Valentin Flip, Fortech Investments: „We wanted to build something that is fast now and well done later. This is a very difficult change of mindset”

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.

In Valentin Filip’s view, nowadays the managing partner of Fortech Investments, one of the most active venture capital firms in Romania, this holistic approach is essential for startups to achieve sustainable product-market fit and scalable growth.

Fortech saw a strong shareholder commitment to this shift, including dedicated funding and resources to build a product team from scratch. This commitment contrasted with many companies’ tendency to treat product initiatives as secondary or experimental.

Operating as a startup studio, the team behind Fortech Products is focused on creating spin-offs and new startups. The shareholder support and structured approach enabled the creation of an organized investment thesis, moving away from opportunistic, ill-managed investments toward a portfolio with clear strategy and intent

A key insight from Valentin's journey is the realization that developers cannot build successful products alone. Even the best technical product may not meet market needs without interdisciplinary collaboration. Success relies on teamwork across diverse backgrounds, including business, design, and user experience.

"Even taking one individual and making them used to a different way of thinking, to a different way of relating to what they have to build, has been a difficult task… We wanted to build something that is fast now and well done later. This is a very difficult change of mindset and it starts from the individual", said Valentin about the shift needed when transforming a company or individual from service-oriented delivery to product innovation, highlighting  the fact that success depends on the leader. 

Fortech Investments actively promotes this philosophy, engaging educators and university professors to encourage early collaboration among students from different fields. The goal is to foster value creation and problem identification beyond pure technical perspectives. 

The discussion also highlights the Romanian tech ecosystem, particularly in Cluj and Transylvania, identifying it as mature yet still evolving with room for greater collaboration among hubs, startups, investors, and academia. 

Another notable insight from our interview with Valentin Filip is the emphasis on attracting experienced founders aged 35 and above, who bring domain knowledge, management skills, networks, and financial resources, increasing startup success probabilities. 

The ecosystem’s future rests on addressing challenges such as brain drain, enhancing collaboration within and across regional hubs, and identifying strategic domains where Romania can build unique competitive advantages, especially by leveraging its industrial and agricultural heritage combined with new technologies. Valentin encourages a mindset shift from competing on cost to innovating with value and impact. 

"Developers need to realize that they cannot build products by themselves. Regardless of the fact that they can build the best product, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best product for the market. So, collaboration between developers and other disciplines, other people with other backgrounds, is the key component for success", says Valentin.

• Career progression from software engineer to CEO and venture investor highlights the power of continuous growth and adaptability.
• Collaboration between developers and diverse disciplines is critical for building startups with genuine market fit.
• Fortech Investments operates as a fully private corporate VC with a focused thesis on early-stage startups in familiar domains.
• Romanian tech ecosystems like Cluj are mature but need stronger collaboration and networking across regions and sectors.
• Experienced founders (35+) are more likely to succeed due to domain expertise, networks, and financial resources.
• Private funding provides greater flexibility and active involvement compared to institutional funds, benefiting portfolio startups.
• Ecosystem growth requires strategic capital deployment and alignment of talent, innovation, and market needs.

• Transforming a services company into a product startup studio: cultural and operational challenges

Shifting from a services model (focused on delivering client projects) to creating proprietary products entails a fundamental mindset change. Services prioritize reliability and long-term stability, whereas product development benefits from iterative, fast-fail approaches.

As a company Fortech demonstrated this by dedicating a separate team with committed funding toward product innovation and startup incubation. This transformation required strong leadership to manage difficult conversations, motivate teams to adopt new philosophies, and maintain focus on long-term impact rather than short-term deliverables. 

"In services, people are used to providing a high level of service which means creating something that will last, but when we’re talking about products, usually it’s very good to do something that can be thrown away easily and then build the long-lasting thing. This is a very difficult change of mindset and it starts from the individual", is Valentin’s opinion about the mindset shift required when moving from services to product development. 

• Building Fortech Investments: vision and thesis

Fortech Investments was formalized in 2021 with a clear thesis centered on three pillars:

Initially, the services arm of Fortech funded investments, but after Fortech’s acquisition by a Silicon Valley company, Fortech Investments and Fortech Products remained with the original shareholders, operating independently.

The fund focuses on early-stage startups, mainly seed to late seed rounds, targeting industries familiar to the team such as healthcare, manufacturing, finance, automotive, and energy. Startups with existing revenues and some product-market fit are preferred, ensuring traction and viability.

• Portfolio strategy and industry focus

Fortech Investments builds portfolios with complementary startups that can mutually benefit and amplify growth through collaboration. Examples include synergies between manufacturing startups and those specializing in computer vision. The portfolio is diverse, spanning automotive, healthcare, e-commerce infrastructure, and other sectors.

At the time of the interview, the fund’s portfolio included 15 startups, with plans to reach. The fund’s private nature allows flexibility in investment choices, geographic reach, ticket sizes, and domains, unlike institutional funds with rigid constraints.

At present, Fortech Investments is raising for a new fund.  

• Advantages of being a fully private fund

Operating with 100% private capital offers significant advantages:

• Flexibility: The fund can invest in various regions and industries without institutional restrictions.
• Control: Shareholders are actively involved in investment decisions and can leverage their experience to support startups.
• Value-add: The fund focuses on hands-on involvement, translating shareholder expertise into tangible support for portfolio companies.

This contrasts with many institutional funds where limited partners are passive and less engaged, which can limit the value delivered beyond capital.

• Collaboration between startups, funds and advisors

Collaboration within the fund’s portfolio and with investors is a critical focus. Shareholders and fund members have intrinsic motivation to support startups due to their investment stakes, but time and knowledge remain challenges.

Trust is paramount when introducing startups to high-profile corporate clients or partners. The fund aims to build strong relationships among investors, startups, and advisors, ensuring meaningful, ongoing engagements rather than superficial connections.

Founders must also be truthful and proactive in working with advisors to maximize value, avoiding the common pitfall of listing advisors without real interaction. 

• Identifying strong startups: must-have vs. nice-to-have

The distinction between “must-have” and “nice-to-have” startups is critical. Collaboration between engineers and domain experts helps ensure startups address real, urgent problems rather than optional or peripheral needs.

Startups that deeply understand their target environment and maintain strong customer interaction, including letters of intent or revenues, are more likely to succeed and attract investment.

• Attracting non-IT investors

Attracting investors from outside the IT sector requires education and gradual involvement. Networks like Tech Angels and Transylvania Angel Network introduce experienced professionals to startup investing.

Starting as angel investors allows these individuals to retain control and gain confidence before becoming limited partners in funds. Aligning investments with the investor’s domain expertise improves the chances of success and ongoing commitment. 

• Ecosystem maturity in Cluj and Transylvania 

Cluj and the broader Transylvania region have relatively mature startup ecosystems with growing involvement from universities, businesses, and investors. Historical openness from the services industry fosters a culture receptive to innovation.

Also, while hubs in different Romanian cities often operate in isolation, there is increasing cross-participation and event attendance, signaling a willingness to collaborate. The speaker stresses the importance of each hub finding its niche and complementing others to create a cohesive national network without overlap or competition.

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.