Vibe Jobs, tackling the challenge of connecting non-digital workers to job opportunities through a chatbot-based job board within Viber. The emphasis is on simplifying the application process for those with limited access to digital platforms.In his role as a strategic investor, Ivaylo emphasizes his active contribution to strategic development, market penetration, and mission validation.The conversation delves into the evolving impact of AI on the workforce. While noting positive effects for senior knowledge workers, they acknowledge challenges for low-qualified workers, underlining the crucial need for strategic thinking and addressing security concerns in the realm of AI.Join us on this insightful journey as we unravel Ivaylo Slavov's post-CEO ventures and explore the ever-changing landscape of AI and HR.*The Recursive Podcast is excited to announce that this episode is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.
Our next guest is on a quest to unlock the code of longevity.
Milena Georgieva is a molecular biology, genetics, and epigenetics professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
She is also a Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at the startup company EPIX.AI.
In her role, Prof. Georgieva is in charge of R&D activities and manages a group of experts working to understand aging processes and create instruments to measure biological age and extend the human lifespan.
The conversation spans from the genesis of Prof. Georgieva’s fascination with molecular biology, genetics, and epigenetics.
The discussion delves into the current state of genetic research and the mission of EPIX.AI, emphasizing the importance of health span over the lifespan. She explains how their interdisciplinary team leverages biological data, genetics, and epigenetics to create personalized prevention protocols for age-related diseases to extend healthy lifespans.
EPIX.AI, as its name suggests, deploys AI and ML algorithms, to decipher genetic triggers and organize and utilize effectively the abundance of health data.
Prof. Georgieva expresses the necessity for a cohesive ecosystem integrating scientific breakthroughs into practical applications, pointing out the gap between research and its implementation in business. She advocates for a shared language and collaborative mindset between the scientific, business, and governmental sectors to bridge this divide.
Watch the episode to learn more about:
*The Recursive Podcast is excited to announce that this episode is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.
Time Stamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:27 Unraveling Life's Code: First Steps into Molecular Biology & Genetics
05:10 Bridging the Gap: Integrating Science and Business in Genetic Research
12:35 From Lab Discoveries to Entrepreneurial Impact
17:00 Nature's Blueprint, Nurture's Influence: Understanding Genetics and Epigenetics
30:59 EPIX’s Mission to Revolutionize Aging
42:15 2024: EPIX’s Roadmap to Personalized Health Transformation
47:10 The Future of Healthcare: From Treatment to Prevention and Precision
52:46 Decoding Stress: Understanding Its Diverse Impact on Health
58:58 The Power of Listening to Your Body
1:04:46 Outro
Our next guest is a dedicated engineer looking for solutions to reduce harmful emissions and popularize hydrogen technologies.Dragomir Ivanov is a leading expert in the field of hydrogen with over 16 years of experience. He is the founder of Hydrogenera - a company developing technologies for the production, storage, and consumption of hydrogen. He is also the author of two patents in the field. Dragomir’s vision is to demonstrate that hydrogen can be the main energy source because it is universal, has a zero carbon footprint, and can completely replace conventional fuels. In his conversation with Irina, Dragomir shares insights from his transition from lab innovations to entrepreneurial endeavors focused on hydrogen technology, emphasizing the simplicity and potential impact of converting water into clean fuel.The entrepreneur says that the technology for a hydrogen-based energy system is here but the primary challenge he sees is a shift in the mindset and a proper legislation. In his view Bulgaria is lagging behind in adopting hydrogen compared to other European countries, missing on the potential for market growth and energy efficiency improvement.In this podcast episode you’ll also hear: How an energy revolution based on hydrogen could reshape society, influencing economic structures and labor dynamics. The conversation shifts to envisioning a future where hydrogen becomes a widely adopted and affordable energy source, akin to the evolution of solar panels' affordability over time. The business model at the core of company, which customizes systems for each client rather than mass-producing standardized products; Time Stamps: 0:00 Introduction 01:28 The Origins of Hydrogen Passion: From University Sparks to Green Energy03:20 Hydrogen Innovation: Bridging the Gap Between Lab Discoveries and Market Solutions11:02 Hydrogen Adoption: Challenges, Readiness, and Market Potential19:56 Hydrogen Integration: Competition, Collaboration, and Customization27:14 Redefining Energy Costs: Hydrogen's Place in Future Economies 31:21 Navigating Deep Tech Fundraising: Insights and Challenges34:30 "Hydrogen Valleys" - Potential Models for Communities Generating Their Own Green Energy38:40 Sofia's School Hydrogen Project: Reducing Emissions & Inspiring Curiosity41:11 The Energy Transition: Dual Push by Government and Industry44:30 Outro
The Recursive Podcast is excited to announce that this episode is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed.
Hello, The Recursive Community! We are back from our summer break and today we are taking you on a journey to Bucharest and inside the mind of a seasoned investor.
Marius Istrate is currently the Chairman of the Board of TechAngels Romania, an investors' community planning accelerated growth after a decade on the market. He is also a Venture Partner at 3VC and Crew Capital.
Among the companies he invested in are FlowX.AI, parol, Carsup, Snackable AI, Transition-One, Romania-Insider.com, Younichoice, SmartDreamers, Bunnyshell, OxidOs.
In his previous modus operandi, Marius was an entrepreneur himself, CTO, and CEO at various IT companies. He also took on the role of Chief People Officer at the Romanian unicorn UiPath, leading the company's growth from 100 people to 3K.
In a conversation with our Country Lead in Romania Elena Vrabie, Marius discusses the transition from being an entrepreneur to an investor, highlighting how his experience at Uipath shaped his thinking, but also the importance of embracing change and gaining diverse experiences in the business world.
“One of the things that people appreciate about working with me today is that I'm capable of asking questions from different angles that they haven't really thought about before”, he explains.
Marius reflects that the most rewarding aspect of his work as an investor is the opportunity to continuously meet and learn from people with diverse backgrounds, values, and perspectives.
Join Elena and Marius’ conversation as they explore the value of education today, what it means to be a decent human being, and why founders should explore life in different cultural contexts.
Join us in our latest podcast episode as we delve deep into the realms of leadership, mental health, and authenticity together with Velina Getova, founder of NotYourTherapy, which provides psychological support in the workplace.
With more than ten years in human development, Velina has worked with multinational corporations, tech start-ups, universities, and nonprofit organizations in Bulgaria, the US, and the UK. Long years of experience led her to the realization that the most needed skill in the future is not only our ability to learn but also our ability to manage our interior state.
In her conversation with Irina, Velina shares personal stories of leaders opening up about their mental health struggles and the transformative power of being genuine in leadership roles. She discusses the societal molds that define what a leader "should" be and how breaking free from these molds can lead to more genuine and effective leadership.
Velina also touches upon the challenges of modern communication tools and their potential to lead to burnout. We learn about Velina's passionate mission to change the narrative around entrepreneurship in Bulgaria, emphasizing happiness, success, and mental well-being.
As we envision a future where discussions around entrepreneurship focus on joy and positivity, we invite you to be part of this enlightening conversation. Tune in and discover how to find your authentic leadership style and the importance of self-reflection in our fast-paced world
Join us in our latest podcast episode as we explore the journey of Svilen Rangelov, the co-founder and CEO of Dronamics, the world's first cargo drone airline.
Svilen's passion for fast, affordable, and green freight is transforming the way goods are moved across the globe.
Dronamics is the company he co-founded with his brother Konstantin in 2014 and in this episode, Svilen shares the story of how they built Dronamics from the ground up, overcoming nearly 700 rejections, plenty of skepticism, and challenges in the tech industry.
Dronamics develops and operates large, long-range drones built specifically for cargo to serve a variety of industries: from pharma to food, from e-commerce to spare parts.
Their full-scale flagship drone, the Black Swan, recently successfully completed its first test flight.
In his conversation with Irina, Svilen explains the vision behind creating an airline, rather than just a product, to offer same-day delivery services over long distances.
The CEO of Dronamics delves into the strategic decision of starting the company in Bulgaria, a contrarian bet that turned into a talent filter for those deeply committed to the vision. Svilen shares insights on how their hands-on approach and commitment to innovation led them to build their own equipment and machinery, creating a solid foundation for growth.
Svilen opens up about Dronamics' long-term vision, aiming to turn the company into a generational one, making a positive impact on a global scale.
Svilen and his team aim to continue innovating = the aviation industry, redefine logistics, and democratize access to rapid and reliable goods delivery
Our next guest is a well-known entrepreneur and investor in the Romanian IT industry.
Andrei Pitis has 30 years of experience in tech. He was one of the first official Linux contributors in Romania and co-founder of RoEduNet, a network that offered free internet to students.
Later, Andrei founded Vector Watch, a Romanian start-up that produced the first Romanian smartwatch. The company was later acquired by Fitbit, where Andrei held various positions including VP of Engineering and VP of Product.
In the meanwhile, Andrei invested as an angel in CleverTaxi that got acquired by MyTaxi.
Later, Andrei founded Simple Capital, a private investment vehicle supporting local startups with global aspirations.
As an active angel investor and mentor, Andrei is the president of ANIS (The Romanian Employers' Association of the IT&C industry), an associate professor at the Politehnica University of Bucharest, and a creator of educational programs like Innovation Labs.
In his conversation with Irina, Andrei walks us through his long journey in the tech industry, having witnessed many shifts from the first programming languages to the dot-com bubble, the 2008 global financial crisis, to the emergence of AI and blockchain.
He offers his insights on the cyclical nature of technology's evolution, the importance of branding for building a successful tech business, and why launching your product globally from the start is the way to go for entrepreneurs from the CEE region.
In this episode, he also talks about:
- Why creating magic is important in tech;
- Edge Mentality vs. Center Mentality;
- How To Cope With Stress as an Entrepreneur;
Today on The Recursive Podcast we get to find out more about revolutionizing in-store advertising with robots.
Ionut Vlad is the co-founder of Tokinomo, a technology company that uses sensors, motion, light, and sound, to bring shelf products to life and increase shopping engagement.
No wonder the startup which produces in-store marketing robots has received various awards, like “Impact Star” by Deloitte, and “Most Inventive Startup” by La French Tech Romania.
With a background in graphic design and fine arts, Ionut honed his craft as an Art Director at Saatchi & Saatchi before launching his own game-changing project.
As Ionut Vlad shares in his conversation with Elena Vrabie, it was his creativity that eventually led him to a tech solution of a marketing problem - how to make products visible and attract shoppers’ limited attention spans in stores.
“I noticed something quite interesting - my creativity helps a lot because I think the best engineers have this creative approach to things, otherwise they wouldn't invent stuff. If you are kind of a stickler for the rules, you will always come up with the same stuff. If you're creative and you're trying to bypass certain obstacles, then the creative mind comes into play”, Ionut Vlad says.
In the episode, Elena and Ionut Vlad also discuss:
🛍️ The Psychology Behind Shopping Decision-Making;
🧲 Do opposites attract in a co-founding team?
👂 Listening to feedback vs. following one’s original ideas to solve problems;
😳 How to be a successful founder if you’re an introverted person?
Next stop for The Recursive Podcast - Bucharest, where we meet with Lavinia Mehedintu.
She has dipped her toes in different educational programs as a student before embarking on an entrepreneurial journey of her own, in the learning and developing pool with the social learning platform Offbeat.
With a diverse background in HR and communications, Lavinia aims to provide a fresh, actionable twist to the learning industry's ongoing transformation.
In her conversation with Elena Vrabie, Lavinia shares how her desire for freedom and autonomy in solving problems eventually led her on the entrepreneurial path and helped her build a community for learning and development professionals.
Their discussion delves into the intricacies of learning - how we learn, how our neurons connect, why is it so hard to change our behaviour, and what should a long-term learning strategy for your professional and personal development look like.
In the episode you’ll also hear:
- How AI will change our learning experience;
- How to build effective knowledge-sharing in your organization;
- The Importance of having a support system as an entrepreneur;
Our next guest comes from London but has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe. Bakhrom Ibragimov is a partner at Molten Ventures, which invests in Europe’s tech leaders from Series A to the growth stage.
Bakhrom joined Molten in 2022 from EBRD Venture Capital. There he founded and managed commitments of €500m over three VC funds.
Previously Bakhrom was leading investments with Virgin Green Fund and TLcom Capital. He was also an Internet Finance Director at Virgin Media and a tech investment banker with Cowen & Co and Credit Suisse.
Bakhrom holds degrees from LSE, Cambridge University, and Tashkent State Technical University.
In his conversation with Irina, Bakhrom highlights the potential of Central and Eastern Europe, emphasizing the abundance of engineering talent and the advantage of entrepreneurs having a global perspective from the start due to the small economies in the region.
In the episode, he also talks about:
- Bridging the funding gap between seed and growth equity stages in the region;
- How to build a repeatable and scalable sales process, focusing on the value the product brings to customers;
- Strategies for scaling in an economic downturn;
Today The Recursive podcast is live from Bucharest, meeting one of the most prominent founders and investors on the Romanian tech scene.
Radu Georgescu is a serial entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the tech industry.
He has successfully exited several companies, including the acquisition of RAV antivirus technology by Microsoft, the ePayment business by Naspers, Avantgate by Francisco Partners, and VectorWatch by Fitbit.
Radu is currently the founder of Gecad Ventures, a family office that invests in high-growth potential companies.
He is also a Board Director and adviser to numerous technology companies, including the equity management and financing platform for tech startups SeedBlink.
In this conversation with Irina, we get a sneak peek into the mind of a strategic thinker, a prolific entrepreneur, and a passionate investor.
Radu shares his learning experiences gained from founding 37 companies, both successful and failed, and his revelation that the operational roles are not well suited for him.
Radu Georgescu explains that he has always been focused on identifying market niches and the problems that need to be solved. By not being involved in execution, he managed to maintain a broader perspective and use his network to gather information and deliver it to the team that is better equipped to create and build the product.
In the episode, he also talks about:
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Why pivoting is one of the most important tools in a founder’s bag; (“Just pivot and figure out where the market goes as you roll.")
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The Danger in Treating Your Business as Your Baby;
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What really makes a company stand out;
Our next guest - Sasha Bezuhanova - has left an impact in manifold ways on the Bulgarian tech ecosystem and society.
She’s one of the first internationally recognized managers. One of the first Bulgarian female leaders in tech. She’s an active angel investor. A philanthropist. A social mover and shaker.
Sasha Bezuhanova is the founder and chairman of the board of MOVE.BG. Ten years ago she left her business career at HP to dedicate herself to positive social change and sustainable development in Bulgaria through innovation, education, and active leadership.
Among the causes Sasha Bezuhanova pursues through many initiatives and projects is positioning Bulgaria as a global digital center, promoting entrepreneurial and green transformation culture, and affirming the role of women in business in Bulgaria and Europe.
In her conversation with Irina, Sasha dives in-depth into the transformative decision she took 10 years ago on a plane from Jakarta to Frankfurt. Inspired by the street protests in Bulgaria, she left a successful corporate career to try to foster a meaningful societal change, based on dialogue, collaboration, and grassroots empowerment.
In the episode, she also talks about when it makes sense to break rules in business, how Bulgaria built a deep tech expertise, and how to harness the power of networks to enable social change.
Our next guest has close to 20 years of experience in management consulting and digital transformation.
Orlin Dochev is a managing partner at Next Consult, an international business, and digital transformation consultancy, blending both strong management consulting expertise with deep IT knowledge. The company has offices in the USA, UK, Switzerland, Romania, and Bulgaria and is partnering with global technology vendors like Salesforce, Tableau, and SAP ERP.
Orlin co-founded Next Consult 13 years ago with the vision to add value to its clients by introducing best practices in sales, marketing, etc. He’s also an avid supporter of various educational initiatives.
In his conversation with Irina, Orlin shares insights from his journey from programming to sales to business leadership, combining rich experience in global corporations, startup companies, and entrepreneurship.
He talks about his philosophy of continuous learning by self-challenging and how they spotted the gap on the market with Next Consult where IT companies would focus on programming systems without questioning the client's processes and operations. The mission of Next Consult, Orlin shares, is to focus on making clients more successful by helping them to restructure their businesses. “This requires a lot of sales psychology, discovering business models, challenging the client, challenging yourself, and listening”, he points out.
In the episode, you’ll also hear:
- The potential impact of Chat GPT on the consulting industry;
- Building a company culture of continuous learning;
- The state of digital transformation in the Bulgarian market;
Today on the podcast we welcome a Ukrainian entrepreneur who currently resides in Sofia.
Dmitriy Aleksandrov is the CEO of Homsters, a SaaS provider of automated digital marketing solutions for the property segment.
For 8 years, he grew the company from an idea to a PropTech business running in 5 countries. Homsters was acquired by the global media company Ringier at the end of 2022. But Dmitriy is still at the steering wheel to scale the company’s solutions.
Initially working in marketing and transitioning to project management in the fintech and telecom industries, Dmitriy gained valuable experience in tackling complex problems and managing diverse projects. This experience prepared him for his role as CEO, where he emphasized the importance of both a big-picture perspective and attention to detail. Dmitriy credited his colleague and mentor, Andrew Olejnik, for inspiring him to join the proptech industry and become part of Homesters' early stages, even when the company was just an idea on a napkin.
In his conversation with Irina, Dmitriy discusses the culture clash with his corporate background and the challenges of building a startup from scratch. He shares their company's pivots, the need for customization in different markets, and the importance of establishing partnerships. He opens up about their failed expansion attempt in Vietnam and the lessons learned from scaling back.
In this episode, Dmitriy also talks about
- The importance of defining values and maintaining them despite changes in the company and its products;
- The role of AI - property matching algorithms and the emergence of conversational interfaces in the real estate industry;
- The challenges of managing a dispersed team and the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine on their business;
Our guest today is one of the Co-founders and а Board Member of Scalefocus - Viktor Bilyanski.
He started his career in the field of software development two decades ago.
In 2012, a pivotal moment in his career came up, as he joined forces with 4 other professionals to establish Scalefocus.
With 7 delivery locations in Bulgaria, Turkiye, and North Macedonia, the company provides tailored software solutions and services that empower Fortune 500 companies, innovative startups, and established leaders to innovate, grow and meet technology and business challenges.
In the past decade, Scalefocus has developed hundreds of successful projects on an international level.
The company is one of the biggest IT employers in Bulgaria and allows local talent to work on impactful projects for various international clients across many industries - IT, financial services, healthcare, energy and utilities, and more.
Viktor is heavily involved in the local startup ecosystem as an angel investor, community supporter, and event organizer. He is also an avid sports enthusiast.
In the episode, Viktor talks about:
- How to stay competitive in today's very fast and constantly evolving business environment;
- How to balance between aggressive scaling and maintaining focus;
- How to multiply your value as a software engineer;
- AI and Leadership: can technology help us make better decisions?
- Learning through teaching: the power of sharing knowledge;
Our next guest is helping marketers all over the world have a scalable process for user acquisition, engagement, and storytelling through social media.
Sinisa Rakovic is the CEO and co-founder of HUNCH, a marketing technology company focusing on creative intelligence.
Sinisa is also a serial entrepreneur with several successful exits behind his back. He graduated from California State University and spent time at Stanford University.
In his conversation with Irina, Sinisa reflects on all these experiences - his time in the US, his first venture and exit, the challenges and opportunities to build and scale a company from Eastern Europe - and how they have shaped his definition of success and views on building an infrastructure and support system for the long-term success of tech entrepreneurs.
Tune in for more insights on:
- How to win in the attention economy with creativity;
- How will creativity evolve in the AI era;
- The Growth Story of Hunch;
In the podcast, Sinisa references the Zone of Genius framework by Gay Hendricks;
In our next stop in Belgrade, our guest is fascinated by the application of AI, machine learning, and data science in the digital transformation of businesses.
Darko Todorovic is VP of Engineering and Delivery at the software company HTEC Group.
Prior to that, Darko was in charge of R&D, leading the development center of the company HTEC in Niš.
Darko is a Ph.D. candidate in the field of Robotics at the University of Niš, where he was the head of the Robotics Laboratory and thought at the Department of Control Systems.
In his conversation with Irina, Darko shares how his science education and early exposure to different scientific areas have influenced his career path in the tech world and at the HTEC group.
In this episode, Darko talks about:
- How universities can become the breeding ground for innovation and talent again;
- HTEC's approach to business, talent acquisition, and growth; (“Create an environment where people can become the best version of themselves”)
- Putting the CEE region on the map as a product destination (“We are not the option where you go to cut the prices, we are the option where you go to solve your biggest problem.”)
- The importance of problem-solving skills and human intelligence compared to AI;
Next stop for The Recursive podcast - Belgrade!
Our next guest became an entrepreneur fresh out of high school. Nikola Krstic is now the CEO of the software company Anoris Technology. His company develops a smart glove designed to help people with impaired vision. The smart glove works like a wearable assistant device enabling blind people to have a better quality of life. And it is inspired by the founder himself.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, he shares his personal journey to entrepreneurship - from a nerdy kid who started programming at 8 years old through winning a high school entrepreneurship competition with his idea of the smart glove for blind people, to building a working prototype and planning a global distribution campaign.
In the episode, Nikola talks about:
⚒️ The thirst for being a creator and the importance of motivation when venturing out; (“If you give someone the knowledge, you give them the key to success”)
🚀 The technology behind the smart glove, their market approach, and vision to help visually impaired people live a happy and fulfilled life;
🇷🇸 The challenges but also opportunities to grow a startup with a global vision from Serbia;
Our next guest is one of the first female investors in the CEE region.
Tatjana Zabasù Mikuž is the managing partner at South Central Ventures (SCV), an early-stage VC fund investing in the Balkans. Last year, they closed their third fund at 70 million euros.
Tatjana is also the co-founder of the first venture capital fund in Slovenia, which was created in 2008. Since then, she’s been actively involved in more than 40 investments. She has also served as a board member of companies like Cognism, InPlayer, Efos, and Shout.
“It takes courage, vision, and quite some funding to be able to make it on the global market. We are looking for companies that already have some traction and our role as a local investor is to share the initial risk. To help them grow and bridge the gap to larger markets”, Tatjana explains the role of SCV in her conversation with Georgi Nenov.
In the podcast, she also talks about:
- What is the biggest challenge for Balkan startups to scale;
- The role of regional investors in overcoming those challenges;
- The mindset shift needed for the systemic success of the regional tech ecosystem;
- Supporting the next generation of female founders and investors;
Our next guest is responsible for the global growth of Rakuten Viber, one of the biggest calling and messaging applications with over a billion users all over the world.
Atanas Raykov is building on the app's popularity with a focus on Europe, the US, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. He works directly with Rakuten’s and Viber's global executive team to develop strategic partnerships, marketing, and PR initiatives, as well as transform the application into a super app. Previously Atanas worked for 10 years for the biggest telecom in Bulgaria VIVACOM.
Atanas is also an LP and mentor for the portfolio companies of LAUNCHub Ventures and Eleven Ventures. Part of the mentors' network of Endeavor Bulgaria. And an angel investor of the CEO Angels Club.
As a student at a business school, Atanas described his future career in the next 10 years in an essay. Little did he know he will turn this vision into a reality.
He landed his first job as an intern during the merger between BTC and Vivatel and worked for the launch of their new united brand - Vivacom.
Atanas worked there for 10 years, changing positions and helping the company become the leader in offering the widest range of telecom solutions in the Bulgarian market.
How did he do that?
“There was a lot of serendipity and a lot of deliberate choices from my side. I am patient and consistent and I play a longer-term game to increase the number of opportunities that come to me”, Atanas shares.
🎙️ Discover Atanas's journey through this episode as he talks about:
💡 His lessons learned from blitz scaling;
🏠 How to utilize Airbnb to upgrade your network;
💰 The successful pitch that persuaded Viber to invest in the CEE region;
🚀 Viber's Next Frontier: Becoming a Super App;
Our next guest is on a mission to transform Bulgaria’s economic model towards high-value-added businesses.
Ned Dervenkov is one of the co-founders of the Bulgarian startup association https://besco.bg/https://besco.bg/ (recently rebranded to The Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association).
With over 500 members, the NGO is working towards a series of reforms to improve the framework for starting a business in Bulgaria and position the country as an innovation powerhouse in the region.
He had participated in the creation of several laws impacting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bulgaria.
Prior to that, Ned Dervenkov was a serial entrepreneur with businesses in real estate, sustainable fashion, and finance.
Ned is also a part of ABLE - the Association of Bulgarian leaders and entrepreneurs, where he also serves as a mentor.
In this episode, Ned talks about:
- How BESCO is creating the infrastructure for the multiplication of success in Bulgaria;
- What is the secret sauce of effective advocacy work on a policy level;
- The importance of paying forward and supporting the success of others;
- Can tech unify like-minded people in the Balkans?
Our next guest started his first startup venture at 17. By the time he finished school, he managed to sell the business and return his investment.
Since then Orlin Radev has been a serial entrepreneur, mentor, and supporter of the Bulgarian tech ecosystem.
Most recently, he’s one of the founders and CEO of AMPECO. All-in-one electric vehicle charging management platform, essential for the electric mobility evolution.
The company recently closed its Series A investment, supported by BMW iVentures and LAUNCHub Ventures to scale and conquer the North American e-mobility market.
In the episode, Orlin talks about:
- How the ability to craft your own destiny drew him to entrepreneurship;
- The importance of having co-founders who bring a different perspective to the business (“I work better when I have someone to challenge me.”)
- How the idea of AMPECO came to be during a 35-hour adventurous drive from Germany to Bulgaria, which concentrated the experience of every EV driver back in 2018;
Our next guest believes that decarbonization is the biggest paradigm shift in the world economy since the industrial revolution.
Dimitar Enchev is a managing partner at PostScriptum Ventures. A private equity fund focused on sustainability and energy transition investments.
But besides his investor’s hat, Dimitar is also an entrepreneur. He co-founded CWP Global. A company that developed and realized a number of large-scale renewable energy projects, including the biggest wind farm in Europe.
Recently, Dimitar has exited with CWP Renewables, one of Australia's leading renewable energy players. He will now focus on the groups’ projects in Europe and new climate tech opportunities such as green hydrogen.
Dimitar graduated from Swarthmore College in the USA and the London School of Economics.
In his conversation with Irina, Dimitar talks about:
✔️ How to create the next wave of unicorns in the decarbonization space;
✔️ The 3 big trends driving change in the energy space;
✔️ How CEE can turn its challenges as one of the most carbon-intensive regions in Europe into economic opportunities;
Our next guest is a seasoned manager who walked all the way from consulting to entrepreneurship to ecosystem building.
Momchil Vassilev is the managing director of the global entrepreneurial network Endeavor for Bulgaria. In this role, he helps create a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and nurture founders with global ambitions, the ability to scale fast, and a give-back mindset.
Prior to that, Vassilev has over 20 years of professional experience in management and business development. He co-founded a biotech company called Provity. Led the Corporate Development of VIA Investment group and oversaw audits, mergers, and acquisitions at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In his conversation with Irina, Momchil talks about his own journey towards entrepreneurship, but also about building the backbone of the Bulgarian entrepreneurial ecosystem and galvanizing the next level of its growth.
“Endeavor is all about helping high-impact entrepreneurs to grow big and through their success, to impact the economy and society in general”, he explains.
Watch the episode to learn:
🏃🏻♀️ How to stay relevant in a fast-moving world?
💀 Why do so many startups die before they become scale-ups?
🇧🇬 How to create game-changing innovation in a small country?
Our next guest is an Albanian-born entrepreneur. His professional path is closely connected to Bulgaria. But his impact as an entrepreneur and investor has spread throughout the whole region of Southeast Europe.
Elvin Guri is currently managing the VC fund - INVENIO Partners, advising and mentoring companies from the biotech industry to healthcare, food, and real estate.
Elvin Guri co-created Jet Finance, the largest independent consumer lending company in SouthEastern Europe which he exited to BNP Paribas in 2007.
He holds an Executive MBA from the University of Oxford. He has supported several educational initiatives in Bulgaria and Albania, including his Alma Mater AUBG, Junior Achievement & Teach for Bulgaria.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Elvin Guri talks about:
- What was the winning combination for Jet Finance to become the largest independent consumer lending company;
- How to help create a more equitable society through investments;
- How to nurture the next regional champions;
- How regional economies can cooperate, but also compete better to grow;
Our next guest is a hardware engineer building the future of biometric security.
Vince Gaydarzhiev is the founder of the US-Bulgarian company Alcatraz AI. The hardware-as-a-service startup offers autonomous access control that uses facial biometrics, 3D sensing, and AI.
Among the customers of Alcatraz AI are Fortune 500 companies, including telecoms and government-owned banks.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Vince worked as an engineer for high-profile companies like Apple and Nvidia.
He holds several engineering degrees from Stanford and the universities of Southern California and Florida.
In his conversation with Irina, Vince talks about
🔐 The complexity of innovating the security industry;
💸 The hardships of fundraising for a hardware-as-a-service company;
👔 Why stepping down as a CEO was one of his best business decisions;
Our next guest is one of the power ladies of the Bulgarian VC sector.
Elina Halatcheva is a managing partner at BrightCap Ventures.
With a background in finance and investment banking, Elina has an MBA from Stanford University. She grew as a professional in the US and UK markets and her expertise ranges from investment banking to e-commerce and real estate.
Eventually, Elina came back to Bulgaria to contribute to the growth of the local tech ecosystem.
As an investor Elina is also a part of the European Women in VC initiative, trying to bridge the gap for funding for female founders.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Elina talks about:
🎯 What are the key qualities of successful founders?
🤝 Why teamwork is important in the investor-founder relationship and for the success of the business?
💸Strategies for fundraising in a downturn;
Our next guest is a seasoned executive who has walked the road from corporate to entrepreneurship.
After more than 20 years in different positions in the IT industry, Dimitar Dimitrov founded his own company. Digital Lights is a software company building innovative solutions for the mobility industry.
Recently, it has been ranked the 3d fastest-growing IT company in Bulgaria.
Dimitar Dimitrov is also a lecturer at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University. His own Alma Mater, where he’s currently also part of the Alumni Board.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Dimitar Dimitrov reflects on:
🧠 The philosophy behind doing meaningful work;
🚀 The growth journey of Digital Lights;
🏎️ How software has become the soul of the vehicle and where is the future of mobility taking us;
Our next guest’s mission is to make artificial intelligence more secure and reliable. Petar Tsankov is at the unique intersection of science and entrepreneurship.
Until recently, He’s was researcher and a lecturer at ETH Zurich, and currently co-founder of LatticeFlow, a company helping machine learning teams build and deploy trustworthy AI.
Before that, Petar already had one successful exit. He sold his first company ChainSecurity to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Petar is the proud owner of “The John Atanassov” award - an initiative that supports young Bulgarian inventors in the area of information technology.
He has a Computer Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
In the episode, Petar talks about:
🤖 What is critical to win the market of deep learning technology?;
🤔 Can AI offer more fair way to treat people?
🎨 Is there a boundary between what humans can do and what technology can do?
Our next guest discovered entrepreneurship when he was a teenager. Since then Radu Negulescu has been running multiple successful businesses.
While still in university, he founded Trencadis, a company developing IT solutions for governmental institutions and businesses.
Trencadis was recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in Central Europe by Deloitte.
During the pandemic, Radu appointed a seasoned manager to run Trencadis to jump-start a new venture.
His company Sessions was founded on the verge of transitioning toward remote and hybrid work.
Sessions’ mission is to solve the problem of unproductive meetings and help teams communicate more effectively.
In the episode, Radu reflects on his journey from a teen entrepreneur, through university-drop-out, to a serial entrepreneur.
In this episode you will hear:
✂️ Why entrepreneurship is a craft;
🔮 What is the future of hybrid work;
🤔 How management is different from leadership;
🗂️ His theoretical framework about the nature of information;
Our next guest has participated in the Romanian tech ecosystem since its inception.
First as an angel investor, today, Dan Mihaescu is the founding partner of GapMinder VC.
He has led GapMinder’s investments in companies like FintechOS, TypingDNA, Cartloop, Cyscale, and DruidAI.
Before that, Dan was a seasoned business executive with experience in small, medium to large enterprises, M&A deals, and venture acceleration. Dan is also an INSEAD Alumni and Harvard Business School graduate.
In his conversation with Irina, Dan reflects on the evolution of the Romanian tech ecosystem, his decision-making process as an investor, and the building up of the business expertise in the region.
In the episode, you’ll hear:
🌐 What is the spill-over effect after UiPath’s global success?
🚩What are the red flags when an investor is making a risk assessment?
❓What is the question Dan asks founders to test whether they’re playing the long game?
Our next guest is one of the most influential people in tech in Europe.
Mike Butcher is Editor-at-large at TechCrunch. But his journalistic work has appeared in many media outlets from The Guardian to the BBC, and Bloomberg.
He was recognized by the Queen of England for his services in tech industry and journalism.
Mike has also advised UK Prime Ministers and the Mayor of London on tech startup policy.
He is the founder of the non-profit Techfugees. A global organization providing tech solutions for displaced people.
In his conversation with Irina, Mike opens up about how he got the journalism “bug”. He shares his observation on the growth of the European tech ecosystem and reflects whether regulations are a hurdle or an opportunity for tech businesses. He offers his view on what’s the best use of public money to fuel innovation.
Watch the episode to find out:
🔥 Which tech trend he’s most passionate about?
🏃♀️ What are the unique advantages of Eastern Europe when it comes to innovation?
🛑 What is the major pitfall startup founders make when pitching their product?
🎙️ What’s the most interesting interview he’s had of all the founders he’s met?
Our next guest takes education very seriously. So much so, that she founded an ed-tech startup.
Evelina Necula is the co-founder of Kinderpredia. A school management software that simplifies administrative stuff to help teachers, parents, and students communicate better.
Today, Kinderpedia is used by schools and kindergartens in 14 countries. In over 2000 schools and kindergartens worldwide.
Evelina leans on her marketing and B2B sales experience to scale the company.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Evelina shares why and how she decided to become an entrepreneur even though she had a great career as a marketing professional.
Evelina and her co-founders first spotted the need for better communication between parents and teachers. They saw the difficulties both parties were going through to stay in touch - the frustration of the teachers and the anxiety of the parents to be disconnected from their children’s experience in school or kindergarten for most of the day. And they realized the huge opportunity children were missing not having the most important adults in their life communicate and work together towards their progress, Evelina explains.
In the episode, she talks about:
🎒 Kinderpedia’s vision to transform education;
✨ What is at the core of leadership?
🤔 Why spending time on validation of your product pays off;
Our next guest is born an entrepreneur.
At just 23 years old, he already had three companies, making profits.
Andrei Ursachi is a serial entrepreneur, currently serving as the CEO of Stailer, an online booking platform for the beauty industry. An opportunity Andrei saw and acted on in the midst of the pandemic.
He utilizes his background in digital marketing and psychology to build fast-scaling companies.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Andrei reflects on what is it like to stay at the top of your game in this intense competition that is running a startup business.
Watch the episode for insights on:
💅🏻How he built Linkedin for beauty professionals; 💙 How business teaches you to stay anxious but follow your intuition; 🥊 How to get up when you’ve been knocked down;
Our next guest has a passion for exploring the barriers to AI implementation. As a startup founder, and an advisor, but also as an investor.
Dimitrios Skaltsas is the co-founder and Executive Director of Intelligencia. A company that helps pharma and biotech companies reduce risks in drug development and bring new drugs to market faster.
Dimitrios has an MBA from INSEAD and he has been an executive resident there. And he has also led the Big Data and AI department at McKinsey New Ventures.
Dimitris lives in New York, but you can meet him often in Athens. Intelligentsia’s headquarters is across the ocean, but Athens is the R&D powerhouse of the company.
In his conversation with Irina, Dimitris shares lessons learned from:
🥧 His first entrepreneurial venture, selling traditional Greek cheese pies in New York; 📏Measuring success in a sophisticated industry like drug development; 🧠 Thinking both fast and slow to grow and accelerate a startup;
Our next guest is a true community builder and a person with a passion and talent for connecting people.
Pavlina Yanakieva is the co-founder and CEO of Bulgaria Innovation Hub. A non-profit that aims to build bridges between Sofia and the Silicon Valley and help local entrepreneurs scale their businesses in the US market.
Before that Pavlina gained experience in sales, marketing, and network development at US Telecoms like AT&T and T-Mobile. She has also worked for Google and Cingular Wireless.
Pavlina has a degree in International Relations from San Jose State University in California. And she has specialized in entrepreneurship and product management at Stanford and Berkeley.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, she reflects on how to crack the culture code when it comes to the perception of entrepreneurship and failure in Bulgaria and the US.
She also talks about the power of networks, and her mission to support education in Bulgaria.
In the episode you’ll also hear:
👨👧How her grandfather taught her first entrepreneurial skills; 🏋️♀️ How to nurture a culture of confidence and self-worth in Bulgaria; 🏃♀️ What are Europe’s advantages in the competition for capital and talent with China and the US;
Our next guest is known as the Guru of the Greek startups. Apostolos Apostolakis is a partner at Venture Friends. The first 100% private venture capital fund in Greece with successful exits and soonicorns like Blueground and Spotawheel in their portfolio.
Today, Venture Friends has spread its impact not only throughout Europe but also to South America and the Middle East. Apostolos also has a vast portfolio as an angel investor. But before that he was a serial entrepreneur, tapping into niches like e-commerce.
Apostolos has studied civil engineering and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. He kickstarted his career as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group.
In his conversation with Desy Karapchanska, he shares his lessons learned along his journey from consultancy, to entrepreneurship, to the world of VC. In the episode, you’ll also hear:
🍀 Why intuition is essential in making investment choices;
🔍 How to keep an open mind for constant learning;
🗺️ How to scale a company worldwide;
Next on The Recursive podcast, we welcome the Chief Financial Officer and Partner at LAUNCHub Ventures, Irina Dimitrova.
She left behind a prospective career in London, where she graduated in Banking and International Finance from the University of London, to pursue her dream - of making an impact in her home country, Bulgaria. With her financial acumen and determination, she managed to put Southeast Europe on the map for investments when entrepreneurship was still at its embryonic level.
First, she wanted to pursue a career in project management, but things took another turn and she became one of the first women in the venture capital market in our region by joining LAUNCHub Ventures.
In this episode, you will hear more about:
- What is the driving force behind a successful career in venture capital?
- What is more important than the entrepreneurial idea for investors?
- What does the future of the SEE region hold?
Next, on The Recursive podcast, we welcome an innovation driver and supporter in the Bulgarian startup ecosystem.
Meet Max Gurvits, a “Bulgarian by choice,” as he describes himself. Max is a Managing Partner at Sofia-based VC, Vitosha Venture Partners. Graduating from The University of Groningen with a Master’s degree in International and European Law, Max explores his interest in entrepreneurship at one moment of his life, which later leads him to moving to Bulgaria. Since then, Max Gurvits has been one of the most respected players in the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem.
In his conversation with Irina, Max shares the most interesting stories from his life and why he decided to work and live in Bulgaria. He stresses on the current state of the Bulgarian ecosystem and the opportunities for the country to develop as a main business location in Europe.
In the episode, you’ll also hear:
- How Bulgaria can develop a competitive economy;
- Why Max fell in love with Bulgaria and decided to move there;
- How a lawyer by education became an entrepreneur.
Our next guest, Vicky Foteinou, has been side-by-side with the tech founders from the Greek innovation ecosystem for the past decade. She has consulted startups from scratch, navigating their growth and expansion across markets, sectors, and networks. Payhawk, Plum, WealthyHood, Finloup, and Welcome Pickups, to name a few.
Vicky Foteinou is an experienced program manager with a background in public and business administration. Currently, she’s the Program Manager at the Greek Innovation and Technology Company, CrowdPolicy. And a Manager of the Visa Innovation Program in Greece.
Vicky Foteinou is also an avid explorer of human emotions, digging deep into psychology studies.
In her conversation with Desi Karapchanska, Vicky talks about what makes a good founder and why programs like the Visa Innovation Program are important for the ecosystem.
In this episode you will hear:
🤝Why networking and creativity are crucial for any ecosystem;
🔐Why empathy is important in entrepreneurship;
👩🏻💻How the Greek startup ecosystem has evolved under the leadership of women.
Our next guest’s growth journey reflects the growth of the Greek innovation landscape.
Dimitris Kalavros got fascinated with tech innovation while working as a journalist. This is how he found his own calling for entrepreneurship.
Dimitris brought the TEDx conference to Athens and has curated it for more than a decade.
He also created Found.ation, a technology and innovation enabling platform in Southeast Europe. Today, Found.ation runs a digital transformation accelerator for companies and it acts as a tech education hive, offering reskilling, upskilling, and consulting services.
Later on, Dimitris put on the investor hat. He co-founded Velocity.Partners, a VC fund for early-stage ventures. The fund has supported 22 companies, many with international presence. And it already has 3 exits.
In his conversation with Irina, he reflects on his journey and the lessons learned along the way.
In the episode, he also talks about:
🔝 His evolution from a founder to an investor; (“Once you put on the investor’s hat you are no longer in the driver’s seat, you are no longer calling the shots”)
😨 Why fear is the main obstacle to start a business; (“The absence of fear is the energy source you need to start something new.”)
🇬🇷 His philosophy on the development of the Greek ecosystem; (“As an ecosystem, we mature together”)
Next, on The Recursive Podcast, we welcome someone who is literally driving innovation in the future of mobility.
Meet Thomas Metz, the Managing Director of Bosch Engineering Center Sofia. Before coming to Bulgaria, he held various positions in Bosch Group. He worked in the field of automotive engineering, key customer management, and strategic marketing and sales. Thomas Metz joined Bosch more than a decade ago as part of their Junior Management Program.
In his conversation with Irina, Thomas Metz shares the important roadstops in his career journey that put him at the steering wheel of innovation at Bosch. He reflects on his leadership values and the future of mobility.
In the episode, you’ll also hear:
🚘 Why assisted automated driving will be everywhere by 2025;
👔 What is the difference between managing and leading people;
🇧🇬 Why did he decide to learn Bulgarian and what did that show him;
Welcome back, The Recursive Community! Our summer season is starting off hot with one of the stars of the European fintech world - Victor Trokoudes, the co-Founder and CEO of the AI money management app Plum.
Plum is a European smart money app that aims to grow people’s wealth through automation. It's built to improve financial outcomes for everyone by helping customers save, invest, budget, and spend. The company currently has over 1.3 million customers in Europe.
As Victor Trokoudes explains it himself, the idea for building Plum was to have “a button that you press and your financial life is sorted out.”
Victor is a Cypriot-Canadian serial entrepreneur with an educational background from from Harvard and INSEAD. He started his career on the trading floor at Morgan Stanley. Victor then joined the small team of 5 at TransferWise in London. When he left the company several years later, they were 500+ people, present in 25 markets.
Despite his success in the corporate world and clear future prospects, Victor always knew he wanted to go down the entrepreneurial path. Following his interest in payments, he first founded PoS terminal reseller BlueBird and exited later.
Today, Victor Trokoudes lives and operates his business between three countries, the UK, Greece, and Cyprus.
In his conversation with Irina, he talks about:
🆙 What it takes to scale a company from 5 to 600 people;
🔭 Why it is important to think big when launching a start-up;
💳 When to start saving and how to build a proper investment strategy;
Our next guest is passionate about building companies and developing marketing strategies. But he’s also experienced in building communities.
Svetoslav Dimov is the co-founder and CEO of DEV.BG, the biggest IT community in Bulgaria. DEV.BG is also a leading tech job board and one of the main organizers of tech events in the country. Helping IT professionals not only to find opportunities, but also to exchange ideas, knowledge, and experience.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Svetoslav Dimov talks about:
🔩The specifics of building a marketplace business; 🤔 Can you be conservative and risk-reverse and still make it as an entrepreneur? (“If I had to fill in a test: “Are you ready to be an entrepreneur?”, I would fail miserably.”) 🤝 How to build a healthy relationship with your co-founders;
Our next guest started her career in journalism. But switched career paths from media to property management and entrepreneurship.
Galia Jordanova is the co-founder of a tech company that tries to reinvent the way people buy and manage properties.
Gaida.AI deploys technology to simplify the process of buying and managing your property and save people money on mortgages.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Galia shares why change is a big word in her life - not only personally, but also because she went through several pivots with her business.
In this episode, you’ll also hear:
↩️ Why success is a moving target and you never get there; (“The authentic story is that you feel like you're killing it sometimes. Most of the time you feel like you could have done better. And a lot of the time you feel like you're definitely a huge failure.”) 🏢How she got excited about innovating the real-estate market; 👨👩👧👦How do you combine running a startup business with raising two small kids; (“It takes a very strong committed partner who is ready to drink the bitter pill with you, to be part of the downs. You definitely need a village - to raise the kids, but also to run the startup.”)
Our next guest is an engineer by profession and a community builder by calling. Dimitris Dimosiaris is the co-founder of Founderhood. A platform for tech startup founders in their early stages to support and connect them with all the stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Prior to this, Dimitris co-founded ThinkBiz Hellas and Mindspace. Two of the largest NGOs in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation within Greek universities. Dimitris was also an executive at the global community of founders Sigma Squared Society.
In his conversation with Desy Karapchanska, Dimitris shares that in his work his driver is to build something that will last.
In the episode, he also talks about:
🇬🇷Building global companies from Greece; (“Starting here is ten times more difficult. But if you build it here, you can build it everywhere in the world.”) 🧭 The difficulty of finding your own path and true calling; (“It’s like finding love in real life. You know when you have found it.”) 🤔 What makes a leader; (“He really cares about what he's doing and treats people in a kind and fair way.”)
Our next guest is a bold dreamer.
When Martin Vechev graduated in Computer Science from Cambridge university he dreamt of creating a world-class research center in his homeland Bulgaria.
Today, his dream is a reality. Martin Vechev is the architect of The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) in Sofia. The deep tech institute was created in collaboration with two of the world's leading tech universities, Zurich and Lausanne. It is supported by tech giants like Google, Amazon, Deep Mind, and the Bulgarian government.
Prof. Martin Vechev combines several unique talents - he’s a tech entrepreneur, a professor at ETH Zurich, and an award-winning researcher. His efforts are in the field of building secure and fair Artificial Intelligence.
He has co-founded 3 startups in the area of Safe AI, blockchain security, and AI for Code. He has exited two of them already.
In this episode of The Recursive podcast, we get to take a look inside his mind.
In his conversation with Irina, prof. Martin Vechev shares why it was never his dream to become an entrepreneur, but rather to create an impact on science, his students, and the world.
You’ll also learn:
💸 Why did he drop the opportunity to earn money in Canada to follow his passion back to Bulgaria and work at a place where he can learn the most? 🤔Why problem definition is more important than problem-solving in the world of science and research? 🚀How his lifelong dream of INSAIT came to life; (“You declare to the world what you want to do because this binds you to your decision. Even if you fail, you either make it or you learn something”)
Hello from Athens, The Recursive community! Our next guest combines several unique talents: legal background with business acumen and people’s skills.
Athina Polina Dova is the co-founder of Owiwi. A digital tool that combines psychological research with game design to help companies recruit the best talent.
Athina Polina is the Vice-President of the International Union of Professional Trainers. She also serves on the board of directors of the first creative industries cluster in Greece Corallia gi-Cluster.
Our wonderful host in this episode is the Social Impact & Communities Creator in the Greek startup ecosystem Desy Karapchanska.
In their conversation, Desy and Athina Polina talk about:
✨ The importance of mentors in an entrepreneur’s journey; 👌 Why an introvert and an extrovert make the perfect combination as startup co-founders; 🏢How is our work environment affecting the development of our soft skills; 🔮How microlearning and coaching as a benefit are the next big things in the future of work;
Our next guest is a business development professional who got fascinated with the world of crypto.
Jordan Stoev is the Head of Crypto & Trading, Skrill & NETELLER at Paysafe Group, one of the biggest IT employers in Bulgaria.
In the last five years, he gained extensive experience in investing, valuations, analysis, advisory, and solutioning in crypto.
With a background in business analysis and finance, Jordan is constantly trying to improve, learn and grow.
In the episode he also talks about:
₿ The “boom and bust” cycles in the crypto market and how are they going to evolve; 💸 The role of Paysafe Group as a payment company bridging the gap between the crypto world and the regular financial services; ⛓️ The ethos of Web 3 and its network effects; (“The idea of Web 3 is that it’s open, permisionless, fully transparent. We can participate in the growth of the pie. We are not just users of a centralized entity that monetizes our data.”)
Hello from Athens, The Recursive community! Our next guest describes herself as a Civil Engineer by degree and an innovation enthusiast by nature.
Niki Karali is the co-founder of Mantis Business Innovation. A company that provides growth strategies, innovation programs, and startup scouting. Together with an innovation management software to digitize the whole process.
Niki is also an active startup ecosystem builder. She has helped in the organization of the StartupNow Forum, the largest startup event in Greece.
In her conversation with Irina Obushtarova, Niki reflects how she found her calling in entrepreneurship, while still in the National Technical University of Athens. It is where she met her co-founder Christos Nikoloudis and discovered her passion for supporting startups grow.
In the episode, she also shares:
🇬🇷Her views on the growth and the strenghts of the Greek startup ecosystem; 🤝 Her work as a facilitator connecting the world of research and academia, and the business world; 🤸 What did her experience in competitive gymnastics teach her about running a business;
The Recursive podcast is filming from sunny Athens this week. Our first guest has a rich entrepreneurial journey despite her young age.
Stefi Vasilopoulou started her first business when she was just 21 years old. Since then she has juggled many roles. Entrepreneur. Consultant. Angel investor. Mentor. Community builder.
Most recently Stefi co-founded Hellenides, a career network that supports women in Greece. Hellenides provides female professionals with tools and trainings to thrive.
She’s also consulting international companies on strategy, innovation, marketing, and brand-building.
Stefi is an avid podcaster. She’s hosting the inspirational SomaPnevma Show.
In this episode, Stefi Vasilopoulou talks about:
🔄How a severe burnout prompted her to reconsider her priorities and the importance of achieving a healthy life-work balance; ❓What is her favorite question to ask founders as an angel investor; 🌱 Why the world needs more female entrepreneurs and how to support them;
Our next guest is a computer engineer who dropped his PHD to create an online platform to ignite kids in Bulgaria to learn.
Darin Madzharov created Ucha.se a decade ago. His edtech platform offers video lessons and tests for all grades in the public school system in Bulgaria.
Over time Ucha.se turned into a tool for the teachers to inspire kids to study. Now, more than 60% of the schools in the country have a subscription to the platform.
In 2020 Madhzarov created an international version of the platform, called eduboom. It is available in Romania, Spain, and Italy.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Darin Madzharov says the entrepreneurial mindset was a part of him from a very young age. He was always trying to change the things he didn’t like.
In this episode, Darin Madzharov talks about:
🆙How he upgraded ucha.se from a free service to a subscription-based sustainable business model, changing the cultural mindset in the process; (“The answer is to always focus on giving value to the user.”) 🌍 His approach to expanding the edtech platform internationally; (“We see this as a marathon. We might need to take it slower, but with a very good quality of the content.”)
🔄Why carefully selecting the circle of people you trust and learn from is a must; ( “When you’re in the boat with the right people, the wind is helping you almost all the time”) 🌱 His evolution from a founder to a leader growing the next generation of leaders in his organization;
Our next guest created his first company when he was just 28 years old.
Radoslav Georgiev is the co-founder and CTO of the Bulgarian-born OKR management software Gtmhub.
OKR stands for objective and key results methodology for goal setting in business.
Together with his co-founders, Rado is part of the so-called Telerik mafia. A term coined for the entrepreneurs who came out of one of the most successful Bulgarian IT companies ever.
Rado started his journey there as a programmer and grew up to run 10 teams of software engineers.
A few months ago Gtmhub raised a record $120M Series C funding round. The largest one in the whole OKR software space.
Many see Gtmhub as a unicorn company in the near future.
In his conversation with Irina, Radoslav Georgiev shares how he came across the concept of OKRs, how it can actually help managers validate their intuitions, and how we should really measure success in business.
Our next guest is an engineer by calling and an entrepreneur by accident, as he puts it himself.
Kosta Jordanov is the co-founder of FITE, a global pay-per-view platform for combat sports events. With more than 5000 streamed events and over 10 million users, FITE became the top-grossing app in the world across all categories.
In 2021, the streaming platform was acquired by the US-founded TrillerNet, which counts celebrities like Metallica, Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and Pitbull among its investors. Together, they are now preparing for their public offering debut on NASDAQ.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Kosta Jordanov talks about what changed for the team after the acquisition and the process of preparing for an IPO.
“FITE has relative independence. The business continues to operate on the same trajectory. What's changed significantly is the opportunity for us to be way more aggressive when it comes to competition”, he shares.
In the episode, Kosta Jordanov also talks about:
🇺🇸 How to conquer the US market as a startup; (“For us to be successful, we had to go global from day one. The most important factor for us was to hire experienced people from the market that we were going after.”) 💸 How did he get Tim Draper on board as an investor; 🦾 How is AI transforming the sports industry; 💡His leadership philosophy; (“I'm not a big believer of the differentiation between a leader and a team. We are one team with one vision and we either succeed together or fail together or maybe a little bit of both.”)
The Recursive podcast is back for Season 4 and it welcomes one of the founding fathers of the Bulgarian tech ecosystem.
Vassil Terziev is the biggest angel investor in Bulgaria. He’s also among the most active ones in the whole region. He’s a partner at the early-stage fund Eleven Ventures.
Vassil Terziev is the co-founder of one of Bulgaria’s most successful tech companies, Telerik. The company’s sale to Progress in 2014 is still the largest for Bulgaria to this date. More than 40 companies were created by former Telerik employees.
Moreover, Vassil and his co-founders have invested in the education of the next generation of tech talent through the Telerik Academy Foundation. They also created the startup incubator Campus X which hosts a plethora of innovative Bulgarian companies.
Vassil has mentored and helped the growth of more than 50 businesses. He is also a founding board member of Endeavor Bulgaria and the Bulgaria Innovation Hub.
In this episode, you will get an insider view of how he has formed his mindset. He shares how his understanding of success has evolved over the last 20 years and the philosophy behind spreading your knowledge to build a healthier society.
In his conversation with Irina Obushtarova, he also talks about:
🎗️The importance of giving back and replicating success outside the tech ecosystem. (“The battle is how do we get more people to understand how much power they have as individuals who can create value and change the world around them every day. The key to achieve that is education.”) 😣The hardest part about building a company; (“It’s all about working on yourself to expose your strengths and mitigate the weaknesses and doing the same in a team environment where you collectively help each other to make the most out of your talents.”) 🦄 What is the path towards ten Bulgarian unicorn companies;
To wrap up a season of awesome conversations, we invite you to take a peek at the playbooks for building great products of some of the most exciting companies from the SEE region.
From the fundamentals of value creation to having the audacity to shape the world around them in a positive way, these entrepreneurs talk about how they have learned:
To process negative feedback;
To ask their customers the right questions;
To innovate by anticipating what’s next for the market;
To pair up the right talents - the atoms of every product;
Featured:
Hristo Hristov, CEO at HR Capital and Darik Radio
Peter Mitev, CEO at Chaos
Mariya Rashkovska, Head of Product Management at PubGalaxy
Raycho Raychev, co-founder at EnduroSat
Maya Zlatanova, co-founder at FindMeCure
Ivaylo Slavov, CEO at DIGITALL
Hristo Borissov, co-founder and CEO at Payhawk
Our next guest wears many hats. Hristo Hristov is a serial entrepreneur involved in the development of digital media in Bulgaria.
He is an angel investor and a partner in the VC fund Eleven Ventures.
He is also a mentor to startups in the entrepreneurial network Endeavor.
Currently, Hristo is the CEO of the private equity company HR Capital and of Darik radio. In this episode, he reflects how his experience in journalism prepared him for the entrepreneurial journey ahead and gives us a glimpse into the future of digital audio.
In his conversation with Irina Obushtarova, Hristo Hristov also shares:
🧱 The fundamentals of succession management and the legacy and values he caries from his father; (“The fundamentals for building a company, for entrepreneurship, for helping out your fellow community, for being an active part of society are the same. They don’t change.”) 📈 HR Capital IPO and why it is important to invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs; 🚀 The evolution of the Bulgarian tech ecosystem and the importance of the first unicorn;
Our next guest is one of the few engineers to have walked on the red carpet in Hollywood.
Peter Mitev is the co-founder of the software company Chaos. And owner of Oscar and Emmy awards for technological achievements.
The company offers technology for rendering and 3D visualizations known worldwide. It has applications in design, architecture and entertainment among others.
In the beginning of 2022 Chaos announced a merger with the German Enscape to begin the next chapter of their global expansion.
In his conversation with Irina, Peter Mitev reflects on his entrepreneurial journey. A drop-out from university, he started his first venture out of his fascination with computer graphics. In the late 90s, Bulgaria was in a dire economic crisis, there was no capital available, and Peter had no business knowledge himself. Together with his partner Vladimir Koylazov, they managed to build a software company with a rich portfolio of products that are now used worldwide. “We have been building Chaos for 24 years. As we joke with Vlado, our CVs are very boring and very short”, Peter Mitev says.
In the episode, he also talks about:
🎓 How education should reflect that kids learn best through play; 🙌 Why building a community has been such an important part of building the brand and the products of Chaos; 💸 Why fundraising came at the mature phase of developing Chaos; 👾 How Chaos is driving professional content into the Web3 space;
Our guest today is one of the most experienced product managers in the Bulgarian tech-scene.
Her name is Mariya Rashkovska and she is the head of product management of the Bulgarian Adtech company PubGalaxy. Last year, PubGalaxy was acquired by the Dutch scaleup Azerion.
Prior to joining PubGalaxy, Mariya held management positions at companies such as Telerik and Financial Times.
She is also the co-founder of Product Tank-Sofia and a consultant who helps IT companies build successful products.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Mariya reflects on her journey as a product manager, the right skill set for the job and the leadership qualities she developed running product teams.
In the episode, she also shares:
🤷🏻♂️ Why do product managers often experience impostor syndrome;
❔Why asking the right questions is key to customer satisfaction;
🛠️ Her top productivity hacks (“There’s no such thing as multitasking. I focus at one thing at a time.”)
Our next guest has always believed in the idea that space is closer than we think. Raycho Raychev is the co-founder of one of the fastest growing space tech companies in Europe - EnduroSat.
EnduroSat builds nanosatellites and it offers shared satellite missions that give nations, companies, and even universities access to space.
Raycho Raychev has also created a leadership and space education program in Bulgaria called “Space Challenges''. That is where he met the people to first join him on the mission to build a spacecraft that democratizes access to space.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Raychev talks about the complexities of building a deeptech company and their vision at EnduroSat to lead to a future where space is affordable for many, and not just a few.
In this episode Raycho Raychev also shares:
🤝 His learning curve on attracting investors and how to move on after 40 NOs; 🧠 Why being entrepreneurial is a mindset rather than occupation; (“You can be entrepreneurial in any environment in any way possible, as long as you have the capabilities to impact others in a positive way.”) 💲 Why the impact of a business should not be confused with the hype around its valuation;
Next, on The Recursive podcast we welcome an experienced engineer and a pioneer in the computer software industry in Bulgaria.
Boris Simandoff currently serves as the VP of Tech Innovations at Via, the on-demand transit tech company, born in the US. He’s also the General Manager of their engineering team in Bulgaria.
He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of software design, code optimization, and distributed network systems.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Boris Simandoff shares the story of his first successful exit back in the days when venture capital was not available and the world startup didn’t even exist in Bulgaria.
He reflects on his career path - from managing big projects for the Oskar-winning rendering and 3D visualizations company Chaos Group to shaping the transit tech industry at Via Engineering.
In this episode, Simandoff talks about:
🚌 The Future of Transportation and how Via is changing the way people are moving around the world; 🚀 Why the only way to scale as a region is to invest in better education and develop the tech talent; (“Young people are focused on mission and impact. They can get the same salaries everywhere.”) 🔎 How to stay at the top of your game as a software engineer;
Our next guest found entrepreneurship driven by her mission to help people and create something meaningful.
While looking for a clinical trial for her sister diagnosed with a medical condition that lacked traditional treatment, Maya Zlatanova saw the need for a platform that helps patients look for alternative treatment.
This is how FindMeCure was born. The company is now bringing research closer to patients by developing tools for patients and providing analytics to the healthcare industry. Or as the founders call it - a Google for clinical trials.
Always a high achiever and solution-oriented person, Maya Zlatanova shares her candid definitions of failure and success with Georgi Nenov.
In this episode you’ll also find out:
💪 How FindMeCure was born because Maya had to win a bet with her future co-founder and partner in life; 👶 How she had to raise a business, and a baby at the same time and what can parenting teach you about managing people; 🚀How to know as a startup founder that an accelerator program is a good fit for your goals; 👩🏻💻 Why there are fewer women entrepreneurs out there;
Next on The Recursive podcast we welcome one of the most prominent executives and pioneers in the IT industry in Bulgaria.
Ivaylo Slavov is a citizen of the world. Having a long and successful corporate career in Germany, he came back to Bulgaria more than 15 years ago to help set up the first nearshore IT operations for American giants like HP.
10 years ago he started his own company BULPROS and quickly turned it into one of the fastest-growing IT companies in Central Europe. Last year BULPROS merged with the German company ec4u. Together they aim to become the digital cloud services leader in Europe. Their new company DIGITALL is now set to conquer the US market.
In his conversation with Irina, Ivaylo Slavov gives an overview of his versatile management experiences from the boom of the dot-com era in the late 90s, to building the Bulgarian ecosystem from scratch ten years later, and taking his business ventures to global success.
In this episode you’ll also hear:
- Why learning to be loyal is one of the toughest lessons you learn as a leader;
- What is the key for successful integration between merging companies (“You can miss the opportunities to use the best things of a culture or a company if you go and say my way is better.”)
- What does Bulgaria need to scale and become a global brand for innovation;
Next on The Recursive podcast, we welcome a female entrepreneur who is passionate about business change, automation and the circular economy.
Adina Huma is the co-founder of a Bucharest-based platform that offers sustainable packaging solutions for e-Commerce players called R-Create. Adina and her co-founder Linda Vasilescu aim to help online retailers reduce waste, lower costs, and attract customers with a green policy.
She’s also a seasoned consultant and project manager, And guided the digital transformation and business growth of many businesses.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Adina shares why she switched from consulting to entrepreneurship and what she learned in the process. She also talks about the hardest moment which they endured with her co-founder Linda Vasilescu as partners - when they were ready to launch a product and raise money from investors but the pandemic put a halt to every business activity. They decided not to give up, but reshuffle, adapt and look for resolution.
In this episode you’ll also hear insights on:
- How to make it work on a market where you are the first one;
- How to activate the community to contribute to sustainability goals;
- The evolution of innovations in the SEE region; (“It’s a really good time for startups. You are now granted the opportunity to be hands-on and make things happen.”)
The Recursive podcast is back from winter break. Our next guest is an entrepreneur who is keen on technology and AI as much as he enjoys talking about philosophy and leadership.
Ciprian Borodescu is the co-founder of MorphL, a start-up that developed an artificial intelligence-based solution to help online stores increase sales, and optimize their product metrics.
His startup was acquired by the French company Algolia before they even managed to raise a seed round. Ciprian now serves as the Head of the R&D center of Algolia in Bucharest.
A follower of stoicism philosophy, a sports lover, and a podcast host of a show about artificial intelligence, Ciprian talks with Georgi Nenov about:
🤝🏽 The hard but life-changing decision to get acquired by Algolia and his own transition from CEO into a Head of R&D; (hint: aligning on values was key) ✨ The impact of his relationship with his life and professional partner Alexandra (“She’s one of my role models. I do the talking, but she’s the one making things happen.”); 🤔 Why he embraced stoicism and how he applies its philosophy to startup life; 👨🏫 The importance of coaching in entrepreneurship (“Why should athletes have coaches and entrepreneurs should not?”)
2021 has been a spectacular year for our next guest.
Hristo Borisov is the co-founder and CEO of the Bulgarian fintech startup Payhawk, which raised a 20M dollars Series A in the first half of the year, followed by a historic for the Bulgarian ecosystem 112M dollars Series B in November. The startup which helps SMEs manage their expenses has ambitious plans for expansion in the US, Europe, and the Asia Pacific.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Hristo Borissov was a software engineer and a product manager at Telerik, the Bulgarian IT company which still represents the largest exit for the Bulgarian ecosystem.
In his conversation with Irina, Hristo talks about how the culture at Telerik, which encouraged experimentation and building new things, helped him develop his product thinking.
In the episode he also shares:
📖 His playbook for building scalable products; (hints: be a firm believer in the problem you’re solving and make sure you understand the pain points of the customer) ❤️Why passion matters for him (“I just can’t do things halfway. If I am not passionate about something, I can’t do it”) 💪🏽How the resilience and efficiency of startup founders from Eastern Europe help them beat the odds; (“We thrive in scarce city”) 🕸️ How he went all in with Payhawk even though he didn’t have a safety net;
Our next guest has been an entrepreneur even before he knew what that meant. He earned his first money as a teenager, drawing graffiti for small businesses in Bucharest.
Bogdan Nicoara is currently the co-founder of Bright Spaces, an end-to-end digital leasing platform for commercial real estate. Born in Romania in 2019, the startup is aiming to become a global tech disruptor in real estate.
With a background in software development and digital marketing, Bogdan loves starting new projects and finding creative solutions to problems.
In an episode, full of insights and lessons from his journey as a startup founder, Bogdan talks about the advantages of starting a global-oriented business from Romania, getting the hang of a complex industry such as real estate, and how they landed their first client.
You will also hear from Bogdan on:
- How to move from service to a product mindset 🧠;
- How to filter and process negative feedback to build a better product 🏗️;
- How to get the smart money investors on board as an entrepreneur 💰;
📖Check out also Bogdan’s recommendation for a book that helps him build the culture at Bright Spaces: Reinventing organizations by Fredreric Laloux
Next stop for The Recursive podcast - Bucharest. It is where we meet serial entrepreneur and angel investor Gregoire Vigroux. The Frenchman who fell in love in Romania, set up all his businesses there, and made his goal to show everybody all the opportunities that the country presents.
As a hyperactive person who likes to be challenged every day, Gregoire is born with an entrepreneurial mindset. He has co-founded and invested in more than 25 businesses across Eastern Europe and has had 4 exits so far.
One of his first ventures was the outsourcing company CallPoint, which is now known as TELUS International Europe. It currently employs 5,000 people in Bulgaria and Romania and Gregoire serves as a board member.
He started his latest endeavors amidst the pandemic - the online store for refurbished smartphones www.fenix.eco that he exited this summer.
And just a month ago, he announced his latest project bonapp.eco - a mobile app combating food waste allowing users to buy food close to its expiration date from nearby grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, cafés, or hotels.
Gregoire is the Co-Founder and President at the French Tech global community in Romania, an ecosystem that supports startups in their international development.
In his honest conversation with Irina, Gregoire takes us all the way through his incredible entrepreneurial journey. In the episode he shares:
- Why he believes entrepreneurship is like Russian roulette and what helped him succeed at this crazy game;
- The importance of building quality relationships and creating friendships with the people you work with;
- Why he cares more about impact than business plans and pitch decks;
- How his ADHD condition impacted his life and career path;
Next, on The Recursive podcast we welcome seasoned entrepreneur Ilia Krastev. As the CEO of A Data Pro, he’s managing a diverse portfolio of companies in the data and information economy - the business news provider for Southeast Europe SeeNews, the media monitoring company Perceptica, the business platform for renewable energy - Renewables Now, and the scientific unit, based on AI solutions Identrics.
Ilia Krastev is also the chairman of the Association for Innovation, Business Excellence, Services, and Technology, that aims to be the voice of companies of the high value-added business services in Bulgaria.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Ilia tells the story of how his first student job turned into his lifetime calling. While studying microbiology, he started as a coder indexing news articles, explored different positions within the company and rose to the role of CEO. And he’s been at the steering wheel of A Data Pro for the last 13 years.
Throughout the years Ilia has experimented with different ventures - some very far away from tech, and he says that trying new things and learning about people has been his main focus.
He owned a restaurant and an agriculture business which taught him much more about listening to people than any corporate training.
In the episode, Ilia talks about:
- How to stay at the top of the game in the ever changing world of data;
- How to develop an intrapreneurial mindset within the company and make sure your organization can adapt fast to changes;
- How to learn to let go of control as a leader and give opportunities to people to lead;
Our next guest on The Recursive podcast is an illustrator and designer turned entrepreneur Gergana Stancheva. She and her co-founder Angela Ivanova found a way to say goodbye to plastic in the packaging industry. Together they created LAM’ON in 2017 - а startup producing biodegradable laminating film for print and packaging.
Several years later they are ready to launch officially and sell their products in Europe. They are focused on building up their production and distribution lines here in Bulgaria.
In the episode, Gergana opens up about all the sweat and tears that go into building a product company. As she puts it herself: “It’s a constant failure until you actually get it right.”
She talks about dealing with rejection and building resilience as a startup founder and shares how she and her co-founder went broke while developing their product.
In her conversation with Georgi, you’ll also learn:
- How to build a company with your best friend and keep your personal relationship going strong;
- What makes you a good salesperson? (Hint: really believing in your idea)
- How to fight people’s indifference about climate change;
- What does it take for a Bulgarian manufacturer to go global;
Our next guest is a seasoned French businessman whose entrepreneurial journey is deeply intertwined with the fast development of the Bulgarian post-communist economy.
Xavier Marcenac first came to Bulgaria in the early 90s, as the country was opening up for foreign investors. After several years of managing companies in Europe, in the early 2000s he came back to start one of the first BPO companies in the country. A sector, which later became one of the fastest-growing branches of the Bulgarian economy and a focal point for attracting young talent from the country and abroad.
Marcenac managed to grow his company Call Point to a leader in the BPO services in Europe. It currently employs close to 5000 people, mostly based in Bulgaria and Romania and it is owned by Canadian TELUS International.
While Xavier and his life partner Olga Marcenac started their new venture in the promising biotechnology sector. Together they co-founded Nasekomo, a startup converting organic waste into high-value animal protein through the use of insects.
Xavier is a graduated IT engineer, he holds an MBA degree from INSEAD, and is a passionate runner, hiker, and admirer of Bulgarian nature.
In his conversation with Irina, Xavier shares:
- Why selling his business was one of his hardest decisions as a manager?
- What are his secrets on how to make it work to build a business with your life partner?
- What was their fascinating discovery about black soldier flies and why is it so beneficial for animals to eat protein, sourced from these insects?
In Bucharest again, we meet the co-founder of established software company QUALITANCE and most recently the AI-assisted platform for digital transformation FLOWX.AI Ioan Iacob.
FLOWX.AI has just raised $8.5 million in a seed round, led by PortfoLion, with Day One Capital and SeedBlink also participating in the round.
In this conversation with Ioan for The Recursive podcast, you will learn:
- How a Romanian engineer in Silicon Valley, overlooked because of his accent, beat the odds and changed the way software was built;
- How did Ioan get GoogleX’s co-founder Tom Chi to join their board of advisors and what did they learn from him on how to build great products;
- Why losing the ego is key to running a successful startup;
For more inspiring conversations with leaders from SouthEast Europe, subscribe to our podcast.
Next on The Recursive podcast, we welcome seasoned entrepreneur and investor turned political candidate Daniel Lorer.
His journey in the business world has been versatile and rich. Starting as a coder, turned into a sales executive, who then turned into а startup founder with a couple of successful exits. After years of living between Tel Aviv, Paris, Brussels, and Zurich, he came back to Bulgaria and entered the venture capital world with Sofia-based BrightCap Ventures.
Now, Lorer is at a turning point again. He’s running for the Bulgarian parliament as a part of the newly founded party “We continue the change”.
In his conversation with Irina, Daniel shares what prompted him to burst his own tech bubble and enter the very different reality of Bulgarian politics.
“The tech community is export-focused, our business is worldwide, we have very little attachment to all the issues here. Our problems are mostly communal, we’re not really experiencing the problems of the common people around us. That has given us the luxury to look the other way for too long. We stay in our beautiful bubble and we think that things will sort out themselves”, he admits and then adds:
“However, after a long period of time where nobody else picks up the shovel and starts cleaning up, the moment when the opportunity arrives for you to do it, you start asking yourself: “How I am going to look at myself in the mirror 20 years from now?”
According to Lorer the biggest asset a politician can have now is empathy - the ability to listen, understand, and relate to the different communities, big and small, and respond. He gives the credit of cultivating his own ability to empathize with others to his wife.
In the episode, Lorer shares his vision of how will Bulgaria rise to become a regional innovation hub. Now that the country is finally breeding globally-oriented product companies, the missing link in public policy, he says, is the investment in education.
He believes that to move to the next stage of ecosystem development, Bulgaria needs to have top education, which means both government spending on R&D and enterprises, investing more on R&D.
In his view, in order to create and retain local human capital, but also attract the brightest minds from abroad, Bulgaria has to drastically improve its basic social services, but also appreciate and promote better its natural assets. “I would like to see my contribution to radically changing the international perception of what Bulgaria stands for”, Daniel concludes.
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On the next stop in Bucharest, The Recursive podcast welcomes Ilinca Paun. She is a person who knows the price of taking big risks to chase the freedom and the excitement of the unknown.
At the top of the corporate ladder as the manager of Colliers in Romania, she quit her job as an expert in the real estate business to become an explorer.
She co-founded The Entrepreneurship Academy and became a teacher there, advising young people on their entrepreneurial journey, but also learning from them.
Currently Ilinca Paun serves as the managing partner at Impact Hub Bucharest.
In a very personal conversation with Irina, Ilinca shares how she landed a corporate job, even though she studied for an architect.
“I was too much in the search of fame and glory back then. The corporate world could cover training, education and higher salary. It was a golden ticket and I took it”, she reflects.
18 long and intensive years followed. During 8 of them she was the CEO of Colliers Romania. She took over the management of the company after the real estate crash in 2010. The business was struggling, people were fighting, and she decided it was a good moment for a rebirth and rebuilding of the company culture.
She reflects on her role as a manager. Being a confident leader and a good salesperson, behaving well under pressure was not enough.
“Looking back, I was ego-driven and narcissistic. I was completely oblivious to how to communicate with people. You should have much more substance, much more competence, when it comes to understanding people around you. Being adaptable, flexible about how to take decisions taking into account their needs and their ideas”, she talks about her lessons learned.
Ilinca is very honest about the personal toll she paid climbing up the corporate ladder and surviving in a very competitive environment.
“It felt dehumanizing, because competition meant hating people, and it made me very lonely. I couldn’t properly connect with my family, because I had to fight this fight that was not mine”, she shares.
So, she left the corporate world and co-founded The Entrepreneurship academy, a place where she started rebuilding her freedom and her sense of self. And where she also got used to a new approach to business.
“My students at The Entrepreneurship Academy don’t try to steal clients from others. Their competition is with themselves - how can I serve my clients better”, Ilinca explains.
In the episode, Ilinca also reflects on the culture in Eastern Europe, which shames mistakes because people are taught not to talk about it.
There is a fine line between true self-confidence and a fake sense of holding the truth, Ilinca believes: “I was very afraid to say the words: “I don’t know”. Underneath our arrogance of knowing is our fear. Our fear of not being noticed, valuable or impactful.”
The next guest of the Bucharest edition of The Recursive podcast is a person who anticipates future trends and helps people and organizations see the opportunities in them.
Ciprian Stanescu is the co-founder of Social Innovation Solutions, an organization that assists leaders in creating sustainable tech, entrepreneurial & policy solutions.With a background in political science and economics, Stanescu consults both NGOs and companies on social impact and innovation.
He’s also a professor at The Entrepreneurship Academy in Bucharest and a frequent speaker on Future Trends & Foresight.
In his conversation with Georgi, Ciprian Stanescu shares how he found his own entrepreneurial drive while he took 18-month paternity leave to look after his firstborn child. This experience taught him that risk-taking is something that he both wants and can do.
“Not many entrepreneurs start when they have a kid, they think it’s too complicated, but it gave me a lot of stamina and a lot of courage to release myself”, he says in the episode.
He adds that he wouldn’t compare parenting to running a company, but they do have similarities. “When you create your own company, you are both the parent, and the kid”, he exemplifies.
In the episode, Stanescu reflects on his teaching experience and what he has learned from his students. What he sees in the new generation of entrepreneurs is that they don’t go into business to find success, but to make an impact.
Stanescu shares his views on why technology can’t solve the social problems of the world without having a clear impact model at its core.
“Entrepreneurs often care more about KPIs, while the human sustainability part of the business is critical”, he believes.
A cautious optimist for the future of Eastern Europe, Stanescu thinks that the region hasn’t yet found its clear and strong entrepreneurial identity. But in order to do that, the entrepreneurial community must engage the rest of the population, according to him. “If we are only looking at the UiPaths’ of the world, we have a problem. They are really important as models to follow, but if we don’t find ways to engage more people in our conversations, in the way we work, in the way we dream, it‘s not going to work out”, Stanescu concludes.
Season 2 of The Recursive podcast kicks off in Bucharest. We first meet XENIA MUNTEAN, the co-founder, and CEO of the marketing collaboration platform Planable.
She considers herself “an accidental entrepreneur”, even though she started her first business when she was just 20 years old.
Today, the platform she and her co-founders built to help marketing teams collaborate better is used by over 5,000 teams around the world behind brands such as Hyundai, Christian Louboutin, Viber, and the United Nations.
Xenia graduated from Tim Draper's start-up academy in Silicon Valley and went through one of the best accelerator programs in the world - Tech Stars London.
Growing up in post-soviet Moldova, she didn’t have any role models of women entrepreneurs to look up to. Xenia was inspired by her hustler mom, who not only juggled ventures on the side but put her kids’ education on top.
In her conversation with Georgi Xenia opens up about the “sweat and tears” part of the Planable journey. She tells the story of how she and her two co-founders left Moldova and moved to Romania to focus religiously on building their business.
Xenia talks about the evolution of their relationship as business partners, and the culture of work ethics, discipline, and humor they are trying to build in their company.
You’ll also learn what it took them to land their first client, what is her secret in keeping up with the rollercoaster life as an entrepreneur, and how she blocks time for deep thinking as a leader.
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What is the archetype of a great leader? Does leadership come naturally to people or is it something you can learn on the job? What are the skills you need to adopt and nurture to grow into the leader you want to become?
To wrap up Season 1 of The Recursive podcast we picked some of the best insights on leadership that our guests shared on the podcast.
In order of appearance:
The Vice president Regional Communities Strategy at IT company VMware Diana Stefanova believes that many people have natural leadership skills but you can also develop people-oriented leadership qualities in your managerial role. “Early in our careers, we learn to be great managers and leadership is something that you could develop from a very young age because leaders are those who can inspire. Being a leader is something really important for us to be successful in any type of business”, she explained in the episode.
The digitalization expert and co-founder of infosec company LogSentinel Bozhidar Bozhanov believes that digital transformation can’t happen without thoughtful leadership. It’s not about the technical issue to change paper with files, but about the ability to convince people that this is important.
Motivational speaker and author Peter Sage sees the archetype of the leader as the sovereign, who is in charge of the orchestra.
Helping others, taking the initiative, and being a reliable person is the path to emerge as a new leader according to the Head of Engineering at ProductHunt Rado Stankov.
And for the co-founder of Imagga and Kelvin Health Georgi Kadrev when you lead by example, you have the learn to accept your own flaws and the flaws of others. “This doesn’t mean to encourage them, but to recognize that everyone is working on their evolutional path. Showing your imperfections is a positive practice, especially when you demonstrate that you have the desire to change”, he shared.
Learning to let go of control and trusting your colleagues to own the process is one of the most important leadership lessons for the social entrepreneur Iva Gumnishka.
For serial entrepreneur Hristo Neychev the best leaders are those who help other humans grow and become the best versions of themselves.
Being comfortable with change and staying calm when facing a crisis are also crucial skills that you need to adopt to be a good leader, says the co-founder of OfficeRND Miroslav Miroslavov. “You should feel comfortable taking risks and replacing the engine of the plane while flying”, he added.
For ex-Telerik founder and angel investor Svetozar Georgiev the leader should be part of the team and in the trenches every day, especially when things are hard. He should be responsible for giving the overall direction but give freedom to people and empower them to do their best work.
For Romanian serial entrepreneur and angel investor Mircea Vadan leadership starts with managing yourself first - learn to let go of control, be the catalyzer in a project, and start things in a partnership.
Stay tuned for the start of Season 2 next Tuesday. We kick it off with some of the most inspiring leaders from the Bucharest innovation community.
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In episode 10 of The Recursive podcast, we meet with Bozhidar Bozhanov, the co-founder of cybersecurity company LogSentinel.
He’s also one of the driving forces behind the digitalization of the public sector in Bulgaria.
A software engineer with a passion for technology and an active citizen stance, Bozhidar has a talent for explaining complex topics.
His company Logsentinel offers an information security product, which allows companies to track every single event that takes place in their information and digital infrastructure, and then find fraud and anomalies in the data. Among its clients are banks, payment service providers, insurance companies, etc.
But Bozhidar has also been a vocal supporter of open data and e-governance. As an expert, he has helped the Bulgarian government implement both in its work. Most recently he’s been an advisor to the Commission for Digitalization and e-governance in the Bulgarian National assembly.
In his conversation with Georgi, he shares how he balances running a startup and being an expert, involved in the innovation of the public sector.
He explains why he believes that e-government is the basis of trust between people and government and how he aims to help Bulgarian citizens engage and communicate easily and digitally with Bulgarian institutions.
Integrity and transparency are the values that Bozhidar cares about both in business, and in politics. He explains that for him the key to gaining clients’ trust in the infosec sphere is being a technical person who speaks their language.
We also learn that it’s the love of challenges and the joy in solving problems that led him on an entrepreneurial journey. “Solving a problem that exists out there and that is not yet properly solved, or there are parts of the market that are unserved, combined with the knowledge and the expertise of the founders, is kind of the recipe for creating a startup”, Bozhidar says.
A devoted blogger, Bozhidar talks about how blogging helps him organize his thoughts and writing is his driver to research and dive deep into the topics that interest him.
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In episode 9 of The Recursive Podcast, we welcome Diana Stefanova, Vice President Regional Communities Strategy at VMware.
Currently, VMware is the biggest IT company, operating in Bulgaria.
In love with math from an early age, Diana Stefanova has a solid background in finance. Her expertise is in the strategic and business development of both startups and global companies. She started her career in technology startups in the US and quickly rose to leadership roles.
Currently, she is also a partner in the venture capital fund BrightCapVentures and has supported and mentored a lot of startup companies in the SEE region.
As a female leader, Diana Stefanova is a vocal supporter of gender equality in the tech world.
In her conversation with Irina, she shares lessons and learnings from her leadership path. You’ll hear how she outgrew micromanaging as a new manager and learned to let go.
You’ll also learn how she learned to anticipate the future and make sense of the megatrends both as a corporate leader and as a venture capitalist. Being capable to detach from details and easily switch contexts are her key learnings in nurturing a big-picture mindset.
Diana Stefanova discusses what qualities she looks for in the next generation of leaders, with people being open to try new things and adapt quickly being on the top of her list.
Stefanova talks about her experience at VMware leading remote teams, retaining talent, and adapting processes for the future of work. Technology is key in managing distributed teams according to Stefanova, but managers must compensate for the lack of tete-a-tete meetings with more conversations and openness.
She shares about her transformative experience in the US, what made her come back to Europe, and what she learned from succeeding in another culture, both personally and professionally. She goes back in time to share how she overcame her natural shyness to be able to demonstrate confidence and get her point across.
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In Episode 8 of The Recursive podcast, Irina meets the Head of Engineering of the American company Product Hunt Rado Stankov.
A Bulgarian software engineer, Rado was one of the first employees of Product Hunt who developed into one of the best technical leads in the Silicon Valley.
Rado is а frequent guest at tech conferences and podcasts, sharing his knowledge about productivity, product and time management, and working in a remote setup.
Rado believes that Southeast Europe as a region needs to develop strong product thinking in order to grow and mature as a market.
In his conversation with Irina, he shares what makes a good product manager. Hint: don’t think too much about the implementation details but what is the use-case and does it make sense for the customer.
Rado landed his first programming job when he was only 15 years old, but he thinks that the ability to learn and be curious is way more important to become a good software engineer instead of starting early.
You’ll also learn why at Product Hunt people are not glued to their professional roles but are rather encouraged to contribute with ideas on how to improve the processes in all areas.
In the episode, Rado also gives some practical tips on how to be productive in a non-office environment and why giving clear success metrics to people as a manager is key.
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Episode 7 of The Recursive podcast welcomes a very special guest - motivational speaker, executive coach, and serial entrepreneur Peter Sage.
Entrepreneurship is his game, but understanding human behavior, and the psychology of why we do what we do has been his passion for the last 30 years. Peter Sage has been traveling the world, writing books, giving lectures, coaching others, running marathons, trying to answer the question - how can we become better versions of ourselves.
In his conversation with Irina, Sage talks about how chasing success for the sake of it is often an attempt to find external validation to fill in an internal gap.
They explore what is the archetype of leadership, why do most people tie their self-worth to their net worth, and why courage is more important than skills when it comes to overcoming the fear of failure and embracing the fear of success.
Sage opens up about his six-month stay in one of Britain’s toughest jails as the only non-criminal, because of contempt of court. He shares how he managed to turn that experience into an exciting adventure for learning and helping others. You’ll hear how he managed to get prisoners to trust him and help them get to a place of acceptance and contemplate where would their lives go next.
You’ll also learn why does Peter count his failures as his biggest capital.
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In the sixth episode of The Recursive podcast, we welcome one of the pioneers of technology entrepreneurship in Bulgaria Georgi Kadrev.
He’s the co-founder and CEO of image recognition company Imagga and Kelvin Health, а startup building a digital solution for early detection of breast cancer through AI.
A software engineer by qualification and a go-getter by nature, Georgi is driven by the aim to create things that are useful to others. He is also an associate professor at Sofia University where he teaches Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
In this episode, Georgi and Irina dive deep into the philosophy of running your own business and the evolution of one’s consciousness.
A mission-driven leader, Georgi shares his journey to find the right co-founders, his lessons on how to retain the best talent, and how being aware of your deficiencies can help you empathize with others and lead by example.
He also talks about the rabbit hole of constantly competing with others in your mind and why more opportunities occur in collaboration.
Georgi opens up about his struggle with health during the push years of bootstrapping a company and how he developed a healthier lifestyle after that. You’ll also learn what are his hacks of keeping good mental hygiene.
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In episode 5 of The Recursive podcast, we welcome the Bulgarian human rights researcher turned social entrepreneur Iva Gumnishka.
Only 27 years old, Iva is the founder of Humans in the Loop, a social enterprise aimed at providing refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants with marketable computer skills.
Humans in the Loop is specialized in data annotation for the computer vision industry. Their employees perform manual labeling and verification to train machine learning models. The social enterprise collaborates with projects in the field of autonomous driving and flights, medical AI, Agri-tech, robotic vision, and others.
Iva discovered her passion for helping people and pursuit for social change while studying Human Rights at Columbia University in New York. After graduating, she was determined to go back home and attempt to change the way migrants and refugees were perceived in Bulgaria. Since 2017, Humans in the Loop has impacted more than 500 people in Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Iva Gumnishka talks about her desire for independence that has led her on an entrepreneurship path. She opens up about her struggle to fund a social impact endeavor and what did it take to turn it into a sustainable business.
Iva shares her vision of the role of humans in accelerating Machine Learning and AI processes and whether in ten years’ time society will still need human labor to help algorithms perform better.
Leading with empathy, the social entrepreneur explains what are the qualities she values most in her professional relationships, and why she has a hard time saying “no”.
You’ll also learn about how her partnership with her husband has guided her through all the milestone decisions for the business.
Find out why Iva quitted belly dancing and what’s her secret to leading a more balanced life as a founder.
In episode 4 of The Recursive podcast, we get inside the mind of the serial entrepreneur and professional coach, and startup advisor Hristo Neychev.
Currently, he is a partner at ST6, a company that delivers consulting services in the fields of software development, DevOps, cloud technologies, lean methodologies, and design thinking.
In the last decade, he has been an advisor, trainer, and consultant to many entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 companies, and other business organizations.
Driven by his passion for creating new products, Hristo has had multiple startup endeavors and a successful exit to Amazon. Before his entrepreneurial experience, he had an impressive corporate career as a sales and biz dev professional with global names like Shell, Essilor, Henkel, and the Bulgarian IT success Telerik.
In his conversation with Georgi Hristo talks about how culture shapes our perception of failure, how he learned to fail gracefully, and what qualities he values most in leadership.
He ponders about how do you know when is the right time to exit your company as a founder and why you should keep your mind flexible and “listen to the music of the Universe” when you reach a milestone decision.
You’ll also learn how Hristo turned to Eastern philosophy in his pursuit of happiness and how daily meditation helps him understand and empathize with others better.
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In episode 3 Irina meets with the Romanian serial entrepreneur and angel investor Mircea Vadan. He’s currently a partner at Activize, a startup scouting and acceleration program in the Romanian and Eastern European ecosystems. Mircea is also a board member and investor in Transylvania Angels Network, an initiative bringing together business people interested in angel investing & mentoring tech startups.
A computer science engineer, who’s passionate about entrepreneurship & tech startups, education, and training, in the last few years, Mircea has combined all these activities and co-founded several startups.
In this candid conversation, Mircea opens up about his failures. He shares how he had lost his way doing multiple projects and how managing yourself and your emotions as a leader is no less important than managing your team or your product as a startup founder. You’ll learn about his quest for spirituality, following the path of the ancient practices of the Amazonian tribes.
Irina and Mircea also discuss the growth of the SouthEast European vibrant ecosystem, is UiPath an outlier, and how its success is feeding the hopes and ambitions of the whole region. You’ll also hear what is Mircea’s favourite question to ask founders as an angel investor.
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In episode 2 of The Recursive podcast, we meet with one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Bulgarian startup community - Svetozar Georgiev - Zarko. He’s one of the co-founders of Telerik, a dev tools software company that was acquired by Progress for $262.5M back in 2014 - the biggest to this date exit in the local ecosystem. Since then, Zarko has been focusing his efforts on sharing the learned lessons with the next generation of Bulgarian leaders.
He’s been driving the development of initiatives like Telerik Academy, an organization that provides education for the digital economy to people of all ages, and Campus X, a hub in Sofia that brings startups, investors, and corporate innovators under the same roof. Zarko is also a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs and an angel investor in emerging high-tech startups like Printivo, Econic One, and LAM’ON.
In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Zarko provides his perspective on the development of communities with massive impact, the importance of the give-back mentality for the success of society, and the skills of the future. You will also learn about the culture in Telerik that brought the Sofia-based startup to global prominence and Zarko’s most influential mentor.
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The first guest of The Recursive podcast is the co-founder and CEO of Office RnD Miroslav Miroslavov. He created a platform for flexible workspace management and turned into a global company with clients in more than 60 countries and employees on three continents.
A software engineer with a drive for entrepreneurship from a very young age, ex-Telerik talent and tennis aficionado, Miroslav shares his views about risk taking, winning at all costs and how to nurture a growth mindset.
You’ll also learn about what it takes for a SEE company to be successful on a global scale and how sport helps him be a better leader.
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The first guest of The Recursive podcast is the co-founder of OfficeRnD Miroslav Miroslavov. He created a management platform for flexible workspaces and managed to turn it into a global company with clients in more than 60 countries and employees on three continents.
A software engineer with a drive for entrepreneurship from a very young age, ex-Telerik talent, and tennis aficionado, Miroslav shares his views about risk-taking, winning at all costs, and how to nurture a growth mindset.
You’ll also learn about what it takes for a SEE company to be successful on a global scale and how sport helps him be a better leader.
The Recursive podcast is your weekly wander inside the minds of innovation leaders across SouthEast Europe. Each week our hosts cozy up with a digital economy champion and dive deep into their life philosophy, values, leadership style, and personal development. Join us for inspirational stories on how to grow, learn and think big.
Subscribe for our newsletter to get the episode before anyone else on Friday, July 23rd: https://share.hsforms.com/1ACuLc_V_QG2k_DyDgRBrng5ec6c
Otherwise, you can expect episode 1 next Tuesday on your favorite video or audio platform.
Spotify | https://spoti.fi/3kqEyVW
Apple | https://podcasts.apple.com/bg/podcast/the-recursive-podcast/id1576538398
YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0t-WA2tlHRjOI9Pb6OTTmQ/videos
or visit
The Recursive website | https://therecursive.com/channel/podcasts/
Each week The Recursive podcast will take on a journey inside the mind of a digital economy champion from SouthEast Europe. We’ll dive deep into their personal values and leadership style but also how they’ve developed as entrepreneurs and built their businesses.
Before we begin we’d like you to meet our hosts - the co-founder of The Recursive Irina Obushtarova and the founder of The Superhuman podcast Georgi Nenov.
What they share in common is the passion for inspiring stories. In this episode they talk about how each of them found their way of telling these stories and what they have learned on the way.
But you’ll also hear how Irina came up with The Recursive name and why Georgi fell in love with jiu-jitsu.
// S U B S C R I B E for the video editions of this podcast
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0t-WA2tlHRjOI9Pb6OTTmQ
// F O L L O W US
Spotify | https://spoti.fi/3kqEyVW
Pocket Casts | https://pca.st/vz9615k0
Anchor | https://anchor.fm/the-recursive-media
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/therecursive
LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recursive/
Twitter | https://twitter.com/therecursive_eu
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/the_recursive/
// A B O U T
The Recursive is an independent media platform for innovation journalism. From entrepreneurs and investors to tech communities, we shine a light on the vibrant innovation ecosystems in Southeast Europe. Our mission is to tell the stories of those shaping the future economy in the region and make them reach the world.
/// COME JOIN US FOR MORE INSPIRATIONAL STORIES!
Use this link to visit our website! https://therecursive.com/
Join our hosts Irina and Georgi and get to know the innovation leaders of SouthEast Europe