Meet the world's next tech leaders before anyone else

In this episode of The Recursive Podcast, we dive into one of the hottest topics in tech right now — AI in banking. Our host Dilyana Haralanova speaks with Valentin Stepanovich, Head of Machine Learning Platform at DSK Bank, about where he leads ML and AI innovation initiatives.

They explore how generative AI is transforming customer service, fraud prevention, software engineering, and financial operations inside modern banks, and more.

💡 How AI Is Transforming Customer Service in Banking: Why banks are replacing traditional rule-based chatbots with AI assistants, how customer interactions are becoming more natural, and why Valentine believes customer service will be the biggest area AI fundamentally changes.

💡 The Real Risks of AI in Finance: From AI-generated fraud and identity theft to GDPR, security layers, hallucinations, and the EU AI Act — the conversation unpacks the biggest challenges banks face when deploying generative AI safely.

💡 Why AI Isn’t Replacing Jobs (Yet): Valentin shares why AI is changing the nature of work rather than eliminating jobs, how engineers are adapting to AI-assisted development, and the surprising rise of candidates using AI live during job interviews.

Is the “Genius Founder” myth hurting your startup?

In this episode of the Recursive Roundtable, we pull back the curtain on the real founder’s journey — from the grueling early days of fundraising to the high-stakes world of multi-million dollar exits. We are joined by three industry experts who see the lifecycle of a company from every angle:

Gergana Stoichkova, a VC expert and fundraising advisor; Stan Andreev, an M&A specialist with a background at Citibank in New York and London; and Teodor Antonio, a narrative strategist who helps founders shape their public presence.

Together, they debunk common misconceptions about "startup freedom," explain why your exit strategy should start on Day 1, and reveal why "chaos mastery" is the most important skill a CEO can have.

💡 What we discuss:

• The Biggest Startup Myths: Why building a great product doesn't guarantee distribution, and why the "lone wolf" founder narrative is a recipe for failure.
• The Reality of Selling Your Company: Stan explains why an exit is never "easy," how to align co-founder incentives early, and why a declining business is almost impossible to sell.
• Fundraising as a Relationship, Not an Outsource: Gergana breaks down why you can’t hire someone to raise capital for you and what VCs are actually looking for beyond a perfect pitch deck.
• Narrative as Infrastructure: Theodor explores how to use major milestones (like funding rounds) for customer acquisition rather than just vanity PR, and why public speaking is a learnable craft.
• Red Flags for Investors: How to tell when a founder’s confidence has turned into arrogance and when social media "vanity metrics" are masking a lack of real growth.

🏆 This episode is essential viewing for early-stage founders, entrepreneurs planning their next exit, and anyone looking to understand the bridge between building a product and building a legacy.

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Composer and sound artist Emilian Gatsov – Elbi, advertiser and Director of Innovation at OM Group Konstantin Yankov, and film director and video producer Andrey Andonov share their perspectives from across disciplines.

We talk about the shift from control to experimentation, why randomness can be a creative advantage, and how AI acts more like a collaborator than a replacement. One key idea stands out: the quality of output is directly tied to the quality of input.

They discussed:

☑️ How AI changed creative workflows️
☑️ Do you need experience to create with AI?
☑️ Using AI as an enabler (not a replacement)
☑️ AI in film production
☑️ AI in advertising
☑️ Real examples of using AI in projects
☑️ Transparency, copyright & ethics
☑️ Creative jobs, skills & the future of creation