Our guest today is Radoslav Gaydarski, co-founder of CleverPine, a company that has made significant strides in the tech industry since its inception during the pandemic. Prior to this position, he was the co-founder and CEO of Upnetix, offering client-tailored software solutions, which was acquired by Scalefocus.  With a deep background in software development and a passion for entrepreneurship, Gaydarski shares his journey from tinkering with computers in his youth to leading a company...

Our guest today is Milen Manev, the co-founder and CTO of PlanDelta, a next-generation planning tool bridging the gap between strategic and financial planning.  With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, Milen has a wealth of knowledge in software product development and has held various leadership positions, including Vice President at the American software company SyncHR. He holds a Master Degree in Management of Information Systems from Sofia University St. Kliment...

Our guest today is Diana Aladzhova, an experienced investment manager and partner at the first Bulgarian mezzanine fund Silverline Capital. Shе is also the founder of the cloud-based provider of CFO services CFO Insights. Diana has a background in banking and the private sector, with a focus on investment structuring, due diligence, financial analysis, and company valuation. She holds a Master's degree in Finance and Private Equity from the London School of Economics and is a Chartered...

Our next guest has come a long way in his professional and personal development - from investment banking, through digital media and marketing, and e-commerce to rethinking humanity’s relationship with food. Victor Penev is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of the food database and nutrition data provider Edamam. He is also a mentor and investor in food tech startups and an advisor to early-stage entrepreneurs. Before that, Victor co-founded and sold Bulgaria’s largest...

Our next guest is an entrepreneur in the promising field of circular economy, advocating for the continuous use and reuse of materials.  Mihail Dimitrov is the co-founder and CЕO of Swipe.bg, a Bulgarian marketplace for buying and selling used smartphones. The company recently raised an investment to expand regionally and grow its market share.  Mihail Dimitrov comes with vast experience in e-commerce and business development. He previously worked for the world's largest classifieds...

Our guest is on a quest to redefine the way businesses collaborate and work with data in the cloud. With more than 20 years of experience in building successful enterprise software products, George Dochev is the co-founder and CTO of US-Bulgarian scale-up LucidLink.  The company’s solution is used by the biggest names in the media, health, and finance industries, namely Adobe, Spotify, and WebMD.  At the end of 2023, LucidLink closed the largest round for the Bulgarian ecosystem - a 75M...

Our guest is only 27 years old but he already has several successful ventures in the e-commerce industry. Ruslan Leteyski founded his first company while still in high school.  He’s the founder of CheckOutX and Vanga AI, e-commerce solutions for Shopify & WooCommerce that help merchants increase their revenue.  His current project TimeCraft is a platform for providing session-based digital services.  Ruslan Leteyski is also an active angel investor. Some of the businesses he supported...

In today's special episode, we're breaking away from the norm to revisit some of our most memorable conversations and catch up with our guests to see where life has taken them since. Our guest for today is none other than Ivaylo Slavov, a veteran in Bulgaria's IT industry. Last time we spoke, his company BULPROS had recently merged with the German giant ec4u, forming DIGITALL and setting ambitious goals to lead the digital cloud services market in the US. Fast forward almost two years and...

Our next guest is on a quest to unlock the code of longevity.   Milena Georgieva is a molecular biology, genetics, and epigenetics professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.  She is also a Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at the startup company EPIX.AI.  In her role, Prof. Georgieva is in charge of R&D activities and manages a group of experts working to understand aging processes and create instruments to measure biological age and extend the human lifespan.  The...

Our next guest is a dedicated engineer looking for solutions to reduce harmful emissions and popularize hydrogen technologies. Dragomir Ivanov is a leading expert in the field of hydrogen with over 16 years of experience. He is the founder of Hydrogenera - a company developing technologies for the production, storage, and consumption of hydrogen. He is also the author of two patents in the field. Dragomir’s vision is to demonstrate that hydrogen can be the main energy source because it...

Hello, The Recursive Community! We are back from our summer break and today we are taking you on a journey to Bucharest and inside the mind of a seasoned investor.  Marius Istrate is currently the Chairman of the Board of TechAngels Romania, an investors' community planning accelerated growth after a decade on the market. He is also a Venture Partner at 3VC and Crew Capital. Among the companies he invested in are FlowX.AI, parol, Carsup, Snackable AI, Transition-One, Romania-Insider.com,...

Join us in our latest podcast episode as we delve deep into the realms of leadership, mental health, and authenticity together with Velina Getova, founder of NotYourTherapy, which provides psychological support in the workplace. With more than ten years in human development, Velina has worked with multinational corporations, tech start-ups, universities, and nonprofit organizations in Bulgaria, the US, and the UK. Long years of experience led her to the realization that the most needed skill...

Join us in our latest podcast episode as we explore the journey of Svilen Rangelov, the co-founder and CEO of Dronamics, the world's first cargo drone airline.  Svilen's passion for fast, affordable, and green freight is transforming the way goods are moved across the globe.  Dronamics is the company he co-founded with his brother Konstantin in 2014 and in this episode, Svilen shares the story of how they built Dronamics from the ground up, overcoming nearly 700 rejections, plenty of...

Our next guest is a well-known entrepreneur and investor in the Romanian IT industry.  Andrei Pitis has 30 years of experience in tech. He was one of the first official Linux contributors in Romania and co-founder of RoEduNet, a network that offered free internet to students. Later, Andrei founded Vector Watch, a Romanian start-up that produced the first Romanian smartwatch. The company was later acquired by Fitbit, where Andrei held various positions including VP of Engineering and VP of...

Today on The Recursive Podcast we get to find out more about revolutionizing in-store advertising with robots. Ionut Vlad is the co-founder of Tokinomo, a technology company that uses sensors, motion, light, and sound, to bring shelf products to life and increase shopping engagement.  No wonder the startup which produces in-store marketing robots has received various awards, like “Impact Star” by Deloitte, and “Most Inventive Startup” by La French Tech Romania.   With a background in...

Next stop for The Recursive Podcast - Bucharest, where we meet with Lavinia Mehedintu.  She has dipped her toes in different educational programs as a student before embarking on an entrepreneurial journey of her own, in the learning and developing pool with the social learning platform Offbeat. With a diverse background in HR and communications, Lavinia aims to provide a fresh, actionable twist to the learning industry's ongoing transformation.  In her conversation with Elena Vrabie,...

Our next guest comes from London but has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe. Bakhrom Ibragimov is a partner at Molten Ventures, which invests in Europe’s tech leaders from Series A to the growth stage.    Bakhrom joined Molten in 2022 from EBRD Venture Capital.  There he founded and managed commitments of €500m over three VC funds.  Previously Bakhrom was leading investments with Virgin Green Fund and TLcom Capital. He was also an Internet Finance Director at Virgin Media and...

Today The Recursive podcast is live from Bucharest, meeting one of the most prominent founders and investors on the Romanian tech scene.  Radu Georgescu is a serial entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the tech industry.  He has successfully exited several companies, including the acquisition of RAV antivirus technology by Microsoft, the ePayment business by Naspers, Avantgate by Francisco Partners, and VectorWatch by Fitbit.  Radu is currently the founder of Gecad Ventures, a...

Our next guest - Sasha Bezuhanova - has left an impact in manifold ways on the Bulgarian tech ecosystem and society.   She’s one of the first internationally recognized managers. One of the first Bulgarian female leaders in tech. She’s an active angel investor. A philanthropist. A social mover and shaker.  Sasha Bezuhanova is the founder and chairman of the board of MOVE.BG. Ten years ago she left her business career at HP to dedicate herself to positive social change and sustainable...

Our next guest has close to 20 years of experience in management consulting and digital transformation.  Orlin Dochev is a managing partner at Next Consult, an international business, and digital transformation consultancy, blending both strong management consulting expertise with deep IT knowledge. The company has offices in the USA, UK, Switzerland, Romania, and Bulgaria and is partnering with global technology vendors like Salesforce, Tableau, and SAP ERP. Orlin co-founded Next Consult...

Today on the podcast we welcome a Ukrainian entrepreneur who currently resides in Sofia.  Dmitriy Aleksandrov is the CEO of Homsters, a SaaS provider of automated digital marketing solutions for the property segment.  For 8 years, he grew the company from an idea to a PropTech business running in 5 countries. Homsters was acquired by the global media company Ringier at the end of 2022. But Dmitriy is still at the steering wheel to scale the company’s solutions.  Initially working in...

Our guest today is one of the Co-founders and а Board Member of Scalefocus - Viktor Bilyanski.  He started his career in the field of software development two decades ago.  In 2012, a pivotal moment in his career came up, as he joined forces with 4 other professionals to establish Scalefocus.  With 7 delivery locations in Bulgaria, Turkiye, and North Macedonia, the company provides tailored software solutions and services that empower Fortune 500 companies, innovative startups, and...

Our next guest is helping marketers all over the world have a scalable process for user acquisition, engagement, and storytelling through social media. Sinisa Rakovic is the CEO and co-founder of HUNCH, a marketing technology company focusing on creative intelligence.  Sinisa is also a serial entrepreneur with several successful exits behind his back. He graduated from California State University and spent time at Stanford University.  In his conversation with Irina, Sinisa reflects on all...

In our next stop in Belgrade, our guest is fascinated by the application of AI, machine learning, and data science in the digital transformation of businesses.  Darko Todorovic is VP of Engineering and Delivery at the software company HTEC Group. Prior to that, Darko was in charge of R&D, leading the development center of the company HTEC in Niš.  Darko is a  Ph.D. candidate in the field of Robotics at the University of Niš, where he was the head of the Robotics Laboratory and thought...