Sofia Event Review: Democratizing access to investment in Bulgarian tech startups

Until recently, only a very small group of people had the privilege to invest in startups. At the same time, venture capital investments have the highest long-term returns. At the same time, investing in young companies is an effective way to promote the local economy and support the entrepreneurial spirit. However, there are now alternative methods that allow smaller investors to participate in investment rounds.

On June 21, a busy Tuesday overshadowed by the street riots in Sofia, more than 150 high-net-worth profile individuals gathered at Campus X to discuss investment and how we can join forces to support the Bulgarian innovative ecosystem and the economy behind it. It was exciting to say the least to meet so many startup investment aficionados in the same place and network in a safe space.

Together with The Recursive, we hosted this event as we share a common mission - namely to bridge the gaps in active cooperation between the countries of Southeast Europe. We want to bring the startup communities together so they have a better chance of connecting with their next top investor.

Democratizing private investors and angel access to local startup platforms has the potential to take the regional startup ecosystem to the next level. Examples include platforms that allow micro-investments, syndication of investment tickets, or even indirect investments on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.

The agenda of the evening started with a keynote by Andrei Dudoiu (Managing Partner at SeedBlink), followed by a panel talk with Angel Hadjiev (Managing Director of SeedBlink Bulgaria), Hristo Hristov (CEO of HR Capital), and last but not least Gergana Stoichkova (Investment Associate at Eleven Ventures).

The main topics that were raised during the panel:

• What is SeedBlink's vision for the Bulgarian market?
• The development of the Bulgarian angel investment community
• Challenges of the local angel networks
• Investing with the right partners
• Building a large international community of micro-angel investors
• Why Dronamics chose SeedBlink
• Differences and complementary points between SeedBlink and an IPO on the growth market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange
• Improvements in the investment process of startups
• Why startups choose to expand internationally
• Angel Investing 101
• Diversification of the portfolio
• Advice for startup founders
• What will be exciting in the future

Special thanks to Irina Obushtarova, co-founder of The Recursive, for moderating this event and to the entire team for their dedication and smooth running.