Future Unicorns Accelerator

??As we head to Slush with several portfolio companies, we're proud to see their achievements and ambition! ??Tiger Technology is currently working on closing one of Bulgaria's and CEE's largest funding rounds this year! That said, they've been a truly global company for a long time, with 60% of their revenue coming from US customers and a remarkable growth acceleration in the past year. ??There is a $218 billion data management problem across mission-critical industries such as healthcare, surveillance & public security, and IT, which is only intensified by the push for AI transformation and regulations, a problem Tiger Technology is uniquely positioned to solve. ?The company has already gathered 11,000 customers, enabling them to cut storage costs, increase retention capabilities, meet compliance requirements, and access data globally. ???? At Slush interested investors can meet Alexander Lefterov, Co-Founder & CTO, and Mila Petrova, COO. You can always learn more by reaching out to seasoned executive Iravan Hira, the company's CEO. ??At the Breaking Boundaries side event, they will also join a pitching session alongside Konstantin Bezuhanov (Evrotrust), Todor Todoroff MBA (Bronia.ai), Todor Bobev (TouchMenu), and Konstantin Djelebov (Paynetics). This is where you can see Pavlina Yanakieva on stage as well in a fireside chat with Panagiotis Karampinis, Managing Director, Endeavor Greece. Thank you Teodor Antonio Georgiev and Kristiana Kuneva for this opportunity and Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency (Boyko Takov), LAUNCHub Ventures (Stephane Gantchev) for making the Bulgarian and CEE ecosystem visible on an international level!

Our Future Unicorns Accelerator roadshow is continuing with Slush 2024 in Helsinki next week! Join Pavlina Yanakieva and myself during the conference and we'd like to chat with: ?? VC's with Portfolio companies, seeking increased success in the US ?? Start ups that want to build go to market strategies or raise capital in the US market ?? VC and venture studio's that want to increase their footprint in CEE and the West Coast diaspora Future Unicorns Accelerator's next cohort starts March 2025, applications are open at: https://lnkd.in/dVwhPaZ9 Thanks to #BreakingGrounds #TheRecursive and the Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency for making us part of the Bulgarian delegation And special thanks to Irina Obushtarova, Teodor Antonio Georgiev and Boyko Takov for the continued support of our initiative!

?? Congratulations to our partners and future unicorns Team-GPT who just raised Bulgaria's largest seed funding round this year, led by True Ventures! Great work Iliya Valchanov, Ilko Kacharov, Yavor Belakov, Katya Vaptsarova, and Maria Valchanova! With a growing user base of 45,000+ and trusted by industry leaders like Salesforce, Maersk, Charles Schwab, EY, Yale, and Johns Hopkins University, Team-GPT is at the forefront of the AI transformation in the workplace.

?? Future Unicorns Accelerator at Web Summit! Our CEO, Pavlina Yanakieva, is using one of Europe's biggest tech platforms to strengthen the US-CEE connection and build bridges for Bulgaria’s tech ecosystem. Today, she’s at the SEE Rocket Pitch side event of the #BreakingGrounds Bulgarian Tech Delegation — an amazing initiative uniting Bulgaria's ecosystem and elevating its international brand to a whole new level! The event features a remarkable startup showcase and premium networking with top-tier investors. Featuring today are: ?? Kaan Eren - Partner, 500 Emerging Europe ?? Evgeny Angelov - Chairman, Bulgarian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) ?? Konstantin Bezuhanov - Co-founder & CEO, Evrotrust ?? Theodor V Panayotov - Co-founder & CEO, Ethermind Incredible energy and inspiring people! If you’re a founder of a company aspiring to become a unicorn or a VC looking to back one, reach out to Pavlina or Konstantin Kunev, Assoc CIPD.

?? Exciting week ahead! Future Unicorns Accelerator CEO Pavlina Yanakieva and General Manager Konstantin Kunev, Assoc CIPD will be part of the #BreakingGrounds#BreakingGrounds ecosystem delegation at Web Summit, the largest tech gathering in Europe! ???? ?? In collaboration with our partners from Storytelling Studio/ Teodor Antonio Georgiev/ Kristiana Kuneva and the Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency/ Boyko Takov, we’re thrilled to support the ecosystem’s growth and showcase Bulgaria and Southeast Europe’s innovation and entrepreneurial achievements on the global stage. Pavlina will also be joining the SEE Rocket Pitch - Scale Up and Stand Out side event, where she’ll be alongside Kaan Eren from 500 Global/ Emerging Europe, and visionary founders from Future Unicorns Accelerator: ?? Konstantin Bezuhanov, Co-founder & CEO of Evrotrust ?? Theodor V Panayotov, Co-founder of Ethermind and Coursedot and last but not least: Irina Obushtarova, CEO of The Recursive! This event aligns with our mission to bring together leading startups, global investors, and key tech influencers to foster impactful connections. ?? We’re looking forward to fueling the dialogue on innovation, scaling, and ecosystem collaboration. See you in Lisbon! ??

?? Earlier this week, 12 technology parks and innovation zones from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia, and Türkiye joined forces at Sofia Tech Park for The South East Innovators Challenge to harness the power of South East Europe in one place. Our CEO, Pavlina Yanakieva, participated in an insightful panel to discuss the investment potential of the region. She was joined by Pavel Lisev, Executive Director of the Fund of Funds in Bulgaria (FMFIB), Alexander Nutsov, Policy & Strategy at BESCO - The Bulgarian Entrepreneurial Association, and Kristiana Kuneva, Business Development Manager at The Recursive. Together, they explored opportunities for growth, collaboration, and the transformative potential of regional alliances.

?? We’re excited to highlight Pluria, the leading Work-from-Anywhere B2B platform in LATAM, which took part in the last BIH cohort. Andrei Cretu, co-founder and CEO, shared his experience: “The program gave us a really immersive experience, with many lessons learned live, in San Francisco.” Future Unicorns Accelerator is designed for visionary founders from Central and Eastern Europe, providing the strategic support to thrive in the US market. Apply for the next cohort on via the link in the comments by February 14, 2025. Based in Silicon Valley, we offer: ? Direct Access to #Mentors & Investors Guidance from billion-dollar founders and investors who share your CEE heritage and have achieved global success. ?? CEE-to-US Bridge A strong diaspora-powered #network rooted in the global tech ecosystem, uniquely tuned to support CEE founders in every step of their journey. ?? Hands-On #Learning An in-person experience in the heart of tech innovation—beyond remote lectures—featuring live workshops on scaling, enterprise sales, and crafting winning sales strategies. ?? Master #Pitching & #Fundraising Workshops led by VCs from firms like Sequoia Capital, Graylock, and USVP, equipping founders with essential skills in pitching, relationship-building, and fundraising. Together, we’re building the next wave of CEE-born #unicorns, one founder at a time. ??

We’re all about building bridges beyond borders, so we’re thrilled to see our partners from Silkroad Innovation Hub organizing the first-ever Central Eurasia @ Silicon Valley 2024 conference tomorrow! Taking place at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, the event will gather the top 100 startups connected to the Central Eurasia region, spotlighting the next wave of potential unicorns. ??? Similar to the growth stories in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Eurasia is ready to rise. Join the event for an opportunity to explore the Startup Expo, witness inspiring pitches, and network with leading investors and ecosystem players. Don’t miss the keynote speeches from industry leaders like Ilya Strebulaev (Stanford University Graduate School of Business), Jeff Maggioncalda (CEO of Coursera), and Arvind Jain (CEO of Glean), along with others shaping the tech space. ?? Here's a glimpse of some of the incredible founders participating: ?? Uzum: The latest unicorn from Uzbekistan, building the next-gen superapp for over 100M users in Central Asia. ?? Alma: A next-gen AI immigration law firm founded by 2 female Harvard grads from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, based in the US. ?? CentML: AI infrastructure startup from Toronto, founded by a University of Toronto grad from Kazakhstan. ?? Hinkal: A US-based, institutional-grade self-custodial protocol startup led by a Stanford GSB grad from Georgia. Over 1000 attendees have registered, and you can still join. For more information and to secure your spot, visit: https://lu.ma/cesv2024.com

?? Last week, we had the incredible opportunity to bring together the Future Unicorns community at our first Community Network Event, hosted by United Bulgarian Bank (UBB)! ?? We unveiled our new brand, re-connected with alumni and partners, and presented the latest services we’re offering. Besides networking, the evening featured an engaging panel discussion led by our General Manager Konstantin Kunev, Assoc CIPD, with insights from: ??Frank Jansen (Nominated Executive Director SME at UBB) ??Jose Campos (Partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati) ??Todor Mladenov (Executive Director at Sofia Tech Park) ??Pressian Karakostov (our Board Member, Serial Entrepreneur & Investor) A huge thank you to UBB for hosting us, America for Bulgaria for their ongoing support, and our partners at Appolica | Venture studio and the Bulgarian SME Promotion Agency. ?? Stay tuned for the short film production by Storytelling Studio by The Recursive and ???? Andrey Andonov ????, Anna Atanasova, and Etien Yovchev. More highlights coming soon! ?? #FutureUnicorns #CommunityNetwork #TechEcosystem #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #Sofia

#PortfolioTestimonials ????Three years ago, AMPECO took part in BIH's 4th cohort. At that point, the company was gaining serious customer traction, but the journey of scaling internationally and preparing for fundraising was still full of unknowns. "The biggest benefit from the program was that it taught us how to think more ambitiously and gave us the confidence to see that it’s possible. For us, it was very useful to understand how investors think and how we should be thinking about the whole fundraising process. We were looking for advice on the best practices for doing so and how to avoid some of the pitfalls people have fallen into in the past," shared Stefan Ivanov, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at AMPECO. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of AMPECO’s founders and team, the company has grown into a global leader in EV charging infrastructure software: ??160+ customers ??120K+ charge points across 60+ markets ??140+ team members At the start of 2023, AMPECO secured a $13M Series A led by BMW i Ventures and LAUNCHub Ventures to fuel its expansion into North America. Today, AMPECO continues to grow its presence in the U.S. ??Just recently the company announced its partnership with ChargeHub to expand EV roaming access across the U.S. and Canada. Through this collaboration, AMPECO users now have access to over 100,000 charging stations via ChargeHub’s Passport Hub, simplifying the EV charging process and boosting operational efficiency for charging networks. ????