The Recursive Podcast

Next, on The Recursive podcast, we welcome an innovation driver and supporter in the Bulgarian startup ecosystem. Meet Max Gurvits, a “Bulgarian by choice,” as he describes himself. Max is a Managing Partner at Sofia-based VC, Vitosha Venture Partners. Graduating from The University of Groningen with a Master’s degree in International and European Law, Max explores his interest in entrepreneurship at one moment of his life, which later leads him to moving to Bulgaria. Since then, Max Gurvits has been one of the most respected players in the Bulgarian innovation ecosystem. In his conversation with Irina, Max shares the most interesting stories from his life and why he decided to work and live in Bulgaria. He stresses on the current state of the Bulgarian ecosystem and the opportunities for the country to develop as a main business location in Europe. In the episode, you’ll also hear: How Bulgaria can develop a competitive economy; Why Max fell in love with Bulgaria and decided to move there; How a lawyer by education became an entrepreneur.

Our next guest, Vicky Foteinou, has been side-by-side with the tech founders from the Greek innovation ecosystem for the past decade. She has consulted startups from scratch, navigating their growth and expansion across markets, sectors, and networks. Payhawk, Plum, WealthyHood, Finloup, and Welcome Pickups, to name a few. Vicky Foteinou is an experienced program manager with a background in public and business administration. Currently, she’s the Program Manager at the Greek Innovation and Technology Company, CrowdPolicy. And a Manager of the Visa Innovation Program in Greece. Vicky Foteinou is also an avid explorer of human emotions, digging deep into psychology studies. In her conversation with Desi Karapchanska, Vicky talks about what makes a good founder and why programs like the Visa Innovation Program are important for the ecosystem. In this episode you will hear: 🤝Why networking and creativity are crucial for any ecosystem; 🔐Why empathy is important in entrepreneurship; 👩🏻‍💻How the Greek startup ecosystem has evolved under the leadership of women.

Our next guest’s growth journey reflects the growth of the Greek innovation landscape. Dimitris Kalavros got fascinated with tech innovation while working as a journalist. This is how he found his own calling for entrepreneurship. Dimitris brought the TEDx conference to Athens and has curated it for more than a decade. He also created Found.ation, a technology and innovation enabling platform in Southeast Europe. Today, Found.ation runs a digital transformation accelerator for companies and it acts as a tech education hive, offering reskilling, upskilling, and consulting services. Later on, Dimitris put on the investor hat. He co-founded Velocity.Partners, a VC fund for early-stage ventures. The fund has supported 22 companies, many with international presence. And it already has 3 exits. In his conversation with Irina, he reflects on his journey and the lessons learned along the way. In the episode, he also talks about: 🔝 His evolution from a founder to an investor; (“Once you put on the investor’s hat you are no longer in the driver’s seat, you are no longer calling the shots”) 😨 Why fear is the main obstacle to start a business; (“The absence of fear is the energy source you need to start something new.”) 🇬🇷 His philosophy on the development of the Greek ecosystem; (“As an ecosystem, we mature together”)

Next, on The Recursive Podcast, we welcome someone who is literally driving innovation in the future of mobility. Meet Thomas Metz, the Managing Director of Bosch Engineering Center Sofia. Before coming to Bulgaria, he held various positions in Bosch Group. He worked in the field of automotive engineering, key customer management, and strategic marketing and sales. Thomas Metz joined Bosch more than a decade ago as part of their Junior Management Program. In his conversation with Irina, Thomas Metz shares the important roadstops in his career journey that put him at the steering wheel of innovation at Bosch. He reflects on his leadership values and the future of mobility. In the episode, you’ll also hear: 🚘 Why assisted automated driving will be everywhere by 2025; 👔 What is the difference between managing and leading people; 🇧🇬 Why did he decide to learn Bulgarian and what did that show him;

Welcome back, The Recursive Community! Our summer season is starting off hot with one of the stars of the European fintech world -  Victor Trokoudes, the co-Founder and CEO of the AI money management app Plum. Plum is a European smart money app that aims to grow people’s wealth through automation. It's built to improve financial outcomes for everyone by helping customers save, invest, budget, and spend. The company currently has over 1.3 million customers in Europe. As Victor Trokoudes explains it himself, the idea for building Plum was to have “a button that you press and your financial life is sorted out.” Victor is a Cypriot-Canadian serial entrepreneur with an educational background from  from Harvard and INSEAD. He started his career on the trading floor at Morgan Stanley. Victor then joined the small team of 5 at TransferWise in London. When he left the company several years later, they were 500+ people, present in 25 markets. Despite his success in the corporate world and clear future prospects, Victor always knew he wanted to go down the entrepreneurial path. Following his interest in payments, he first founded PoS terminal reseller BlueBird and exited later. Today, Victor Trokoudes lives and operates his business between three countries, the UK, Greece, and Cyprus. In his conversation with Irina, he talks about: 🆙 What it takes to scale a company from 5 to 600 people; 🔭‍ Why it is important to think big when launching a start-up; 💳  When to start saving and how to build a proper investment strategy;

Our next guest is passionate about building companies and developing marketing strategies. But he’s also experienced in building communities. Svetoslav Dimov is the co-founder and CEO of DEV.BG, the biggest IT community in Bulgaria. DEV.BG is also a leading tech job board and one of the main organizers of tech events in the country. Helping IT professionals not only to find opportunities, but also to exchange ideas, knowledge, and experience. In his conversation with Georgi Nenov, Svetoslav Dimov talks about: 🔩 The specifics of building a marketplace business; 🤔 Can you be conservative and risk-reverse and still make it as an entrepreneur? (“If I had to fill in a test: “Are you ready to be an entrepreneur?”, I would fail miserably.”) 🤝 How to build a healthy relationship with your co-founders;

Our next guest started her career in journalism. But switched career paths from media to property management and entrepreneurship. Galia Jordanova is the co-founder of a tech company that tries to reinvent the way people buy and manage properties. Gaida.AI deploys technology to simplify the process of buying and managing your property and save people money on mortgages. In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Galia shares why change is a big word in her life - not only personally, but also because she went through several pivots with her business. In this episode, you’ll also hear: ↩️ Why success is a moving target and you never get there; (“The authentic story is that you feel like you're killing it sometimes. Most of the time you feel like you could have done better. And a lot of the time you feel like you're definitely a huge failure.”) 🏢 How she got excited about innovating the real-estate market; 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 How do you combine running a startup business with raising two small kids; (“It takes a very strong committed partner who is ready to drink the bitter pill with you, to be part of the downs. You definitely need a village - to raise the kids, but also to run the startup.”)

Our next guest is an engineer by profession and a community builder by calling. Dimitris Dimosiaris is the co-founder of Founderhood. A platform for tech startup founders in their early stages to support and connect them with all the stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Prior to this, Dimitris co-founded ThinkBiz Hellas and Mindspace. Two of the largest NGOs in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation within Greek universities. Dimitris was also an executive at the global community of founders Sigma Squared Society. In his conversation with Desy Karapchanska, Dimitris shares that in his work his driver is to build something that will last. In the episode, he also talks about: 🇬🇷 Building global companies from Greece; (“Starting here is ten times more difficult. But if you build it here, you can build it everywhere in the world.”) 🧭 The difficulty of finding your own path and true calling; (“It’s like finding love in real life. You know when you have found it.”) 🤔 What makes a leader; (“He really cares about what he's doing and treats people in a kind and fair way.”)

Our next guest is a bold dreamer. When Martin Vechev graduated in Computer Science from Cambridge university he dreamt of creating a world-class research center in his homeland Bulgaria. Today, his dream is a reality. Martin Vechev is the architect of The Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) in Sofia. The deep tech institute was created in collaboration with two of the world's leading tech universities, Zurich and Lausanne. It is supported by tech giants like Google, Amazon, Deep Mind, and the Bulgarian government. Prof. Martin Vechev combines several unique talents - he’s a tech entrepreneur, a professor at ETH Zurich, and an award-winning researcher. His efforts are in the field of building secure and fair Artificial Intelligence. He has co-founded 3 startups in the area of Safe AI, blockchain security, and AI for Code. He has exited two of them already. In this episode of The Recursive podcast, we get to take a look inside his mind. In his conversation with Irina, prof. Martin Vechev shares why it was never his dream to become an entrepreneur, but rather to create an impact on science, his students, and the world. You’ll also learn: 💸 Why did he drop the opportunity to earn money in Canada to follow his passion back to Bulgaria and work at a place where he can learn the most? 🤔 Why problem definition is more important than problem-solving in the world of science and research? 🚀 How his lifelong dream of INSAIT came to life; (“You declare to the world what you want to do because this binds you to your decision. Even if you fail, you either make it or you learn something”)

Hello from Athens, The Recursive community! Our next guest combines several unique talents: legal background with business acumen and people’s skills. Athina Polina Dova is the co-founder of Owiwi. A digital tool that combines psychological research with game design to help companies recruit the best talent. Athina Polina is the Vice-President of the International Union of Professional Trainers. She also serves on the board of directors of the first creative industries cluster in Greece Corallia gi-Cluster. Our wonderful host in this episode is the Social Impact & Communities Creator in the Greek startup ecosystem Desy Karapchanska. In their conversation, Desy and Athina Polina talk about: ✨ The importance of mentors in an entrepreneur’s journey; 👌 Why an introvert and an extrovert make the perfect combination as startup co-founders; 🏢 How is our work environment affecting the development of our soft skills; 🔮 How microlearning and coaching as a benefit are the next big things in the future of work;