Cosmin Cosma, Finqware: ”If you always keep a plan B under your desk, then you don’t focus to believe in a happy end for your company”

The documentary "Romanian Startups: Roaring Tigers of Europe", made by the start-up.ro team, spans across 33 years of history, from the first entrepreneurs in the transitional years to the initial technology company transactions that brought Romania into the international spotlight.

Romanian Startups: Roaring Tigers of Europe - The Extended Series will present the people who built the Romanian ecosystem and who discussed with the VideoCorp and start-up.ro team for this documentary. In this series you will find the extensive interviews and find out the stories of those who built entrepreneurship in Romania.

Cosmin Cosma’s journey in the world of startups began in 2005 with a banking franchise, leading to the realization that technology could revolutionize the financial sector. The pivotal moment arrived in 2017 with the discovery of open banking, inspiring the foundation of Finqware in 2018 with two co-founders, aiming to leverage open banking to transform financial services. 

During our interview, Cosmin noted the fact that fundraising was a difficult task for founders, with local venture capitalists still learning and hesitant to invest significantly in early-stage startups.

"Their capital is just a tool. It needs to have a lot of other things, and the most important thing that capital in a tech startup needs to have is human energy catalyzed by the founders. If you treat founders like debtors because you invested money, you have a bad attitude which cannot produce 20X revenues", said Cosmin.

Finqware’s strategy evolved from targeting consumer applications to focusing on corporate clients, reflecting a pivot typical in startups seeking product-market fit.

Cosmin also highlights the importance of tenacity and adaptability in navigating this evolution. He stresses the need for Romanian startups to adopt a global vision and for the ecosystem to mature by fostering success stories that inspire and sustain future founders.

"Romanian startups usually think with the mindset to overcome failure rather than to cope with success. They are preparing how to overcome if nothing goes well, but you also need to prepare your company for success", mentioned Cosmin during the interview, highlighting a critical cultural challenge in the ecosystem where fear of failure dominates, and readiness to embrace success is lacking, which is key for sustained growth.

• Finqware was born from a banking entrepreneur’s vision, sparked by open banking trends in 2017.
• The Romanian startup ecosystem is still developing and lacks many success stories, making founders’ journeys psychologically challenging.
• Raising capital locally was difficult; the founder emphasizes seeking international investors and thinking globally from the start.
• Finqware pivoted from a consumer app to corporate fintech solutions, showcasing adaptability in product-market fit.
• Investors should see their capital as a tool to empower founders, not as a debt to be repaid with high pressure.
• Romanian startups need a global mindset, moving beyond local markets to succeed internationally.
• Despite hurdles, Romania’s fintech and deep tech sectors are gaining recognition and growth opportunities. 

• Open banking is a catalyst for innovation: The discovery of open banking in 2017 was a turning point for Cosmin, illustrating how regulatory and technological shifts can trigger new business models. Open banking breaks traditional banking silos, enabling startups like Finqware to develop innovative financial services platforms that improve customer interactions across Europe. This insight highlights how founders must stay vigilant to industry trends and regulatory changes to seize transformative opportunities.
• Pivoting and finding Product-Market Fit: Starting as a consumer-facing app, Finqware pivoted toward serving corporate clients after recognizing larger business opportunities. This pivot exemplifies the iterative nature of startups, where initial ideas evolve based on market feedback and partnerships. It also highlights the importance of flexibility and openness to change in product development and go-to-market strategies.

• Global mindset as a key to success: Encouraging Romanian startups to “play in the Champions League” rather than the “school playground”, Cosmin stresses the necessity of international ambition. Successful startups must look beyond their borders early on, accessing foreign markets, investors, and accelerators. This mentality is critical for startups in smaller or less mature ecosystems to scale and compete globally.
• Cultural barriers - the fear of failure vs. preparing for success: A recurring theme is the cultural mindset in Romania where founders and investors focus more on mitigating failure than preparing for success. This fear-based approach can stifle ambition and scaling. Addressing this requires ecosystem education, mindset shifts, and success narratives that encourage risk-taking and resilience.

Roaring Tigers of Europe is a production by start-up.ro and Videocorp, part of the Romanian publishing company InternetCorp, active for almost 20 years on the market. The documentary was made with the support of partners BCR, Orange, and 2Performant. Community partners included Guran Consulting Global, How to Web, Launch, Impact Hub Bucharest, Flaviu Simihaian, Rubik Hub, SoftServe, and the Romanian-American University.