How co-investing in Bulgarian talent can ignite success
The setting sun playfully dances over the people’s silhouettes entering the inviting hall, who are ushered in by the sounds of soft jazz music. Many of them are wearing the same black t-shirts with a white, flower-shaped logo in the front. The atmosphere is intimate and warm, almost as if it were a family gathering, that brought people together to celebrate the birth of a new sibling…and in a sense, it is.
The July graduation party for the third BIH cohort of companies marked the first official in person gathering since the program ended in February 2021. The event celebrated the successful completion of the BIH winter accelerator program, where attendees met with other alumni, local partners, sponsors and friends whose help has been instrumental in getting the program off the ground.
While networking, our guests had the opportunity to talk about their intake on the BIH program, share their progress and lessons learned, and send a call-to-action message to the rest of the entrepreneurial community.
The BIH team interviewed some of the ecosystem shapers who spoke about the importance of Bulgaria Innovation Hub, the development of the local tech ecosystem, and the most pressing priorities that lie ahead. Here is what we learned:
Nancy Schiller, President and CEO of the America for Bulgaria Foundation
What value does Bulgaria Innovation Hub add to the local ecosystem, from your perspective?
The ecosystem is getting stronger all the time, we're really pleased to see the growth and the part that Bulgaria Innovation Hub plays in that. There's a lot of venture capital funds, there are investors coming in. What BIH does is to bridge the gap and help to bring the business's further growth in partnering in the United States.
When we were approached by the founders of Bulgaria Innovation Hub, they certainly got our attention because of their business success. We listened to what they had to say and it made so much sense to partner with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to train Bulgarian startup founders and teach them how to enter that market. The United States is a very important market with its access to more capital. The program fits exactly with the type of projects the America for Bulgaria Foundation foundation supports: we're about private sector development and related democratic institutions - Bulgaria Innovation Hub exactly fits that profile.
The ABF slogan is “American optimism meets Bulgarian potential”. And when we look at the potential in Bulgaria, it's remarkable. Bringing the ecosystem of these amazingly talented Bulgarians together - this is where optimism lies. In the future, these people will be building the economy of this country. And that's why America for Bulgaria foundation supports initiatives like Bulgaria Innovation Hub. So, we're really proud to be their power partner and we are looking forward to the success that they'll have over the years to come.
Nadia Zaharieva, Program Director at the America for Bulgaria Foundation
What are the specifics of your partnership with BIH and what problems does the accelerator solve for Bulgarian founders?
We had a condition from the very beginning that Bulgaria Innovation Hub has to fundraise in order to receive support from ABF and we would match some of the funds. They've already done that very quickly, which means they're getting support from businesses and other people who think alike.
Even for people who often travel to America, it is not unusual to experience culture shock. For the business, it's even stronger, because there are different rituals and habits, rules and regulations. And this is something that Bulgaria Innovation Hub gives to the participants - 28 companies have already been through that. Participating companies learn from experienced mentors and trainers while setting one foot in the door for the American market, which is very important. One needs to know how to behave when entering this completely different environment. And that's why we are supporting BIH, they are giving Bulgarian tech companies a huge chance.
Vassil Terziev, Co-founder of Bulgaria Innovation Hub
How would you comment on BIH’s development from the perspective of a co-founder?
Bulgaria Innovation Hub is delivering on its original promise to bring some of the Silicon Valley know-how to Bulgaria and to expose Bulgarian startups to the way of doing things in the Valley. The organization is building new connections and engaging the diaspora. I'm much more excited about everything that's coming up ahead now that we've had a few turns of the whole program.
What are the next gaps you see BIH is addressing, in helping the existing development to the next level? How can BIH help in the creation of the future Bulgarian tech unicorns?
Just by continuing to do what it's doing and exposing some of the best companies to knowledge that they would hardly get in such a structured way elsewhere. Through individual efforts, all of us meet with companies, we mentor them, we try to fix different gaps but having a structured program on how to think about market development, how to get product market fit, how to think about all the different facets of running a business, how to expand in the US - that's very special knowledge and if delivered right, it can really accelerate the development of a company. We hope that the program will continue its evolution with even better content, the same quality of amazing people who are leading the courses and further engagement of the people from the diaspora to become part of this effort and get to build new and value added relationships.
Why should others also opt to financially support BIH’s mission?
It's in our joint interest as all the local VCs cannot be more or less bigger than their ecosystem. It's in our collective interest to invest in making Bulgaria a great destination where you have a lot of talent, knowledge, and connectivity, with the goal to really build bigger companies faster. This is a very wise investment which will pay off down the road.
What is your intake on the future developments of the local ecosystem and BIH’s role in it?
I believe that all those startups who receive mentoring and support, who are, in a sense, the beneficiaries of today, must become the donors of tomorrow - the leaders who are going to put effort in spreading the knowledge and experience to the next generations.
Our hope is that down the road, the people who are now in the programs will be so successful, that they will want to channel back that knowledge, that level of prosperity and create the infrastructure for the ones coming after them. If we have a bigger dream, it's to see all those people be very committed to the success of the ones following them and not just relishing and enjoying their own success, but being committed to the future generations and teaching them to be committed.
I would measure the success of this program and pretty much of all of the ecosystem through the impact we have made - how much success we have created, how much we have sparked success in the entrepreneurial generations to come, and whether we have a loss or strengthening of the signal.