SeedBlink Blog

Eastern Europe is now the hottest spot in Europe to invest in, and it’s the perfect timing too. The ecosystem has developed a lot in recent years, but plenty of opportunities are still available to explore.

SeedBlink backed 50+ European startups to raise investment and build a thriving community. A good moment to invite 20+ angel investors, and 30+ VCs who contributed on this journey to share their top recommendations.

We’ll guide you through their stories, a short summary of why the local ecosystem is thriving right now, and what you can do. Alongside this, you can learn about the key reasons why you should be investing in European startups, and why to keep an eye on the Eastern European startup community.

How European investors started out

Many paths might lead you into the funding world, both as an angel and a venture capitalist. First, it can be your curiosity to invest your money into a business with high potential, where you can join existing angel investor networks or crowd investing platforms, such as SeedBlink. However, these are not the only options because investors come out from many different backgrounds and areas of expertise.

****MAX GURVITS, CHIEF HOST at Summit Summit & PARTNER at Vitosha Venture Partners: “If you are an entrepreneur, you already know the ins and outs. Or you are familiar with what you should be looking for in a startup. Like many people in the VC industry who have a founder background, I exited my first company in 2011. So, I wanted to get involved with more than one company as my next project. Coincidentally, this was the time that seed funds and accelerator programs were making their entrance, and I joined Eleven Ventures that year, which was my first investor gig.”

****MIHAI IVASCU, CEO & CO¬FOUNDER Modex & Angel investor: “I've started investing as a young entrepreneur after launching my own web design company at the age of 18. Later, it became a software company that now offers a suite of tech services, impacting the global scale. I chose to become an investor because I believed in the potential of several projects, in their ability to disrupt the future. Also, I wanted to meet like-minded people with a creative vision, be close to them, and learn firsthand what it takes to shape tomorrow by launching, today, game-changing products and services. For me, investing in a startup has a lot to do with trust. If we consider trust as a currency, we'll see that it's an extremely valuable one - maybe the most beneficial in the world - and highly sought-after nowadays, regardless of the industry. When you invest in a project, when buying a new car, business jet, apartment, yacht, or a particular service - you're also showing your trust towards that product. You expect it to be good and to deliver on its promises, maybe even surpass expectations; otherwise, you wouldn't have invested in it.”

****ALEXANDRU LUPASCU, Angel investor: “I started investing in startups almost two years ago and currently have five companies in my portfolio. What matters most in this journey is to define your investment thesis that fits your area of expertise and just stick to it. This way, you’ll avoid any emotional decisions.”

The Investors' Learnings Whitepaper focuses on the common challenges and factors that investors need to know when looking for startups and building their portfolios. Download our eBook on startup investing here.