Supporting the Growth of Bulgarian Startups and Boosting the Christmas Spirit

As we get into December, the Christmas spirit is all around us. This time of the year brings a lot of opportunities to spend quality time with our loved ones, but there is still a bit more time before we get to a well-deserved break. In this month’s newsletter, we will shine a light on some of the major development in the startup ecosystem in Bulgaria.

During the past few months, we’ve seen a boom of FMCG startups coming to the scene, and more became part of our portfolio in just a year. So we discuss with our Managing Partner and expert on the topic Dimitar Kostov, CFA what early-stage companies need to know when developing a business in the industry. Mitko shared our insights from collaborating with successful startups in FMCG, and how global events affect the industry.

Although the weather outside is getting colder, we have some summer memories and milestones still on our minds. One of them is the announcement of Econic One’s latest funding round of €6M, a syndicated deal with 9 investors. It’s amazing to see such a gathering of Bulgarian VC funds and business angels who supported the growth of the company. We discover more about the development of the company and the importance of such deals for the local ecosystem.

The latest edition of the newsletter also shines a light on how some of our portfolio companies helping to make the Christmas holidays better for everyone. Together with that, we spot some of the milestones from companies we supported, and also some newcomers that just joined. We finish off with advice from our team about investing.

A warm welcome to Metabio

In November, another promising company in the HealthTech sector - Metabio completed our conditions-precedent on the investment deal. The startup provides a software solution that allows biobanks to create and store medical registers for patients, pre-analytic data, and testing protocols from different examinations. The data gathered by Metabio saves resources for biobanks and reduces cycle times in developing new medicines during the clinical trial period.?

This side of digital healthcare is blue ocean territory, not explored by other companies. Metabio’s product is already live on the market and the founders are in the process of getting their patent certification.

Although originally founded in Greece, the startup’s product is aiming to reach international markets - across Europe and the USA. The company has guaranteed strategic partnerships and contracts with international players that will help them expand globally. With our investment and mentorship support, we aim to help the Bulgarian branch to take over the Eastern European market. Together with the great product, what impressed us in Metabio is the strong team of professionals both technical and medical.

Healthcare provides many growth opportunities for startups

This is one of our key takeaways from the Sirma Venture Lab program, where we partner with one of the biggest IT companies in Bulgaria. AskTheCP and WHISP are the two startups that will receive €100K each to further develop their operations and build their products. They went through an extensive boot camp where they collaborated with mentors from Innovation Capital and Sirma Group. The startups were selected amongst more than 30 that applied for the program. AskTheCP ( AMIRA Meditech ) and WHISP have access to additional funding of up to €300K each if they continue their growth.

We believe the two companies have a lot of potential, at least that’s what the reports show. According to Grand View’s research, the HealthTech industry is expected to exceed $1. 5 trillion. At the same time, Deloitte's data shows that the industry's digital transformation will continue, with a large number of companies halfway on their digitalization path. Quite predictably, both start-up companies include in their plans an international presence for their products and their use in foreign markets. And this is not at all surprising, as the health tech sector is among the most promising for entrepreneurs - a huge opportunity to build a sustainable business and many sub-spheres amenable to digitization.

Europe’s biggest startup conference

In late November our very own Angel H. Angelov, CF was among the speakers at a side event at Slush, the biggest startup gathering in Europe. During the event, we announced our partnership with 4 other European VCs and accelerators to make cross-border investments easier and provide additional funding opportunities for Bulgarian startups. We also shine a light on the new era of acceleration programs. But more news to come on that later.

After the event Angel shared some of his key takeaways from Slush. The spotlight was on the importance of networking and the ability to share opinions with representatives of other European ecosystems. He describes Slush as “a must-go event with its vibe”, and also why a Russian HR company was at the center of a large debacle. Check out more about his experience here.

Boosting the Christmas spirit

Buying Christmas presents at the last minute is something we’ve done at least once in our lives. Especially since the boom of online shopping, getting presents is the easier part, and actually, goods being delivered is the main challenge shipment companies face. And that can ruin your Christmas spirit if the presents don’t arrive on time. That’s where Novatio comes into play. A last-mile delivery startup part of our portfolio. The company provides an all-in-one solution for automating and optimizing the whole delivery process of any online store. The company has developed separate apps for clients, supervisors, drivers, and warehouse managers to seamlessly communicate with each other. This allows you to always be informed about what’s happening with your Christmas gifts.

When you get the presents, it’s time to get them for your loved ones. This includes quite a bit of traveling to visit family and friends. While road-tripping across the country or abroad, it’s very important to have no doubts about your vehicle. Because a breakdown on the road is a sure breaker of the Christmas spirit. To prevent that from happening, make sure to use AvtoIkonom’s vehicle-as-a-service platform to book a slot at a service station to check your car. With the wide range of members providing different services, you’ll always be sure your next trip is safe, especially during festive times.

Raising funds in an economic downturn

Rising inflation and cost of living are serious concerns that bring a lot of uncertainty in our lives. These factors have an even greater effect on startup founders and entrepreneurs who are at an early stage of developing their businesses. And we want to help them how to overcome these adversities. That’s why Yavor Gochev shares his view on what entrepreneurs need to do in these uncertain times.

“In a time of economic downturn, founders should take into consideration that investors are much more cautious. Also, valuations will not be as generous as in the past few years, and the fundraising process will not be easy. My advice for entrepreneurs is to make very careful financial planning that will allow them to have a longer runway. And if they’re already in the process of fundraising, my advice is to raise a larger amount, so the funds will be sufficient for a longer period of time,” Yavor highlights.