VC in the CEE

In this episode, we sit down with Alex Agatinei, CEO of How to Web, the premier startup and technology conference in Eastern Europe. But How to Web is more than just an event—it’s a driving force behind the region’s innovation ecosystem, publishing influential reports on venture deals and startup growth trends. Their latest report just dropped last week, and Alex gives us an exclusive look at what’s inside.🔍 Episode Highlights:📈 Evolution of Eastern Europe’s Startup Ecosystem: Alex shares how the How to Web report has evolved over the years to become a critical resource for understanding startup dynamics in the region. We explore the big question: Is Eastern Europe growing as fast as we’d like?🇷🇴 Focus on Romania’s Venture Landscape: Dive deep into the state of venture capital in Romania, with a comparative analysis of the most significant changes between 2023 and 2024. What do these trends reveal about the future of Romania’s startup scene?🌐 Regional Growth and Challenges: We discuss the broader startup ecosystem in Eastern Europe, uncovering growth drivers, challenges, and opportunities that could shape the region’s tech landscape in the coming years.Whether you’re an investor, founder, or just curious about the fast-paced world of startups in Eastern Europe, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.🎧 Tune in now to get a fresh perspective on venture capital and innovation in Eastern Europe!

In this episode, we dive into the world of venture capital with Diana Stefanova, Managing Partner at BrightCap Ventures, an early-stage VC firm investing in the CEE region with a special focus on Bulgaria and Romania. Diana shares her journey from working with startups in Silicon Valley to scaling VMware’s Bulgarian operations and transitioning to BrightCap, first as a Venture Partner and now as a Managing Partner.🔍 Episode Highlights:💼 Navigating the World of VC: Diana explains the differences between being a Venture Partner and a Managing Partner and how these roles shape investment strategies.💰 Building a $60M Fund: Insights into the challenges and triumphs of raising BrightCap’s second fund and how portfolio exits influenced the process.🌍 Gender Equality in VC: BrightCap sets itself apart with two out of three Managing Partners being women. Diana shares her perspective on gender diversity in the CEE venture ecosystem.🔮 Future of Work Startups: Exploring BrightCap’s investment focus on the future of work, including AI-driven innovations and HR tech.📈 Bulgaria's Startup Boom: A discussion on Sofia's rise as a top CEE startup hub and the impact of success stories like Payhawk on the local ecosystem.Don’t miss this insightful episode packed with valuable lessons for founders, investors, and anyone interested in the evolving venture capital landscape in the CEE region. 🎧

In this episode, we sit down with Jędrzej Szymczyk, Partner at LLW, a law firm providing legal support to both investors and founders in the startup ecosystem. LLW has collaborated with prominent VC funds like Sunfish Partners, Shape VC, and Hard 2 Beat. Jędrzej sheds light on the often-overlooked legal aspects crucial in shaping successful startups.🔍 Episode Highlights:📄 Decoding the Term Sheet: Jędrzej breaks down various legal aspects of the term sheet, explaining how Poland's evolving VC ecosystem has influenced changes in its format and clauses.🔎 The Value of Legal Due Diligence: We delve into the structure of legal due diligence and discuss why findings in the process might be very valuable to founders.🏦 The Role of the Polish Development Fund (PFR): Exploring how PFR plays a pivotal role in fostering Poland's venture capital ecosystem.💰 Alternative Financing Options: For early-stage companies, we discuss alternative financing options beyond typical equity investments, such as SAFEs and convertible notes, from a legal perspective.Tune in to gain insider knowledge from Jędrzej's vast experience in the legal landscape of startups, and get a glimpse of what's happening in the rapidly evolving Polish venture capital scene. Don't miss out on this insightful conversation! 🎧

“In a technical organisation, getting towards excellence, salespeople are less important than technology people. And the reality of this is that if you don’t do sales on your own, I think that chances of being able to succeed are trending towards zero”In this episode, we had a chat with Bogdan Iordache, General Partner at Underline Ventures. The company invests in seed-stage startups and in our conversation Bogdan shares his journey from technical founder to investor as well as his unique perspective on venture capital in Romania and the CEE region. Bogdan is also the founder of How To Web, one of the largest tech conferences in Central and Eastern Europe. The next edition is taking place on October 2nd and 3rd in Bucharest.🔍 Episode highlights:🏗️ The fundraising process as a solo GP and the strategies Bogdan used to attract different types of LPs.📊 Exploring the differences between indexers and deterministic investing—and why one approach is better suited for the CEE region.🚀 The importance of the opportunity discovery phase in startup development, and why it plays a crucial role in the early stages of growth.🌍 The current state of the Romanian VC ecosystem and how it fits into the larger regional landscape.🔎 Why regional reports might not always capture the full potential and nuances of the ecosystem.Tune in to gain insider knowledge from Bogdan’s vast experience in the startup world, and get a glimpse of what’s happening in the rapidly evolving Romanian venture capital scene. Don’t miss out on this insightful conversation! 🎧

“But we are still hungry. And while we will be hungry, I think this ecosystem will be flourishing.”In this episode, we sat down with Andrius Milinavicius, General Partner at Baltic Sandbox Ventures, to uncover the secrets behind their success in supporting startups and raising funds in the competitive Baltic ecosystem. 🇱🇹From helping founders through incubation and acceleration programs to creating investment opportunities, Baltic Sandbox Ventures is playing a pivotal role in the region’s innovation landscape. 🌍🔍 Episode highlights:🚀 How incubation and acceleration programs help Baltic Sandbox Ventures discover top startups.🧠 An inside look at their evaluation process for deep tech and life science startups.⏳ The importance of respecting the time needed for technology development.💡 Why founders in the CEE often achieve more with less funding.🇱🇹 The current landscape of venture capital in Lithuania.Don’t miss out on this insightful conversation! Tune in now to gain invaluable knowledge from Andrius' vast experience, and learn why staying hungry is key to success. 🎧

🎙️ Dive into the entrepreneurial journey with Maciej Zawadziński as he transitions from startup founder to VC investor in Poland's vibrant tech scene. Maciej is a founding partner of Hard2Beat, one of the newest VC fund in the Polish investing ecosystem. Before focusing on investing in startups and helping founders, Maciej was a serial founder and served as CEO of Piwik PRO. Hard2Beat focusses on early-stage startups operating mostly in the B2B and enterprise software sectors.🔍 Discover how Maciej's unique insights can shape your startup strategy and investment understanding:💼 Fundraising Success: Learn how Hard2Beat swiftly raised its initial fund and why the timing was so crucial for their success.🤝 Strategic Partnerships: Understand Maciej’s criteria for selecting potential Limited Partners (LPs). 🚀 Supportive Ecosystem: Explore why Hard2Beat is encouraging their startups to raise non-dilutive funding.🌟 VC vs. Angel: Delve into Maciej's decision to launch a VC fund over continuing as an angel investor.🔄 Dual Perspective: Gain insights into how Maciej’s experiences on both sides of the table enhance his approach to evaluating startups and their founding teams.🔔 Seeking Feedback: Discover why founders should always seek feedback, even after a rejection from investors.📚 Maciej's Book Recommendation: Similarly to Diana from the last episode, Maciej recommends ‘Venture Deals’ by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson as it is full of insights for both VC investors and startup founders🎥 Catch Maciej in Action: Watch Maciej in action in this reverse pitch video and see Hard2Beat's investment strategy firsthand: Watch Now.

🎙️ Get ready for an insightful discussion about investing in early-stage startups, the differences between VC ecosystems in CEE countries, and why founders need to be 'cockroach superheroes' with today's guest, Diana Koziarska, Founding Partner at SMOK Ventures. Before SMOK Ventures, Diana co-founded ReactorX and helped numerous first-time founders develop their startup ideas. SMOK Ventures invests primarily in software and gaming companies, and in their portfolio, you can find companies like Alokai (previously known as Vue Storefront), inSTREAMLY, and SunRoof.Explore key insights: 📈 Differences in raising SMOK’s first and second funds. 🌍 Regional influences on fund discussions with potential LPs. 🦸 The unique traits of 'cockroach superhero' founders that Diana seeks. 💻 Recent changes in the software sector and their impact on Diana’s evaluation process. 🎮 The reasons why founders of gaming companies should be cautious about VC funding. ✈️ How travels across CEE shape Diana’s views on the Polish VC landscape.Diana's book recommendation: ‘Venture Deals’ by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson—a must-read for every aspiring VC. Find it at venturedeals.com.If you want to learn more about 'Cockroach Superheroes', here’s an article written by Borys Musielak, the other Managing Partner of SMOK Ventures: Founders in 2023 Have to Be Cockroach Superheroes.Without further ado, let's dive into today's engaging conversation filled with invaluable insights for both investors and entrepreneurs alike! 🚀

🎙️ Get ready for an insightful dive into the world of venture capital and angel investing with today's guest, Paweł Maj. With over 20 years of experience as a Polish Business Angel and VC investor, Paweł brings a wealth of knowledge from his tenure at renowned funds like Skyline Ventures, bValue, and Warsaw Equity Group. As a board member of over 30 startups and companies, Paweł is a prominent figure in the Polish VC ecosystem, renowned for his thought-provoking articles and data-driven insights shared on platforms like LinkedIn and Medium.Discover:The divergent approaches to evaluating startups as a VC fund versus a Business Angel.The metrics that founders of B2B SaaS startups should always have in the back of their headsThe evolving investor mindset towards sustainable growth and its implications for startup strategies.The reason why investors are not willing to share negative feedback on team due diligence with the founders.Critical factors founders must consider regarding their cap table to maintain attractiveness to investors.Paweł's candid reflections on why he did not invest in LiveChat and the dual-edged sword of public LP funding for fund managers.Links to the articles that were discussed during the interview:https://medium.com/@pawel_maj/100-uzasadnie%C5%84-vcs-dlaczego-nie-zainwestuj%C4%85-fd823912020dhttps://medium.com/@pawel_maj/an-uninvestable-startup-46feb1f8f8a8https://medium.com/@pawel_maj/300-questions-every-vc-will-ask-a-startup-7aecab846fbcPaweł's book recommendations:Scott Kupor - Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get ItSzymon Janiak - Start-up i Venture CapitalDuring our conversation, Paweł offers a vivid analogy for the dynamic between VC funds and startups, likening it to "a relationship with a divorce at the end". I believe this is the best description of this connection I have heard in a long time.Without further ado, let's dive into today's engaging conversation filled with invaluable insights for both investors and entrepreneurs alike! 🚀