Every end is a beginning - cycles in the Romanian startup ecosystem

The story of the Romanian tech industry can be told in 5-year cycles (2000-2005: RAV and Bitdefender, 2005-2010: Bitdefender and Avangate, 2010-2015: 3TS, TechAngels, GreenHorse Games, 2015-2020: EIF capital, UiPath, 2020-2025: crowdfunding + private funds, UiPath, Bitdefender, and many emerging companies), and I'm sure one can build similar models for each CEE country.

Every 5 years, founders, developers, entrepreneurs, and investors look at the last cycle and figure out what has worked and what has not, in terms of verticals, investments, types of companies, and, more importantly, what is coming next.

So, what has worked, not worked, and what's next in my opinion?

What has worked and what I've learned:

1/ Romania and CEE have the talent to build high-growth companies - but this is still the exception, not the rule

2/ grit + street smart + customer centric >> a good CV

3/ you need to think big from day one

4/ what got us here won't necessarily get us there - ex. UiPath vs. BibleChat

5/ product development knowledge, more than commercial knowledge, is extremely scarce

What has not worked:

1/ investors don't run companies

2/ "buy cheap" is not a valid early-stage investment strategy

3/ a good pitch is not what makes the difference

4/ moving from outsourcing to "added value outsourcing" is much harder than many expected

5/ moving from outsourcing to product is even harder

What is next:

1/ AI, AI everywhere - inside tech companies to increase productivity, in their GTM, and most importantly in products addressing new markets

2/ geopolitics will deeply impact tech - the Ukrainian war (defence, space), European sovereignty (chips, infra, manufacturing) etc.

3/ deeper integration in the European ecosystem, for better or worse - higher competitiveness, higher opportunities

4/ and subsequently, a deeper integration with the CEE diaspora

5/ professionalise - or else.