Central Eastern Europe: A Blossoming Ecosystem
summary
Central Eastern Europe reports concrete wins: VC deployment grows 7.6x since 2017, combined enterprise value reaches €190 billion (2022), and the region counts ~200 million people and 1.3 million software engineers. Startups show unusually high capital efficiency — 44 of roughly 80 European unicorns originate there — and examples include Ukraine’s Diia digital ID platform and Western firms opening engineering hubs (Stripe in Bucharest). Remaining gaps are Series A+ capital, global investor awareness, and building reliable east–west funding bridges.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Introduction
- 2:09Opportunity
- 4:54Brain Drain
- 7:15Normality
- 7:39Engineering
- 8:44Diversity
- 10:13Challenges
- 11:42Startup Ecosystem
- 14:28Creating Bridges
- 15:52Pitching in the US
- 16:40Bridge between East and West
- 18:06Estonia
- 18:51Bulgaria
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