Dorin Boerescu: from the early internet to the first tech company on the Bucharest Stock Exchange

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.

”I did a lot of things for several years until I discovered advertising and marketing actually it was 1994 and I found a job at an advertising agency in the Polytechnic campus and the founder of that company gave me Guerrilla Marketing by Levinson and I read that book and my mind just exploded”, Dorin tells us.

While building his agency, Dorin saw and followed all the international digital trends that were starting to appear and the opportunities they brought.

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”I discovered Google AdWords in 2004 and it was again something that I couldn't wrap my mind around: ”so we pay only for the people who are searching something and only if they click on it are you crazy? We have to sell this!””, adds Dorin Boerescu.

Dorin considers himself lucky to be among the first to understand the way in which the Internet could shape the world: instantaneous communication and infinite access to information, as well as a new digital generation of professionals that understood digitalization.

Dorin joined the company 2Parale (the future 2Performant) in 2009, and later bought 80% of the business together with a business angel.

”It's the first company that I haven't started myself. someone else in the room, saw the potential Vlad Stan from SeedMoney financed the company, the start actually of the company and several months later I met with Radu, with the founder and I understood actually that it's a quite cool idea I helped him to get clients, get partners”, states Dorin.

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2Performant is one of those success stories of the local tech environment. The company attracted successive funding rounds from angel investors, before becoming the first tech business listed on the AeRo Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Besides, 2Performant and Dorin Boerescu, CEO of the company, are one of the first that started the local ecosystem. In 2008, 2Performant was winning NetCamp 2008 and received an investment from SeedMoney. In 2010, Dorin Boerescu and Daniel Enache join as investors, the first becoming CEO and majority stakeholder.

During these years 2Performant grew and in 2014-2015 received a syndicated EUR 450.000 funding round from business angels and Sergiu Neguț (now a co-founder for Fintech OS). Moreover, 2Performant was a finalist at the first edition of „Made in Romania by BVB” competition and in 2020 became the first tech business listed on the AeRo Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. In 2021, 2Performant stocks are included in the BET-AeRo stock market index and in 2023 the enterprise gets maximum grade VEKTOR for their communication with the investors from ARIR.

We’ve discussed at length with Dorin about the evolution of the tch ecosystem in Romania, about listing on the stock exchange, about the mistakes he made, about resilience and following opportunities for the Romanian Startups: Roaring Tigers of Europe documentary.

Taking chances and seeing opportunities

• Dorin began working early in life while studying at the Polytechnic University but soon realized engineering wasn't for them, leading him to switch to the philosophy faculty.
• He initially undertook various unqualified jobs, ranging from sales to truck unloading, until discovering an interest in advertising and marketing around 1994 after encountering a pivotal book, 'Guerrilla Marketing' by Levinson.
• In 1996, at just 23, he started his own advertising agency, despite having no experience in entrepreneurship.
• He found the market to be open and filled with opportunities, despite the economic instability of the time.
• With an investment of $5,000, which included borrowed funds, Dorin worked intensely over ten years to build his business to a million-euro turnover.
• Dorin discovered the internet in 1998, which revolutionized his approach to marketing, leading them to implement digital marketing strategies like Google AdWords as early adopters in 2004.

Creative freedom

• He recounts the early challenges of choosing clients, suppliers, and team building due to the immature market and lack of experienced personnel.
• Dorin thrived on working with entrepreneurs due to the creative freedom it allowed, contrasted with the more rigid corporate work style.
• In 2009, he exited his agency business and took over 2Parale, the first affiliate network in Romania, which he felt represented the future of marketing due to its performance-driven model.
• Though initial operations were tough, Dorin was committed to growing and innovating within the digital and affiliate marketing space.
• He faced challenges convincing big brands to try new advertising methods.

• Dorin mentions challenges faced by early entrepreneurs in Romania, including a lack of institutional knowledge about tech ventures, difficulties securing investment, and the scarcity of product-focused talent in a primarily outsourcing-driven tech scene.
• Investment and sustainability were initially difficult due to the emerging nature of the Romanian tech ecosystem, but alongside his team, Dorin managed to find the right investors, aiding significant company growth.

A shift in mindset

• He reflects on the maturation of the tech industry in Romania, noting how the ecosystem's development over the years made it easier for entrepreneurs to focus on their core business.
• The technology and mindset shifts required in this business were significant.
• Dorin is grateful for the opportunities he’s had and highlights the importance of adaptability, resilience, and innovation in the constantly evolving tech and marketing industries.

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.

Watch the entire documentary in the video below: