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Irina Obushtarova 8 articles

Irina started her career path in Vienna, working in media and communications. In 2016, she made her first attempt as an entrepreneur when she co-founded WelcomeBuddy - a platform for expats Austria. The venture failed to launch, but the experience gained had a huge effect on her decisions later on. On one side, by observing how migration trends in Europe lead to massive brain drain in Southeast Europe, Irina identified a new mission. On the other hand, Irina also developed a strong passion for disruptive business models and the startup world. Later on, she gained experience in digital marketing and sales working for various tech companies in the B2B segment in DACH. In 2018, Irina decided to move back to Bulgaria - and the media sector, helping establish the first international outlet of Trending Topics in Sofia. Three years later, she and her co-founder, Etien Yovchev, launched the regional media project The Recursive. By combining news media with ecosystem mapping and a content marketing agency, their mission is to help innovative ventures from Emerging Europe scale internationally and get the visibility they deserve. Irina holds a degree in Mass Media & Communication Studies from the University of Vienna. In 2021, she was awarded Female Entrepreneur of the Year by La French Tech community in Bucharest. As a member of the advisory board of Entrepreneurs in Class, Irina is committed to inspiring entrepreneurial mindset in young students.

Irina Obushtarova

Ekaterina Almasque of Open Ocean on a light blue background

Investors

Ekaterina Almasque of OpenOcean on the Big AI Disruption and Why CEE Is Hot on the Radar of European VCs

By Irina Obushtarova 13 December 2023 9 mins read

Ekaterina Almasque is a general partner at OpenOcean, an early-stage venture capital firm investing in […]

The fund aims to facilitate financial access through equity or quasi-equity investments in Bulgaria across three categories.

Investors

Inside EIF’s New €162M Boost for Bulgarian Innovation, Growth, and Green Infrastructure Development

By Irina Obushtarova 13 October 2023 11 mins read

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has launched a new call for the RRF Equity Fund […]

Mattila is a part of the founding team of 5ire, the Indian unicorn and one of the fastest growing carbon neutral blockchain with smart contracts and ESG ranking services.

Blockchain

The Future of Crypto With The Founder of Carbon Neutral Blockchain 5ire

By Irina Obushtarova 8 November 2022 7 mins read

With years of experience in the blockchain industry, serial entrepreneur Vilma Mattila is now on […]

Ecosystem

Eastern Europe: The Next Deep Tech Powerhouse? Here’s Why We Should Start with Universities

By Irina Obushtarova 3 August 2022 15 mins read

Western investors are increasingly turning an eye towards Eastern Europe, drawn by the abundance of […]

Apostolos Apostolakis, Co-Founder at VentureFriends

Investors

Inside the Greek startup and VC ecosystem with Apostolos Apostolakis, co-founder and partner at VentureFriends

By Irina Obushtarova 29 April 2021 < 1 mins read

VentureFriends (VF) had the first 100% private venture capital fund in Greece. Launched in 2016 […]

Brainster Aleksandar Chaminski

Future of Work

Aleksandar Chaminski, Brainster CSO: How to future-proof your career

By Irina Obushtarova 26 April 2021 2 mins read

Brainster is an EduTech company based in Skopje, North Macedonia, since 2015. The startup wants […]

Yotpo SMSbump Georgi Petrov Mihail Stoychev

Startups

From idea to unicorn in three years: The hypergrowth story of Bulgarian SMSBump

By Irina Obushtarova 3 April 2021 < 1 mins read

🧩 Have you ever wondered what it takes for a Sofia-based startup team to go […]

Kosta Andric ICT Hub Executive Director

Investors

The evolution of the Serbian innovation ecosystem: Live Talk with Kosta Andrić, Executive Director and Partner @ ICT Hub

By Irina Obushtarova 3 March 2021 < 1 mins read

How did the Serbian innovation ecosystem evolve over the past 7 years? What’s next for […]

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