Support the Growth of Bulgaria Startup Ecosystem

Dear friend,

As the year quickly comes to an end we are grateful for the support of people like you and the entrepreneurial community on both sides of the Athlantic. 

The last six months were focused on growing the community engagement, harnessing knowledge and best practices from new and existing program mentors in an effort to elevate the impact for Bulgaria Innovation Hub alumni and high potential candidates.  

In November we concluded the 6th edition of Bulgaria Innovation Hub accelerator program where we welcomed, for the first time since the pandemic, a group of incredible innovators in our office in San Francisco. For the last 2 1/2 weeks the entrepreneurs immersed themselves in the startup culture of Silicon Valley, by learning the fundamental principles of key business disciplines and fundraising tactics by local experts, serial entrepreneurs and investors. The program culminated in a few pitching and networking oportunities that yield deeper understanding of the culture and the process of building lasting relationships, establishing a network and successfully scaling a venture in the US. 

The feedback from the participants remains positive and their collective impact is motivating us even more to continue iterating and increasing the value creation for our alumni entreprenuers and stakeholders. 

Learn more in the CEO's interview with Forbes Bulgaria about our humbled begining and the ambitious goals we have set for ourselves to continue building a bridge between Silicon Valley and the SEE entreprenerial communities. 

And to add some color to our story we're excited to share the results of our program alumni. In 3.5 yrs we've added 43 companies to our portfolio and ran 6 editions of our accelerator program. The impact these aspiring entrepreneurs are creating is amazing: more than 320 jobs created in Bulgaria and the US collectively, more than 9,000 new clients added, and $60M+ of capital raised. 

Thank you for believing in us and supporting our efforts to elevate SEE changemakers to global leadership, and for helping us cultivate global mindset of growth and reciprocity. We couldn't have done it without you. 

Warmest regards,
The BIH team 

Dear friend,

Our team and the entrepreneurial community in Bulgaria are grateful for your continued support!

The first half of 2022 was quite dynamic and fruitful with program activities and a few community engagements in the US and Bulgaria. We made new friends and on both sides of the Atlantic who are equilly passionate about supporting the ecosystem in Bulgaria and the SEE region. 

In May we kicked off the 5th adition of Bulgaria Innovation Hub's accelerator program, and welcomed 5 new startups to our community of 40 #futureunicorns. In the same month we launched a BIH and VC friends collaborative initiative that helped Bulgarian female founders connect with investors in Silicon Valley, Boston and New York. Thanks to our mentors and friends, Lidiya Dervisheva from Next47 and Austin Arensberg from Okta Ventures the two BIH founders met with key investors while fundraising in the US. 

At the begining of June, our CEO attended an exclusive community event in Varna, Bulgaria, called "Power of Bulgaria, Building Bridges", where she shared our mission and committment to close the knowledge and network gaps between SEE and the US. 

In early July we gathered the startup, VC and partner community in Sofia, Bulgaria to celebrate the achievements of the fourth and fifth alumni bathes of the accelerator program. We continued gathering support from new and existing donors from both the US and Europe, and are excited to announce that we are expanding the team in Bulgaria. We are looking for a Community growth expansion manager, based in Sofia who will assist in sourcing high potential startups and helping build a stronger community engagement with our alumni companies, donors and partners. 

Our accomplishments are deeply rooted in the community support we receive every day and as such we celebrate, promote and continue to leverage the network and expertise of the diaspora in the US and beyond to support the growing needs of the Bulgarian and SEE founders.

We are grateful for your support, guidence and generous contributions and look forward to sharing more success soon. 

Warmest regards,
The BIH team 

Links:

• Bulgaria Innovation Hub Blog

Dear friend,

Thank you for your continued support!

2021 was an incredible year full of many challenges and successes for us and the Bulgarian startup community we collectively support. Despite the constant changes surrounding the global pandemic we managed to achieve great success in all areas of impact:

• Hosted 2 virtual iterations of BIH startup accelerator programs (spring and fall 2021)
• Welcomed 35 startups into our portfolio in less than three years (2019-2021)
• BIH gets featured in the European Innovation Hubs in Silicon Valley report
• Celebrated the successful completion of the spring cohort in July of 2021 during a graduation ceremony that brought together the SEE entrepreneurial, VC and partner community in Sofia, Bulgaria. 
• In December we co-hosted a CEE Christmas party in San Francisco with our partners from CzechInvest, Cytowski & Partners, representing Poland, and the Hungarian Consulate in San Francisco. We honored SEE entrepreneurs, VCs and the local community members that supported their journey. 
• Raised more than $435K from ecosystem partners in the US and in Bulgaria
• Surpassed our 3 year fundraising goal of $175K in year one (2021) of the grant agreement with Foundation America for Bulgaria. 
• BIH alumni startups raised over $40M, created 150 new jobs and added 2,000 new clients. 

Together we accomplished a lot, and continue to move forward in our ongoing commitment to support the efforts of aspiring entrepreneurs from Bulgaria and the SEE region who are shifting boundaries and creating lasting impact in their local communities and beyond. 

We are grateful for your generous contributions and look forward to sharing more success in the future. 

Warmest regards,
The BIH team 

Links:

• How co-investing in Bulgarian talent can ignite success
• Before and after: What did the founders from the fourth BIH coho
• BIH gets featured in the European Innovation Hubs Report

Dear friend, 

We are greateful for your incredible kindness and generosity in supporting the growth of the Bulgarian startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship as the driving force for positive economic and social change.  As a global partner of the Bulgarian entrepreneurial community BIH contantly strives to bridge the gap and accelerate close intercultural collaboration between the US and Bulgaria.

Because of people like you we've managed to achieve the following impact in the last 2.5 years, and are continuing strong. 

• Completed 3 rounds of the BIH educational accelerator
• Welcomed 28 startups into our portfolio 
• Despite the pandemic we managed to gather the community of founders, partners, sponsors and mentors at least 3 times with the most recent being the graduation event for the last cohort in Sofia, Bulgaria
• Raised more than $350K from ecosystem partners in the US and in Bulgaria
• Signed a 3 year $400K grant with Foundation America for Bulgaria that will match every donation during the first 2 yrs
• Alumni accomplishments: raised $7.25M, grew their teams by 104 new employees and increased their client base by 1,400 new clients

While these are exciting and encouraging news we remain focused and committed to continuing building a stronger community and better global leaders who will continue to innovate, create jobs and increase the positive impact in the country and beyond. 

Thank you again and please share this update with friends and family who are equially passionate about the cause. 

Stay healthy and well!

Warmest regards,

The BIH team 

Links:

• Support us on GlobalGiving