Max Gurvits - CCC Startups - Bulgaria - Stanford Engineering - Mar 9 2015
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Tech and startups in Bulgaria Max Gurvits Partner, CCC Startups @MxGur @CCCStartups European Entrepreneurship & Innova1on @ Stanford Engineering March 9 2015
Tech and startups in Bulgaria Max Gurvits Partner, CCC Startups
@MxGur @CCCStartups
European Entrepreneurship & Innova1on @ Stanford Engineering March 9 2015
@MxGur
Where is Bulgaria?
Republic of Bulgaria
Latest (and poorest) EU member
Bulgaria is beautiful!
Bulgaria - Tech heritage
John Atanasoff Atanasoff-Berry Computer
Bulgaria - Tech heritage
Pravetz Computers
Bulgaria - Tech heritage
Math and CS Olympiads
Bulgaria - 1970s/1980s: IT industry (Soviet Era_)
Bulgaria - 1987-1990: USSR bails out
Gorbachev in Sofia, 1987
Bulgaria - 1990-2000: Crisis
Bulgaria - 1990-2000: Emigration
Bulgaria - 1990-2000: Emigration
Bulgaria - 2000-2010: Growth of IT outsourcing
Bulgaria - 2000-2010: Growth of IT outsourcing
Bulgaria - 2007-2008: Domestic market exits
Bulgaria - 2009-2014: International exits
Telerik: local unicorn
Bulgaria - Local funds
2007: EUR 20m 2014: EUR 28m
2012: EUR 12m + 9m
2014: EUR 15m + 5m
Bulgaria - Venture activity 2007-now
110 companies
2/3 local founders
2/3 of that EU public funding
No significant exits
EUR 80m invested
Bulgaria - Tech challenges
Attracting talent
Investment incentives and experience
Bulgaria - Local market has
60% internet penetration
35% smartphone penetration
25% payment card penetration
USD 7,500 per capita GDP
Bulgaria - Local market hasn’t
Research Fundamental technology experience Business development skills Smart capital
Real addressable venture market
5 seed rounds per year 2 series A rounds per year 1 exit per 2-3 years
Minimal investor viability
Expand geography Increase skillset Connect to markets
What we do – CCC Startups
CCC Startups – investments and support
Startup AddVenture – building communities
Ways to leverage tech Bulgaria from Silicon Valley
Recruit from community of 500+ startup operators with minimum experience Add biz dev skills through co-foundership Invest in 1-2 annual deals with potential