In the first episode of The Recursive Roundtable series we celebrate the 10‑year anniversary of Endeavor Bulgaria!
Dilyana Haralanova, COO of The Recursive, was joined by Jack Thorogood (CEO of Serbian scale-up Native Teams, Milena Milić (Manager of startup community Garaza), and Max Gurvits (VC investor and partner at Vitosha Ventures) to discuss how the Balkan startup scene has evolved and where it’s headed.
What you’ll learn:
⭐ The biggest hurdles CEE founders faced 10 years ago vs. today
⭐ How EU membership and early government‑backed funds jump‑started regional ecosystems
⭐ The role of diaspora talent and returning emigrants in accelerating growth across the Balkans
⭐ Success stories shaping the region – from early unicorns to emerging AI‑driven scale‑ups
⭐ Future outlook: regional collaboration, emerging specialisations, and the surge of new venture capital funds
The Recursive Podcast