Martin Eriksson

Founder @ ProductTank

Martin Eriksson has 30+ years experience at the forefront of product, as the former Product Partner at EQT (Europe’s largest private investor), co-founder of Mind the Product (World’s largest product community), and co-author of Product Leadership, he has helped define modern product management.

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.

Tejas Kumar

Developer Advocate, Best Selling Author @ IBM

Tejas Kumar is an international keynote speaker with an engineering background spanning 23 years, from design to frontend to backend to DevOps. Today, he shares talks at large with developer communities worldwide, equipping them to do their best work.

Steen Rasmussen

Director of Data Innovation @ IIH Nordic

As co-founder of the internationally renowned digital agency IIH Nordic, Steen has been working in the intersection of business, marketing and data for more than 25 year delivering insights and results for clients, such as Apple, IKEA, Lego and many more.

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 is a contextual product leader with over 25 years of experience. He helps organizations as a fractional leader, product leadership coach, consultant and startup-advisor. He is a co-founder of Product at Heart and Hey Clarity.

Andrew Nekvinda

Head of Canva CZ @ Canva

Andrew Nekvinda is the Head of Canva Czech Republic, where he drives product innovation and leads the Canva operations, from its European campus in Prague.

Alice Guo

Lead, Early Stage Startups, EMEA @ OpenAI

Alice Guo leads efforts on OpenAI’s early-stage startups across EMEA and APAC, helping venture-backed AI companies leverage OpenAI’s latest models, APIs, and tools. She partners with founders and investors on product development, technical roadmaps, and responsible scaling.

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.

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 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.

Laura Haidinger

Operations Business Partner - Generative AI @ Canva

Laura Haidinger is an operations leader with a strong track record in scaling teams and shaping global strategies at the intersection of technology, AI, and organizational design.

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

Alexandre Dewez is a Partner at 20VC, where he backs ambitious founders across North America and Europe from Pre-Seed to Series A.

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.

Andrei Danescu

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.

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.

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 @ Cognity, ex 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.

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, ex 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

Iwona is a core member of the EU-INC team, leading its legal and legislative strategy and now working closely with the European Commission on implementation. She spearheaded the creation of proposal.eu-inc.org and remains central to EU-Inc’s policy efforts.

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.

Ülane Vilumets

Team Lead Business Development @ e-Residency Estonia

Ülane Vilumets leads Business Development at Estonia’s e-Residency program, where she works to expand the program’s reach across top international markets and build strong relationships with global entrepreneurs.

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.

Voicu Oprean

CEO & Founder @ AROBS Group

Voicu Oprean is the Founder and CEO of AROBS Transilvania Software, one of Romania’s leading software development and product companies, which he started in 1998 with a clear vision: to deliver high-quality, value-added technology services at competitive prices from Romania to the world.

Vladimir Oane

Co-Founder @ Deepstash

Vladimir Oane is the Co-Founder and CEO of Deepstash, a platform helping millions of people discover new ideas, learn continuously, and connect knowledge across books, podcasts, and other content formats.

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.

Valentina Dragomir

Country Manager @ Evrotrust

Valentina Dragomir is the Country Manager of Evrotrust in Romania, where she leads efforts to advance secure and compliant digital identity solutions.

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.

Tudor Coman

Machine Learning Engineer @ Adobe

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

Tomasz Snazyk

CEO @ AI Chamber CEE

Tomek Snazyk is a startup advisor, investor, and legal expert deeply embedded in Poland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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.

Timmy Ghiurau

Founder @ Midbrain AI

Timmy Ghiurău is a futurist, technologist, and ecosystem builder who has spent over 15 years pioneering innovation at the frontier of AI, XR, simulation, and foresight.

Teodora Atanasova

News Editor & Podcast Producer @ The Recursive

Teodora Atanasova is a News Editor and Podcast Producer at The Recursive, a leading media platform covering the European tech and startup ecosystem.

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.

Stefan Buciuc

CEO @ BCR Social Finance

Ștefan Buciuc is the CEO of BCR Social Finance IFN SA and Head of the Social Banking Division at Banca Comercială Română (BCR).

Sorin Sfetcu

Industry Manager @ Google

Sorin Sfetcu is Industry Manager at Google Romania with over 10 years experience in digital marketing.

Sonia Oprean

Co-CEO & Co-Founder @ Synerb

Sonia Oprean is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Synerb, an organization dedicated to empowering purpose-driven entrepreneurs and visionary organizations to launch and grow social ventures.

Silviu Homoceanu

Founder & CTO @ Deltia.ai

Silviu Homoceanu is the Founder and CTO of Deltia.ai, a Berlin-based AI-enabled SaaS startup focused on optimizing manual assembly processes in factories using artificial intelligence and computer vision technology.

Sebastian Boncu

@ RISE Romania

Sebastian Boncu is an entrepreneur and innovator passionate about using AI and data to solve complex challenges.

Sasha Vidiborskiy

Partner @ Atomico

Sasha Vidiborskiy is a Partner at Atomico based in London, specializing in enterprise software investments, including developer tools, cloud infrastructure, blockchain, web3, AI/ML apps, and deep tech. Sasha began his career as a quantum physicist, before transitioning into venture capital and startup operations.

Sara Anselmo

Project Manager in Gender & Diversity @ ESIL

Sara Anselmo is a dedicated equality expert with extensive experience working across NGOs, research institutes, and international organizations to advance inclusion and social justice.

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.

Roland Dennert

Managing Partner @ Cipio Partners

Roland Dennert is a Managing Partner at Cipio Partners based in Munich, responsible for new investments and portfolio management since 2005.

Robert Berza

Executive Director @ EDGE Institute

Robert Berza is the Executive Director of Edge Institute, a Romanian think tank dedicated to accelerating sustainable digital transformation in Romania.

Razvan Visan

Founder @ SocialInsider

Razvan Visan is the founder of Socialinsider, a leading social media analytics and benchmarking platform that helps brands and businesses analyze performance across channels, gain competitive intelligence, and uncover content trends.

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.

Raluca Epureanu

Founder & CEO @ RISE Romania

Raluca Epureanu is a hospitality executive and entrepreneur with an 18-year career spanning 26 countries and four continents.

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.

Radu Georgescu

Founding Partner @ Gecad Ventures

Radu Georgescu is a renowned Romanian serial entrepreneur and investor with over 30 years of experience founding and scaling companies in software, internet, and e-commerce sectors.

Radu Bozga

Vice President @ Notion Capital

Radu Bozga is Vice President at Notion Capital, one of Europe’s leading venture funds focused on B2B SaaS.

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).

Petr Smid

Investment Partner @ Rockaway Capital

Petr Šmíd is an Investment Partner at Rockaway Capital, where he focuses on early-stage and growth investments across Central and Eastern Europe.

Pavel Petrek

General Partner @ Tilia Impact Ventures

Pavel Petrek is the General Partner at Tilia Impact Ventures, the first impact venture capital fund in the Czech Republic, backing founders in Central and Eastern Europe who are solving the region’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.

Ovidiu Mihalcea

Co-Founder @ Misreport

Ovidiu Mihalcea is a software developer and co-founder of Misreport, a newsletter dedicated to fact-checking and exposing disinformation. He also contributes as a data reporter at Public Record, where he builds digital tools to support investigative journalism.

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.

Olga Melniciuc

Chief Executive Officer @ Startup Moldova

Olga Melniciuc is the Chief Executive Officer of Startup Moldova, leading the foundation’s mission to empower Moldovan startups and strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.

Oana Mihailescu

Product Lead @ Metro

With over 10 years of experience in leading product organizational transformations, turning complex challenges into real customer impact across a wide range of industries.

Oana Craioveanu

Co-founder @ Impact Hub

Oana Craioveanu has dedicated her career to strengthening the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems by building professional networks, driving systemic change, and enabling startup growth.

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. She champions authentic storytelling across written features, documentary filmmaking, multimedia content, and video scripting.

Nikola Yanev

Co-founder @ Fundraise Ready

Nikola Yanev consults founders on how to raise capital faster and with less frustration. After spending seven years in venture capital at Eleven Ventures, he now works directly with founders to simplify the fundraising process and close investors with confidence.

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.

Mădălina Bouroș

Co-Founder @ All Grow

Mădălina Bouroș is the Co-founder of AllGrow, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming education in Romania and beyond.

Mugurel Balan

Co-Founder @ RISE

Mugurel Balan is the Co-founder of Romanian InSpace Engineering (RISE).

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.

Mircea Vadan

Board Member @ RoStartup

Mircea Vădan is a board member at ROStartup, the umbrella organization formed in 2024 that brings together Romania’s national startup ecosystem.

Mircea Capatina

Co-founder & Marketing Director @ Smartbill

Mircea Căpățînă has been an entrepreneur his entire professional life. As Co-founder and Marketing Director of SmartBill, alongside Radu and Ioana Hasan, he built the most widely used invoicing and management software in Romania, trusted by thousands of businesses.

Mircea Bozga

Partner @ PwC Romania

Mircea joined PwC in 1997 and he is Assurance Partner, leading the Risk Assurance practices in Romania and the South East Europe which consists of a team of experts in Governance, Risk and Controls as well as Digital Trust.

Milena Milić

Manager @ Garaža

Milena Milić is a community builder and startup advocate with more than a decade of experience helping early-stage teams grow, scale, and connect with the right resources.

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.

Mihai Filip

Founder @ Oves Enterprise

Mihai Filip is a tech entrepreneur and business mentor with over a decade of experience building and scaling global software companies.

Mihai Cepoi

Founder & CEO @ Jobful, Jobs4All

Mihai Cepoi is the Founder and CEO of Jobful, Romania’s first gamified recruitment platform.

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.

Marius Mitroi

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Advisor @ UEFISCDI

Marius Mitroi is an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advisor at the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI), where he has been driving national strategy and policy initiatives since 2016.

Marius Istrate

Chairman of the Board @ TechAngels Romania

Marius Istrate is the Chairman of the Board at TechAngels Romania, the country’s largest and most experienced network of technology business angel investors, a role he has held since June 2023.

Marius Dima

Founder @ iGov.ro

Marius Dima is the founder of Qriton, where he develops neural-symbolic AI systems that combine AI with reliability for critical applications. He also leads civic-tech projects like iGov.ro, promoting open data governance and citizen participation.

Mario Krivokapic

Managing Partner @ Revenue Architects

Mario Krivokapic is an accomplished revenue executive and the Founder & Managing Partner of Revenue Architects. With over 25 years of experience in B2B sales leadership, Mario has worked with more than 300 SMEs to integrate strategic planning and improve sales systems and processes to drive superior business outcomes.

Marina Bzovii

Director @ Moldova Innovation Technology Park

Marina Bzovîi is the Director of the Moldova Innovation Technology Park (MITP), where she leads the strategic growth of the country’s flagship digital ecosystem.

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.

Marcus Erken

Founding Partner @ Sunfish Partners

Marcus Erken is a founding partner at Sunfish Partners, an early-stage VC backing defense tech startups from Central and Eastern Europe.

Magda Jianu

South Eastern Europe District Manager @ Palo Alto Networks

With almost 15 years in the IT business world, Magda has accumulated extensive experience working for large IT vendors, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft and now Palo Alto Networks.

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 7 years focused on workplace belonging and mental health, she brings a powerful blend of strategic insight and 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.

Kristiana Kuneva

Chief Business Development Officer @ The Recursive

Kristiana Kuneva is the Chief Business Development Officer at The Recursive, where she oversees strategic growth, partnerships, and market expansion.

Ken Morse

Chairman & CEO @ Entrepreneurship Ventures Inc.

Ken Morse is a serial entrepreneur, innovation expert, and global sales veteran with more than 35 years of experience in high-tech sales and startup leadership. As Chairman & CEO of Entrepreneurship Ventures Inc., he supports ambitious founders worldwide in designing, launching, and scaling ventures built on innovative technologies.

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.

Jan Debets

Senior Advisor @ Business Angels Europe

Jan Debets is Senior Advisor at Business Angels Europe, the European confederation representing angel investor networks, based in Brussels and Board Member at HEC Alumni Angels.

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.

Ionut Gherle

Co-Founder & CEO @ Zendra Group

Ionuț Gherle is the Co-Founder and CEO of Zendra Group since September 2025. He also serves as a Strategic Advisor for WE AS WEB, after previously serving as Partner & Chief Growth Officer for over two years.

Ioan Istrate

Strategic Advisor @ NATO Diana

Ioan Istrate stands at the intersection of deep tech, policy, and entrepreneurship, blending strategic innovation with expertise in M&A, governance, and capacity building for emerging technologies.

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 enables him to assess startups at both code and boardroom level.

Horia Niculescu

Customer Engineer - Data, AI, ML @ Google

Horia is a passionate data and AI enthusiast and loves to help organizations grow through the use of data.

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.

Guillaume Lussato

Associate Director - M&A Origination @ saas.group

Guillaume Lussato is Associate Director of M&A Origination at saas.group, where he focuses on identifying and building strategic acquisition opportunities in the global SaaS space.

Gergana Stoichkova

Co-founder @ Fundraiser Ready

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.

Gabriela Stanica

Chief Information Officer, Digital & AI @ Carrefour

Gabriela Stănică is Chief Information Officer, Digital & AI, and a member of the Executive Committee at Carrefour România, where she drives digital transformation and the integration of cutting-edge technologies to enhance business performance and customer experience.

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.

Flavius Plesu

Founder & CEO @ OutThink

Flavius Pleșu is the Founder and CEO of OutThink. With 20 years of experience as a cybersecurity leader, including a background as a Chief Information Security Officer, Flavius knows firsthand the challenges organizations face in protecting against evolving threats.

Flavia Husar

Co-founder and CIO @ Innovation Labs

Flavia Husar has built two careers in parallel: by day, leading enterprise products in global tech, and by night, shaping Romania’s national startup ecosystem through Innovation Labs.

Eyal Pinko

Chief Executive Officer @ Saifort

Dr. Eyal Pinko, CEO of TERRA STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS, is a seasoned expert with over 30 years of experience in intelligence, cybersecurity, national security, and naval warfare.

Eva Arh

Partner @ 3VC

Eva Arh is a venture capital investor and Partner at 3VC, a European VC fund based in Vienna, Austria. Since joining 3VC in 2017 as a Principal, she has played a key role in building the fund and working closely with a diverse portfolio of category-defining tech companies across enterprise infrastructure, transportation tech, and health IT sectors.

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, Eric has created and supported over 180 startups through award-winning programs, including SpinLab – The HHL Accelerator and RootCamp while serving as active seed investor.

Enis Hulli

General Partner @ e2vc

Enis Hulli is a General Partner at e2vc, a seed fund with four unicorns and 60 portfolio companies that have collectively raised $3 billion to date. With a background in engineering, he combines technical understanding with a global perspective, identifying opportunities where regional innovation can scale internationally.

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.

Edward Cretescu

President @ ANIS

Edward Alexandru Cretescu is the CEO of Regista and the President of the Romanian National Association of IT Companies (ANIS).

Dragos Stanca

Founder @ Ethical Media Alliance

Dragos is a serial entrepreneur, tech‑startup investor, and advocate of ethical technology (with a strong focus on digital media).

Dorian Camil Hodorogea

Customer Engineer for Data Analytics in CEE @ Google

Dorian Camil Hodorogea is an experienced IT professional with a strong background in data, analytics, and business intelligence.

Diana Stefanova

Managing Partner @ BrightCap Ventures

Diana Stefanova is Managing Partner at BrightCap Ventures, bringing over 25 years of leadership experience across high-tech, corporate development, and global business operations.

David Webster

Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ Global Tech Connect

Dr David Webster is the Founder of UK/Romania Business, an organisation dedicated to building bilateral and regional commercial opportunities in technology, defence, energy/infrastructure and financial services, and Co-founder & Managing Partner of Global Tech Connect.

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.

David Achim

Executive Director @ Make IT in Oradea

David Achim is the Executive Director of Make IT in Oradea, a non-profit initiative aimed at transforming Oradea into a premier destination for tech founders in Central and Eastern Europe.

Daniela Iliescu

Executive Director @ ROPEA

Daniela Iliescu is the Executive Director of ROPEA (Romanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association), the independent non-profit organization representing the interests of the Romanian PE and VC industry.

Dan Mihaescu

Founding Partner @ GapMinder Venture Partners

Dan Mihaescu is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and founding partner of GapMinder Ventures, a prominent venture capital fund investing in technology startups primarily in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe. With a deep expertise in IT and telecommunications, Dan brings over two decades of senior executive leadership experience.

Cătălina Plinschi

Director of Operations @ Fagura

Cătălina Plinschi is the Director of Operations at Fagura, where she drives organizational efficiency and fosters a collaborative, high-performance culture.

Cătălina Dodu

Partner @ EY Romania

Cătălina Dodu is a seasoned technology executive and cybersecurity leader with over 20 years of experience driving digital transformation, consulting, and cyber resilience across global markets.

Csongor Bias

Managing Director @ Startup Hungary

Csongor is the Managing Director of Startup Hungary, spearheading efforts to invigorate the local startup ecosystem. Prior to this role, he founded two coworking spaces and gained experience with venture capital firms and accelerators. Additionally, he played a pivotal role in launching Vacuumlabs’ Budapest operations as the Country Manager.

Cristina Toncu

Co-founder & Programs Partner @ Techcelerator.Ro

Cristina Țoncu is the Co-founder and Programs Partner at Techcelerator, one of the leading startup accelerators in Romania and South Eastern Europe.

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 marketing, she has worked across communications, content, and product strategy, guiding global initiatives from concept to execution.

Cristiana Banila

Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer @ MitraBio

Cristiana Bănilă is the Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Mitra Bio, a London-based biotech company developing a precision platform for skin longevity.

Cristian Dascalu

Ambassador @ European Innovation Council

Cristian Dascalu is the European Innovation Council Ambassador for Eastern Europe, where he serves as an Investment Jury member for deep-tech startups and scaleups with breakthrough technologies across Europe.

Cosmin Nitu

Founder @ PressPay

Cosmin Nițu is the founder of PressPay, a platform designed to transform readers’ likes into a sustainable funding mechanism for independent journalism.

Claudiu Bogdan

Founder @ Transparenta.eu

Claudiu Bogdan is the Founder of Transparenta.eu and a seasoned Senior Software Engineer, dedicated to building scalable, reliable, and secure applications

Cem Sertoglu

Managing Partner @ Bek Ventures

Cem Sertoglu is a Managing Partner at Bek Ventures, a global venture capital firm focused on technology companies in Emerging Europe, also known as “Dynamic Europe.” He has been investing in technology ventures in the region since 2006. Bek Ventures manages a $250 million fund, which was three times oversubscribed, and is known for supporting top founders with roots in Central and Eastern Europe.

Cate Lawrence

Senior Writer @ Tech.eu

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

Catalin Lupoaie

B2B Marketing Manager @ Banca Comerciala Romana

Cătălin Lupoaie has been B2B Marketing Manager at BCR since March 2022, having previously held the position of Public Affairs Manager between 2018 and 2022.

Carmen Pungă

Sales Lead - Romania & Tech Market Development - Romania & Bulgaria @ Google

Carmen Pungă is the Sales Lead for Romania and Tech Market Development Lead for Romania and Bulgaria at Google.

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 robust career path, 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.

Bogdan Iordache

General Partner @ Underline VC

Bogdan is the General Partner of Underline Ventures, a venture capital firm that partners at the earliest stages with Eastern European founders building high-growth startups with global ambitions.

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.

Attila Biro

Co-founder @ Context.ro

Attila Biro is a co-founder of CONTEXT and has been investigating organized crime and corruption for 20 years. He often works on international projects alongside journalists affiliated with the Organized Crime and Reporting Project network.

Andrei Pitis

Founder & CEO @ genezio

Andrei Pitiș is the Founder and CEO of genezio, a company dedicated to making conversational AI trustworthy and controllable.

Andrei Dudoiu

CEO & Co-Founder @ SeedBlink @ SeedBlink

Andrei Dudoiu is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeedBlink, one of Europe’s most dynamic investment platforms focused on tech startups and equity management.

Andrei Ciurcanu

Investigative Reporter @ Rise Project, OCCRP

Andrei has been a member of RISE Project since 2014, and in 2019 he joined the investigative platform Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Andreea Plesea

Co-founder & COO @ DRUID AI

Andreea Pleşea is the Co-Founder and COO of DRUID AI, where she drives platform development, global expansion, and strategic partnerships with major technology players worldwide. With a PhD in conversational AI and more than 15 years of B2B leadership experience, she blends deep technical expertise with sharp business acumen to scale enterprise-grade AI solutions.

Anca Marcu

CFO and Board Member @ AMSIMCEL

Anca Marcu is the Chief Financial Officer and Board Member at AMSIMCEL, a Romanian deep tech startup developing HyperPV, the first GPU-powered physical verification framework for next-generation integrated circuits.

Ana Cretu

Director of Social Impact Investment @ ERSTE Foundation

Ana Crețu is the Director of Social Impact Investment at ERSTE Foundation, where she leads the design, development, and implementation of the Foundation’s Social Impact Investment Strategy.

Alexandru Luncașu

Co-Founder & COO @ Brizy

Alexandru Luncasu is the Co-Founder and COO of Brizy.io, a website builder platform empowering individuals and businesses to create modern, professional websites with ease.

Alexandru Constantin

CTO & Co-founder @ stock.estate

Alexandru Constantin is the Co-founder and CTO of stock.estate, Romania’s first real estate crowdfunding platform. With a mission to democratize real estate investing, stock.estate is opening access to one of Europe’s fastest-growing markets.

Alexandra Tsylnitska

Investor @ Dawn Capital

Alexandra Tsylnitska is a venture capital investor at Dawn Capital, one of Europe’s leading firms focused on B2B software and fintech startups.

Alexandra Miklóssyová

Community Manager for the DIANA Accelerator Site Czech Invest @ Czech Invest

Alexandra Miklóssyová manages community and partnerships for the DIANA Accelerator, part of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic.

Alex Gavril

Co-founder & CEO @ promocrat

Alex Gavril is a strong advocate of growth marketing in the CEE region, working with ambitious companies to design and scale their growth function.

Aleodor Tabarcea

Engineering Manager @ Stripe

Aleodor Tabarcea is an experienced engineering leader with over a decade in web development, shaping products that have reached millions of users worldwide.

Aida Enache

Executive Director for Retail Digital Transformation @ BRD - Groupe Societe Generale

Aida Enache is Executive Director for Retail Digital Transformation at BRD – Groupe Société Générale, where she leads the design and execution of the bank’s digital strategy for its retail business line.

Adrian Rosoaga

Chief Investment Officer @ BCR Seed Starter

Adrian Rosoaga is the Chief Investment Officer at BCR Seed Starter, the corporate venture capital arm of Banca Comercială Română (BCR). He brings over 15 years of experience in the financial advisory industry, with a strong background in coordinating complex and highly competitive M&A, equity capital markets (ECM), and debt capital markets (DCM) processes.