GapMinder VC

We're super happy that Finqware from #GapMinderPortfolio has entered the Top 10 on Sifted’s Eastern Europe & Baltics Leaderboard, ranking #9 among the region’s fastest-growing startups! 🎉 This recognition highlights their relentless drive and commitment to revolutionizing #OpenBanking in Eastern Europe, bringing innovative solutions to financial services. Congrats, Cosmin Cosma & team! The best is yet to come! 

Breaking News 💫 Liviu Dragan, CEO and founder of DRUID AI, part of the #GapMinderPortfolio, announced big news at the Ziarul Financiar IT Generation Summit.  “This year has been very good, the financial results so far led us to consider just these days to raise a new financial round. It will be a Series C round, we want to raise around 50-60 million euros", said Liviu Dragan, CEO and founder of DRUID AI, at the event. #GapMinder #DruidAI 

What are some trends we noticed since the beginning of the year in the startup world?   Cosmin Ochisor, our partner, noticed in the first semester of this year that thanks to Generative AI, the time to create the products that startups launch has greatly decreased.   "With the help of Generative AI, the time for founders to create a product has decreased significantly, so the go-to-market part has started to become more and more important from the very beginning. Before when you were working with a startup in the pre-seed stage, you used to talk a lot about the product, because the resources needed were considerable, the technology was extremely important, as it is now only now using AI you can do the same thing much faster and with less resources. So the product management side, sales, go-to-market, the whole business side is starting to carry more weight from the start. And so, when you first meet with a startup, maybe the solution developed may seem in its infancy, but it can get to the go-to-market phase much faster than before.    This is challenging the whole ecosystem because it changes the way we look at companies. Things are moving in a direction that we've always talked to entrepreneurs about. I mean, they don't have to develop a product like in a lab and wait until everything is perfect, they need to talk to customers much faster. This is where things have changed. Speed has increased and startups are becoming active on a global life from moment zero. I no longer go on the idea of "I'll get a few customers in Romania and then go global". You are a competitor from the very beginning in a global market and you have to behave as such", added Cosmin.

It was an evening full of insights at the kick-off of Venture Accel, cohort #11! 🚀 Our partner, Cosmin Ochisor, was part of the dynamic "How To Raise Early Stage Investment" panel. He was joined by Andrei Pitis, Startup Investor and the Founder & CEO of Genezio, Sergiu Negut from FintechOS & cleverage.vc, and Dan Calugareanu from Early Game Ventures. The discussion was moderated by Eric Bartha. The panel provided inspiring talks and valuable insights about how to invest, what investors are looking at, and what startups can expect in 2025. The room was filled with many startup professionals and media representatives. 👏 Congrats, Matei Dumitrescu & team, for another successful event! #VentureAccel #Cohorta11 #Startups #GapMinder

FintechOS from #GapMinderPortfolio plans to recruit sales specialists for Western Europe and software development experts in Romania.   The move comes after the company attracted a 60 million USD round this year and is part of its plan to strengthen its position globally and reach break-even in 2024.   Read more in the following article: https://lnkd.in/dvpsEcCD

What are our plans by the end of the year? We aim to finalize three to four transactions by the end of this year and are in discussions with multiple companies in Romania, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia.   These deals are part of the goal of GapMinder Fund II, a fund launched by GapMinder VC in February this year, to develop a portfolio of 20-25 companies, mainly seed and late-seed stage startups.   "This year, we have seen companies that were at a pre-production stage, but we expect them to evolve quickly and soon become mature enough to attract investment in the area where we operate. Certainly, some of the companies we have seen in the last few months will confirm, attract clients and most likely become interesting for us," says Cosmin Ochisor, our partner.   Find out more about us at https://gapminder.vc/ #GapMinder #VCFund

Cosmin Ochisor, our partner, joins the Venture Accel Kickoff by MyidEA that takes place on October 24. He's part of the panel "How to Raise Early Stage Investment" alongside Andrei Pitis (Startup Investor, Founder & CEO @ Genezio), Sergiu Negut (FintechOS / cleverage.vc), Dan Calugareanu (partner Early Game Ventures. Eric Bartha (Head of Financial Services @ SeedBlink) is the moderator. If you want to be there, you can register here: https://lnkd.in/dJDfXBEM You'll have the opportunity to meet promising startups, top investors, and experienced mentors in a relaxed setting, perfect for valuable discussions and connections. #CosminOchisor #GapMinder #VentureAccel

Dan Lupu - Venture Partner Earlybird Venture Capital, Early Stage Investor and the one who discovered UiPath, spoke at Breakfast with Founders, an event organized by GapMinder VC and Creandum, about some of the mistakes entrepreneurs make:   ✅ Given the nature of investing in technology, I have seen more failures than successes. Usually, investors tell you what to do, but they tell you what not to do in the global market or starting companies. Sometimes, this might help people more than telling them what to do.   ✅ I think that one of the mistakes is that startups get pushed to expand to the mythical US market. Sometimes, investors go for that for the right or the wrong reasons, and many times for the wrong reasons. And I saw it happening over and over. US expansion can be outsourced to a third party without personal involvement from the existing team and, more importantly, from the leadership and the founders. Founders like to travel to the US but want to avoid living in the US. When they get there, they meet some brilliant US salespersons, and after they recruit the sales guys, the founders find out that these guys need to meet their quota. If you start doing the math, you realize that you must pay 100 people, and only 60% meet 80% of the quota. Your commitment and spending on the US market need to be clarified. You end up with a considerable cost base in a no-return situation. Because you need to meet your numbers to get additional funding, which is the death trap. Many get to go there.   ✅ Another mistake I've seen is that many companies from the region come with a very technical team. CEO, CTO - everybody is technical.   And especially if you get some funding, the investors will push for revenues. All of a sudden, you start thinking about hiring a CRO. Usually, you get access to people from a different region who speak the language better than you and who have more life experience, and you end up paying them a lot of money. You pay them much money and look at them as if they were a God—the God of the building market. And there's zero supervision and zero questioning about plans. Six months down the road, you realize that the plan didn't make sense, there was no supervision, so there was no reward, and the company ended up in a challenging situation.   #EarlyBird #DanLupu

DRUID AI from #GapMinderPortfolio is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with Zaky ITS, a subsidiary of Taawun Al Khair.   As the Regional Partner for DRUID AI, Zaky ITS will introduce their platform to businesses across the region, empowering them with superior customer experiences and improved operational efficiency.   #DRUIDAI #Chatbots

Rayscape from #GapMinderPortfolio has been named a semifinalist for Best New Radiology Vendor at the 2024 AuntMinnie.com Awards! 🎉   The AuntMinnie Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the medical imaging industry, recognizing the best and brightest in the field. This nomination reflects the team's hard work, innovation, and dedication to advancing radiology technology.   We’re eagerly awaiting the finalist announcement in mid-October!