Bucharest rising - new support for startups

Romania -  best known among entrepreneurs as a great pool of IT talent and with a few internationally known success stories lately (Ubervu, SkinScan, Brainient, Summify, Clearly etc.) - offers now more support for local startups and for foreign startups that want to tap into this talent pool of skilled and ambitious people:

1.  The recent launch of Digital Catalyst Fund in Bucharest

Digital Catalyst Fund targets US and European startups and offers them, besides financial support and mentorship like most incubators, connection to Romanian developers (possibilities to find CTOs or form tech teams). Applications are open until 15th July 2012 for the first round of startups to be incubated. The 10 selected startups will receive a total of 500 K $ financing and will start at the end of August a 3 months boot camp to work on prototypes in a house of 10 bedrooms, fully equiped for all technology needs and even with a 24/7 chef. The board gathers big names, among which are the entrepreneur Emi Gal and the well-known gymnast Nadia Comaneci.


2. The recent launch of Geekcelerator in Bucharest (spin off of Bucharest Hubb that will close down)

Geekcelerator targets tech startups and offers them mentorship while working on the product, and when they are ready to take next stepts, it connects them to London or Silicon Valley to get market traction. More details will be announced soon by Vlad Stan and his team.






3. A new edition of How to Web conference in Bucharest

Bogdan Iordache and his team are preparing for the 4th edition of How to Web that will take place in Bucharest on 7th-8th November 2012.The event gathers international participants and speakers, with the main aim to help the South-Eastern European startups develop and innovate. It is a great networking and learning environment as previous editions prove. I am Official Blogger for the conference so more blog posts on it will follow.

4. The preparations to launch The Next Hub in Bucharest (by How to Web organizers)

The organizing team of How to Web is working hard these days to launch a hub for the tech community in Bucharest. The future co-working space and hub is being built based on constant feedback from those interested in it. All help for them in order to launch The Next Hub is welcome.