Zoltan Vardy

B2B Sales & Growth Mentor @ The Launch Code

Helps B2B tech founders master high-ticket sales with 30+ years experience and $2B+ in closed deals. Former $150M revenue leader at NBCUniversal. Created The Launch Code blueprint trusted by 200+ founders in 26 countries.

Zamina Ahmad

AI & ML Product Leader, CEO @ shades&contrast

Zamina Ahmad is an accomplished AI and Machine Learning Product Manager with over 15 years of experience supporting companies in designing and implementing impactful AI solutions efficiently and responsibly.

Steen Rasmussen

Director of Data Innovation @ IIH Nordic

At IIH Nordic, Steen Rasmussen is driving and building a new understanding of how organizations can unlock higher returns from the data they already have.

Mary Borysova

Product Designer @ Amazon

Mary Borysova is a product designer at Amazon and health-tech innovator, passionate about creating intuitive, impactful, and human-centered solutions that make the world healthier and happier.

Kate Ivanova

Senior Product Manager @ Booking, ex-Miro

Kate Ivanova is a dynamic Senior Product Manager at Booking.com in Amsterdam, where she spearheads the creation of a pioneering AI-powered trip planning experience.

Arne Kittler

Co-Founder @ Product at Heart

Arne Kittler is a seasoned product management leader with more than 12 years of experience leading product organizations and over 25 years of building digital products and services.

Alexander McLeman

Strategic Solutions Architect @ Alibaba Cloud

Alex McLeman is a Strategic Solutions Architect at Alibaba Cloud in London, backed by more than nine years of deep expertise in cloud computing.

Alex Lim

General Partner @ IVP

Growth-stage investor at IVP, helping scale breakout companies into market leaders. Lim has a strong track record of investing in and supporting category-defining technology companies, such as Discord, UiPath or Slack.

Tarek Reslan

Content Marketing Manager @ Sendcloud

Tarek is a former computer science graduate turned marketing expert, specializing in areas like landing page optimization, paid acquisition, and content creation, particularly video. Passionate about sharing his knowledge, he has created numerous online courses and trained over 1,500 professionals as a trainer at Growth Tribe.

Staffan Helgesson

General Partner @ Creandum

Staffan is a General Partner with early-stage VC at CREANDUM, always looking for amazing entrepreneurs with the ambition to disrupt global industries. He has invested in Bolt, Epidemic, Spotify, Monta, Enode, Twaice, just to name a few.

Ioana Teleanu

Founder & Design Consultant, ex-Miro & UiPath @ AI-R Design Studio, ex-Miro

Ioana is a design leader & speaker focused on the AI space, being also the creator of a thriving UX community of over 220k people. Her first AI designed product, Clipboard AI, won Time magazine's Best Invention of 2023 award.

Felix Martinez

Principal @ Seedcamp

Felix Martinez sources and supports early-stage startups at Seedcamp, Europe's leading seed-stage venture capital fund that has invested in over 490 companies including unicorns like UiPath, Wise, Revolut, wefox, Pleo, Sorare, Grover, viz.ai, and Synthesia.

Andrew Mende

Senior Product Manager Machine Learning @ Booking.com

Andrew Mende is a Senior Product Manager Machine Learning at Booking.com, where he leads the team responsible the ML model powering the company's hotel search.

Alexandre Dewez

Partner @ 20VC

Backs ambitious founders across North America and Europe from Pre-Seed to Series A. Leverages 20VC's media platform to build innovative products that enhance investment capabilities and founder support.

Aggelos Mouzakitis

Product Growth @ IBM

Aggelos Mouzakitis leads Product Growth at IBM Observability, specializing in SaaS monetization and customer-led growth. With over a decade of experience across startups and enterprise tech, he is known for his practical, no-nonsense approach to scaling revenue and optimizing product strategies.

Thomas Macaulay

Managing Editor @ TNW

Thomas Macaulay shapes the editorial vision at TNW (The Next Web), a leading technology media brand that delivers news, analysis, and thought leadership on global tech innovation to diverse audiences worldwide.

Julius de Gruyter

Investor @ Cherry Ventures

Investing in impactful startups at Cherry Ventures and co-founded krisenchat, a free 24/7 crisis counseling service for young people via WhatsApp. 500+ counselors helped in 150,000+ crisis situations since 2020.

Jan Werner

Senior Product Manager @ Instaffo

Jan Werner is a hands-on product leader currently driving product strategy and execution at Instaffo, a dynamic and fast-growing company focused on innovative solutions.

Gillian Armstrong

Senior WW Builder Specialist Solutions Architect @ AWS

Gillian Armstrong is a Senior Solutions Architect on the Builder team at Amazon Web Services, specializing in Generative AI solutions. She brings extensive full-stack development and architectural experience to her role, supporting the design and implementation of scalable, cloud-native systems—often with a serverless-first approach.

Bogdan Stanga

Staff Software Engineer @ Google

Bogdan Stanga is a Staff Software Engineer at Google based in Zurich, Switzerland, specializing in the production and scaling of large-scale LLM (Large Language Model)-based systems.

Andrei Danescu

Founder & CEO @ Dexory

Founder & CEO @ Dexory Revolutionizing logistics with autonomous technology and real-time insights. Building the ultimate digital twin platform that gives companies instant access to their operations. Creating superintelligence in motion through AI, robotics, and supply chain innovation.

Akis Bratsos

Partner @ Lakestar

Akis Bratsos is a Partner at Lakestar, one of Europe’s leading venture capital firms, where he focuses on investment opportunities in automation, infrastructure software, and healthcare.

Abdul Rahman

Senior Product Owner @ Porsche

CSPO-certified product manager driving enterprise AI development. Leads LLM integrations, RAG-based knowledge systems, and NLU product strategy. MBA in Operations Management with fintech background. Specializes in scalable GenAI solutions for enterprise clients.

Xenia Muntean

Co-founder & CEO @ Planable

Xenia Muntean leads Planable, a content review and marketing collaboration platform that helps more than 15,000 creators coordinate social content for brands such as Hyundai, Christian Louboutin, Viber, and the United Nations.

Tudor Coman

Machine Learning Engineer @ Adobe

Tudor Coman is a Machine Learning Engineer at Adobe with more than seven years of experience.

Jakub Krikava

Investor @ Credo Ventures

Jakub Krikava is an investor at Credo Ventures, a prominent early-stage venture capital firm focused on Central and Eastern Europe. With a keen interest in technology and innovative solutions, Jakub specializes in pre-seed and seed investments, supporting startups that push the boundaries and create meaningful impact.

Gina Dragulin

Fractional CMO @ ex Miro, Microsoft

Gina Dragulin brings over 18 years of strategic marketing leadership across top-tier tech firms such as Microsoft, Miro, Synthesized, Unbabel, and SoSafe. Recognized as one of the “Top 100 Future B2B CMOs” in 2022, she expertly blends technical marketing insight with executional clarity to scale SaaS, cloud, and AI solutions globally.

Daria Gherghelas

Investor @ Speedinvest

Daria Gherghelas is part of the investment team at Speedinvest, one of Europe’s most active early-stage venture capital funds with over €1 billion in assets under management.

Iwona Anna Biernat

Legal Strategy Lead @ EU-Inc

Legal Strategy Lead @ EU-Inc Legal strategist empowering solo GPs and emerging funds across Europe. As a fractional operations partner and VC operator, Iwona bridges legal expertise with venture operations to accelerate fund growth

Sitar Teli

Managing Partner @ Connect Ventures

Seed and early-stage investor focusing on $500k-$2M rounds in European internet and mobile companies. Backs product and design-led startups with global ambitions, helping founders scale from concept to market leadership.

Мary Ivanova

Business Journalist @ Capital BG

Mary Ivanova covers the latest developments in business, finance, and the startup ecosystem at Капитал, one of Bulgaria's leading economic and financial publications, bringing nuanced understanding of market dynamics and emerging trends in venture capital, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Yunus Bulut

CEO & Co-Founder @ Validaitor

Yunus Bulut is an AI researcher and serial founder with 18+ years in software and data. As the co-founder and CEO of Validaitor, he advances AI safety, helping organizations ensure compliance and maximize AI’s net benefit for society.

Vlad Andriescu

Editor in Chief @ start-up.ro

Vlad is the editor-in-chief of start-up.ro, the main source of information on startups in Romania. Vlad has been following the local startup ecosystem for the past few years and is more interested in failures than success stories because he considers there’s more to be learned from the sincerity of a defeat.

Tytus Cytowski

Partner @ Cytowski & Partners

Tytus Cytowski is the founder and managing partner of Cytowski & Partners, a boutique law firm specializing in startups, venture capital, and US market expansion.

Tobias Winczer

Investor @ Balderton Capital

Tobias Winczer is an accomplished venture capital investor at Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s leading technology investment firms. Based in London, Tobias covers the Nordics, Baltics, and Central & Eastern Europe, identifying and supporting ambitious founders across the continent.

Stefan Walter

Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ Nap

Stefan holds degrees in finance, tax law and business administration, and supports founders in areas such as funding, fundraising strategy, financial modeling, and investor communications.

Romeo Mann

Founder & Customer Delivery Manager @ MAN.digital

Revenue Operations expert with 10+ years at TMI, DHL, Electrolux. Founded MAN Digital in 2016 to solve B2B sales and marketing challenges. Executive MBA graduate, podcast host, startup mentor. Speaks on RevOps and growth strategies.

Raya Yunakova

Principal @ LAUNCHub Ventures

Raya Yunakova leads early-stage investments at LAUNCHub Ventures, one of Central and Eastern Europe's leading venture capital funds focused on AI, SaaS, fintech, automation, and cybersecurity companies.

Rain Tamm

General Partner @ Siena Secondary Fund

Rain Tamm specializes in secondary market transactions at Siena Secondary Fund, providing liquidity solutions for early investors, founders, and employees of high-growth startups across Central and Eastern Europe and Nordic regions.

Radovan Nesrsta

General Partner @ Orbit Capital

Radovan Nesrsta is a General Partner at Orbit Capital, a leading growth equity and venture debt investment fund based in Prague, focused on scaling tech and tech-enabled businesses across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

Petter Made

Partner @ EWOR

Petter Made is a Partner at EWOR, where he supports exceptional early-stage founders through one of the most selective fellowships in the world.

Ondrej Bartos

General Partner @ Credo Ventures

Ondrej is an early-stage investor, with investments in UiPath, PriceFX, Productboard, or ElevenLabs. He supports innovative ideas to help entrepreneurs reach their goals, execute their visions, and boost the economy.

Oana Cosman

Startups & Investments Editor @ start-up.ro

Oana Cosman guides the Startups & Investments coverage at start-up.ro. She brings nearly two decades of experience in business journalism and has spent six years dedicated to the startup landscape—now shaping the conversation as the Unicorn Officer. She champions authentic storytelling across written features, documentary filmmaking (“Roaring Tigers of Europe”), multimedia content, and video scripting.

Nicoleta Cherciu

Managing Partner @ Cherciu & Co

Nicoleta Cherciu is a technology and investment lawyer, AI legal expert, and the founder of Cherciu & Co. She advises venture capital funds on set-up, financing, and investment activities, and supports technology companies on product, IP, security, go-to-market, and corporate legal matters. Her work sits at the crossroads of law, innovation, and business strategy.

Mirel Bran

Storyteller from the future @ Noi venim din viitor

Mirel Bran moderates with curiosity and precision. As the founder of ''Noi venim din viitor ®'', a Romanian podcast and media movement promoting innovation, courage, and forward thinking, he brings together stories of ambitious startups, sustainability ventures, and tech pioneers shaping the future.

Mikita Martynaū

CEO & Co-Founder @ Skarbe

With deep SaaS product management background helping scale a unicorn from $10M to $100M in revenue, Mikita brings user-centric perspective to sales automation that eliminates administrative overhead for non-salespeople.

Mihai Stanciu

Head of Digital Innovation @ PPC Romania

Mihai Stanciu drives transformation through cutting-edge technology as Head of Digital Innovation at PPC Romania, combining strong management background with entrepreneurial spirit to deliver impactful projects that elevate brand presence and operational efficiency.

Mihaela Paun

Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing, Consumer Solutions Group @ Bitdefender

Mihaela Păun has spent over 20 years shaping Bitdefender’s global growth story, driving sales and marketing strategies across the Consumer Solutions Group.

Marta Fernández Bernabeu

EU Project Manager @ Sploro

Marta Fernández Bernabeu is an experienced EU Project Manager at Sploro, where she specializes in managing, drafting, and promoting projects funded by the European Commission, with a primary focus on Horizon Europe initiatives.

Mark Palfalvi

Principal @ PortfoLion Capital Partners

Mark Palfavi is a Principal at PortfoLion Capital Partners, a venture capital fund managing €440 million in assets and focused on backing early-stage startups in Central and Eastern Europe. He leads the firm’s pre-seed and seed investment activities, typically investing between €500,000 and €3 million into ambitious founders building scalable companies.

Maria Whittaker

Co-Founder @ Inner Loom

Maria Whittaker is the Co-Founder of Inner Loom, a nonprofit organization based in Gothenburg that’s dedicated to strengthening young adults’ mental health and fostering a genuine sense of belonging. Through uplifting programs, supportive meet-ups, and meaningful networking events, Inner Loom offers guidance, connection, and resilience-building opportunities—creating a safe space where it’s okay not to be okay.

Léa Samrani

Director of Product Growth @ Aperture

Léa Samrani helps you grow your app through focused, test-driven experimentation. She ran over 30 high-impact experiments in five months and boosted MRR by 50 percent using tools like Purchasely and Amplitude — no custom infrastructure required.

Linn Caldas

Co-Founder @ Inner Loom

Linn Caldas is the Co-Founder of Inner Loom, a nonprofit based in Gothenburg committed to strengthening young adults’ mental health and fostering a sense of belonging. With over 15 years of HR experience across global organizations, including seven years focused on workplace belonging and mental health, she brings a powerful blend of strategic insight and compassionate leadership.

Leonard Eldić

Founder @ SaaStanak

Built the largest SaaS community in Central & Eastern Europe. Organizes premier events featuring real founder stories of scaling from $0-10M ARR.

Laurin Class

Investment Team @ Earlybird Venture Capital

Laurin Class concentrates on early-stage enterprise software investments at Earlybird Venture Capital, specializing in developer-focused companies across DevOps, Data, AI, and Cybersecurity domains from his Munich headquarters.

Laurentiu Ghenciu

Founder @ HatHawk

With over 20 years driving revenue growth and scaling high-performing teams across SaaS, FinTech, security, and enterprise sales companies globally, Laurentiu Ghenciu combines deep domain expertise with AI automation technology to streamline sales operations for fast-growing companies.

Karol Szubstarski

Partner @ OTB Ventures

Karol Szubstarski specializes in Series A funding for breakthrough deep tech companies at OTB Ventures, a leading pan-European fund managing over €300 million in assets across SpaceTech, Enterprise Automation & AI, FinTech Infrastructure, and Cybersecurity sectors.

Karol Lasota

Partner @ Inovo.vc

Karol Lasota is Partner at Inovo.VC, backing ambitious CEE founders. With roots in entrepreneurship and VC, he’s known for spotting high-potential startups early and driving proactive sourcing.

Izet Zdralovic

Partner @ Silicon Gardens

Izet Zdralovic is a serial entrepreneur turned investor, passionate about supporting innovative companies that improve the quality of life on a global scale. He is a Partner at Silicon Gardens, where he focuses on empowering early-stage startups with capital, experience, and the network they need to scale internationally.

Iván Vaszkó

Senior Journalist @ Forbes Hungary

Iván Vaszkó shapes Forbes Hungary's coverage of e-commerce, business, technology, and entertainment through sharp, data-driven reporting that has established him as a respected voice in Hungary's media landscape since 2021.

Imran Ghory

Partner @ Blossom Capital

Imran Ghory co-founded Blossom Capital in 2018, helping build one of Europe’s standout Series A venture firms. He specializes in generative AI, developer infrastructure, and cybersecurity, backing promising companies such as Checkout.com, Tines, Spacelift, Pigment, and Cado Security. His technical background—from engineering to algorithmic systems—enables him to assess startups at both code and boardroom level.

Gyorgy Simo

Managing Partner @ Day One Capital

György Simó is a prominent figure in Central and Eastern Europe’s tech investment landscape, renowned for his deep understanding of both media and venture capital. As Managing Partner at Day One Capital in Budapest, he specializes in fueling early-stage, B2B software ventures across the CEE region, blending entrepreneurial instinct with investor experience.

Gergana Stoichkova

Founder @ VC Compass

Gergana Stoichkova founded VC Compass to help pre-seed and seed-stage founders navigate the fundraising journey with clarity and confidence. Through practical guidance and structured support, she bridges the knowledge gap between founders and investors—explaining how VCs make decisions, what investors expect at each stage, and how to avoid mistakes that derail deals.

Florian Schweitzer

Partner @ b2venture

Florian Schweitzer co-founded b2venture in 2000 to solve the problem that European entrepreneurs lacked access to experienced angel investor networks, transforming the firm from an online platform connecting entrepreneurs with business angels into one of Europe's most experienced and innovative VC firms.

Ervin Luga

Head of Venture Capital Investments @ EBRD Venture Capital

Ervin Iuga leads investment strategy across sectors and stages at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development VC team, dedicating his efforts to backing visionary entrepreneurs who have the ambition and technology to build world-class companies that become global leaders in their markets.

Eric Weber

CEO and Founder @ SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator

Eric Weber bridges the Central and Eastern Europe and DACH startup ecosystems through his passionate dedication to building connections that accelerate regional innovation. As founder of SpinLab Group and SIVentures, Weber has created and supported over 180 startups through award-winning programs including SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator and RootCamp while serving as active seed investor via Smart Infrastructure Ventures.

Emanuel Martonca

Founder, Pricing Strategist @ Soft Fight

Emanuel Martonca applies years of negotiation insight and pricing strategy to change how B2B software and IT services firms price their work. He’s led over 300 pricing and sales negotiations since 2012, representing both buyers and sellers, and helps companies shift from traditional time-based billing to value-driven pricing models.

Elena Vrabie

Research Editor @ Underline Ventures

Elena Vrabie has spent more than 15 years working at the intersection of media, business, and innovation. With a background that bridges journalism, content strategy, and communications for startups and mission-driven brands, she has built a career on shaping stories that resonate with people and support growth.

David Gaburici

Senior EU Project Manager @ Sploro

David Gaburici is a Senior EU Project Manager at Sploro, leading and managing EU-funded projects from inception to completion. He ensures that all project deliverables meet the highest standards and comply with strict European Union regulations.

David Cendón Garcia

News Editor @ EU-Startups

Leads daily content creation covering Europe's startup ecosystem for 300,000+ monthly readers. Manages breaking news, industry insights, and data-driven analysis.

Cristina Serban

Director of Product Marketing, Consumer Solutions @ Bitdefender

Cristina Șerban is Director of Product Marketing for Consumer Solutions at Bitdefender, where she leads strategy across product, portfolio, and customer marketing. With over 15 years of experience in technology marketing, she has worked across communications, content, and product strategy—guiding global initiatives from concept to execution.

Cate Lawrence

Senior Writer @ Tech.eu

Tech journalist covering European startups and innovation. Experienced in content strategy, market analysis, and multimedia storytelling.

Bram De Geyter

Senior Vice President Product & Technology @ Showpad

Bram De Geyter is Senior Vice President of Product & Technology at Showpad, where he oversees global R&D teams across engineering, product management, UX, research, software architecture, analytics, and operations. With a career that spans software engineering, product leadership, and research, Bram has built a reputation for shaping top-performing teams and delivering market-leading B2B software that drives measurable business outcomes.

Bojan Stojkovski

Editor in Chief @ IT Logs

Award-winning tech journalist covering Balkans innovation for 10+ years. Featured in Foreign Policy, WSJ, and ZDNet. Currently exploring AI, defense tech, and fintech across Western Balkans. Avid storyteller and meme enthusiast.

Balazs Haszonics

Managing Partner @ Lead Ventures

Balázs Haszonics leads investment strategy at Lead Ventures, deploying over €100 million in capital to high-potential startups across Central and Eastern Europe in sectors including energy, mobility, retail, IoT, chemicals, and sustainability.

Bakhrom Ibragimov

Partner - Head of Molten East @ Molten Ventures

Bakhrom Ibragimov is a Partner and Head of Molten East at Molten Ventures, a leading European venture capital firm investing in technology companies at the Series A to growth stage across Europe.

Audra Elena Shallal

Vice President @ Corenvest

Audra Elena Shallal brings over twenty years of experience in entrepreneurship, pitch coaching, and angel investing to her role at Corenvest. Based in Finland and France, she helps ambitious founders sharpen their business strategies and become investor-ready. At Corenvest, she supports companies through funding, strategic coaching, and access to a broad angel network, helping them scale with intention and purpose.

Alexander Agureev

Investor @ Northzone

Alex focuses on growth-stage companies across enterprise, fintech, and infrastructure & developers both in Europe and on the East Coast. He is particularly interested in verticalized solutions that cater to underserved market niches and have the potential to disrupt sleepy market incumbents.