What does it take to build a startup in Bulgaria? The Startup Journey is a five-part documentary that offers an unfiltered glimpse into the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem, a home to over 800 startups. The web series is produced by The Recursive and EBRD, supported by the EU under #InvestEU.
Research by Startup Genome reveals that approximately 90% of startups fail, with just 10% achieving scalability or profitability. The Startup Journey series will address the challenges faced by founders, investors, and ecosystem builders. Through candid interviews, the series aims to bring to life the lessons and untold stories.
Across five episodes, the series will unpack the key phases of launching, growing, and exiting a startup, capturing the practical strategies behind the entrepreneurial experience.
“Each episode captures the raw humanity behind entrepreneurship,” shared the production team. “It’s about the people as much as the process – their struggles, breakthroughs, and what it takes to push through the toughest moments.”
The series unpack:
Financial sacrifices: Founders reveal how they leveraged personal savings, took on side gigs, or sought help from friends and family to fund their dreams.
Resourceful solutions: Stories of stretching every euro, finding free tools, and creating early revenue streams.
Resilience under pressure: The episode also delves into the role of the broader startup community – angel investors, coworking spaces, and incubators that offer resources during this phase.
Personal journey: It doesn’t just focus on the business mechanics but also highlights the personal transformation founders undergo.
Catch the episodes, whether you’re a founder, investor, or simply curious about what goes on behind the scenes in the startup ecosystem in Bulgaria and beyond. Some of the guests include Oggy Popov, CEO of Volt; Vassil Popovski, VP of Engineering at Alcatraz AI; Maggie Stancheva, founder of VEDA Accounting; Victor Botev, founder of Iris AI; Botty Dimanov, CEO & co-founder of Tenyks; Orlin Radev, CEO & co-founder of AMPECO, and more!
The series kicks off with a deep dive into the earliest and most precarious phase of the startup lifecycle – bootstrapping and pre-seed survival. Catch Episode 1, Bootstrapping and Pre-Seed Survival, and stay tuned for upcoming episodes!
