Vladimir Oane, Deepstash, on the courage to create without asking for permission

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 a world increasingly defined by regulation and conformity, the real entrepreneurial spirit lies in the relentless pursuit of independence and the courage to create without asking for permission”, Vladimir Oane, cofounder of Deepstash, told us for the Romanian Startups: Roaring Tigers of Europe documentary in an interview that followed his evolution from a high school student with a rebellious spirit to an entrepreneur who seeks to disrupt the system, advocating for a mindset that prioritizes innovation over compliance.

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In this extensive interview for the documentary, Vladimir reflected on his early life and journey into the tech industry, sharing insights from his upbringing in a post-Communist society, his high school and college years, and the evolution of his career that led to the founding of UberVu.

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He discussed his initial exposure to technology, which was minimal due to the lack of computers in his childhood, but grew significantly with the arrival of the internet. As he navigated through high school and college, he developed a rebellious spirit against authority, which shaped his entrepreneurial mindset.

He recounted the transformative moment when he learned about startups during a university talk, which ignited his passion for entrepreneurship.

We’ve also touched on his early projects, the challenges he faced, and the eventual success with UberVu, and the broader Romanian startup ecosystem and its evolution over the years.

In our interview, Vladimir Oane emphasized the importance of innovation, the challenges of building a successful startup, and the cultural context of entrepreneurship in Romania.

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“Innovation flourishes at the margins, where the rules of the established order do not apply, and where the audacity to question the status quo becomes a driving force for transformation.”

In his view, the greatest challenge for emerging markets is not merely to catch up with their Western counterparts, but to harness their unique histories and perspectives to redefine what success and innovation look like.

We’ve discussed at length with Vladimir Oane for the Romanian Startups: Roaring Tigers of Europe documentary.

• Cultural shifts in technology access: Vladimir’s childhood in a post-Communist Romania lacked technological resources, contrasting sharply with today’s global accessibility to technology. This historical context highlights the rapid evolution of tech and the importance of embracing new opportunities.
• The role of education in the entrepreneurial mindset: His experiences in college, especially the transformative moment of learning about startups, underscore the crucial role that education and exposure play in fostering entrepreneurial thinking among students.
• The importance of resilience: The challenges faced with early projects, particularly the lack of support from educational institutions, illustrate the necessity of resilience and adaptability in the entrepreneurial journey.
• Networking and community support: Vladimir emphasizes the value of community and networking in entrepreneurship, particularly through incubators and accelerators, which provide not only resources but also a sense of belonging and validation.

• The necessity of pivoting: The transition from initial projects to the successful launch of Uber demonstrates the importance of pivoting in entrepreneurship, adapting ideas based on market feedback, and recognizing opportunities.
• The current state of the Romanian startup ecosystem: His perspective on the evolution of the Romanian tech scene reveals the growing potential for innovation, yet warns against the pitfalls of complacency and a lack of genuine entrepreneurial spirit.
• Future outlook for Eastern-European innovation: Vladimir is optimistic about the future of Eastern-European startups, suggesting that the region’s unique cultural context combined with its emerging tech ecosystem positions it as a future leader in innovation within Europe.

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 full documentary in the video below: