You only have a minute? Here are 3 key points to remember:
• Icanpreneur has successfully closed a €830,000 pre-seed round, totaling funding of over €1M following a €200,000 angel round a year ago.
• The current round is led by Sofia Angels Ventures (SAV) and is joined by MFG Invest as well as existing and new business angels.
• The Bulgarian startup’s mission is to significantly improve the chances of success for founders and product managers of technology startups, by offering a guided journey, know-how and best practices through intuitive and collaborative software.
Founded in 2021Icanpreneur’s initial release of its accelerator-as-software enables technology entrepreneurs and product teams around the world to start from an initial idea and achieve product/market fit with a higher chance of success.
“What is the root of Icanpreneur’s success? The most important thing for a business is undoubtedly product-market fit. Product-market fit is not just a point in time, achieved in just a few months, but a never-ending process requiring continuous discovery and innovation. At the same time, “software is eating the world” and if product-market fit is so important, then why isn’t there software to help companies achieve it? This is how we created Icanpreneur – the most important software a company has ever had,” said Vesko Kolev, founder and CEO of Icanpreneur, in a statement.
Their latest fundraising is also supported by entrepreneurs such as Svetozar Georgiev (Co-founder of Telerik, Telerik Academy & Campus X), Pressian Karakostov (Founder of PubGalaxy, PhoneArena, Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Endeavor Bulgaria), Kristian Demirev (Founder and CEO of SK-PSD Group), Hristo Kosev (Co-Founder of Telerik, Telerik Academy & Healee), Zoran Arsovski (founder of VertoDigital), Georgi Atanasov (Chief Technology Officer at Sentur), Emil Tabakov (former senior product manager at Coursera).
Vesko Kolev, the company’s CEO and founder, is also one of several tech founders, angel investors and ecosystem builders to come out of software company Telerik after it was acquired by US-based Progress in 2014.
“Ultimately, entrepreneurship is about finding ways to create and provide something of value to others – value so compelling that enough people, whether consumers or professionals, are ready to pay. In principle, economic downturns are a form of void that needs to be filled and, while this can be seen as a threat, it is actually the opposite for entrepreneurs. For them, these are pockets of business opportunity. One of the analogies that I think best describes such situations is that of a huge wave in the sea: you can either be underneath it or be the surfer riding it. Teaching people entrepreneurship is like teaching them to surf big waves and Icanpreneur provides both the advice and the “surfboard,” Kolev told The Recursive.
According to Icanpreneur, the combination of investors with their unique domain expertise, product experience, reputation and relationships make this pre-seed round “one of the strongest to date in the region”.
For Sofia Angels Ventures, Icanpreneur offers entrepreneurs a “more systematic and scientific approach” when creating their products.
“The startup world is evolving beyond its initial romantic phase. Founders are beginning to realize that discovering and solving important problems is much more than the art and energy created by initial inspiration. They began to apply a more systematic and scientific approach when creating products, focusing on customer satisfaction and effective technological solutions. This is exactly where Icanpreneur offers essential tools to significantly accelerate their progress. We believe the timing is perfect and the company’s team is fit for the mission,” Milen Ivanov, managing partner of Sofia Angels Ventures, said in a statement.
“Which product fits the market? This is a problem we have faced often since the beginning of MFG. Despite a large team and years of experience, we still face the same challenges with every new product and every new market. We believe entrepreneurs deserve software that helps them find their way without diluting their efforts. This is why we invested in Icanpreneur,” said Stanimir Vassilev, co-founder of MFG Invest and Management Financial Group.
The company now plans to invest new funds in accelerating the development of Icanpreneur as a product and as a commercialization over the next two years, as well as further expanding its team, while integrating, as said, “emerging players”. entrepreneurship trends, particularly around AI in CEE, EU and US markets.”
“Even though the current wave of AI models began last year, we are only just beginning to see how these technologies are being put to good use and the greatest potential of AI today lies in its integration vertical to have a positive impact on businesses. healthcare, climate change and other important issues facing humanity. However, whether you solve a problem through old or new means does not necessarily change the importance, urgency, or pervasiveness of the problem. This is where Icanpreneur is perfectly positioned to create a dent by increasing the chances of market success for tech startups by allowing them to work on problems with significant market demand. » concludes Kolev.