A Decade in Data: 10 Data Points That Tell the Endeavor Story in Bulgaria

HOW A DECADE OF DREAMING BIGGER TURNED INTO REAL-WORLD IMPACT

When Endeavor opened its doors in Bulgaria in 2015, it was with one bold goal: to catalyze economic growth by backing entrepreneurs with the vision and grit to go big. Launched with the support of six visionary business leaders as founding Board Members, led by Ivo Evgeniev, Endeavor in Bulgaria started as a bet – on the country’s talent, its potential, and the power of community.

10 years later, that bet has paid off. Our network has grown to include 13 Management Board Members, 6 Honorary Board Members, 34 active mentors, and a generation of entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of Southeast Europe. Since then we have expanded into the Western Balkans, partnered with global institutions, and stood shoulder to shoulder with founders as they scaled. But what does that kind of impact look like at scale? Here are 10 data points that map our journey – and hint at what comes next.

Over the past decade, we’ve built a platform that supports founders not just at one moment in time, but throughout their growth journeys. Our five programs meet entrepreneurs at different inflection points, offering not just structure but strategy, not just resources but relationships.

Endeavor Global
This is our most selective track – the top of the mountain. It’s where internationally ambitious scaleups with 10x potential join a global community, get access to tailored support, and unlock international growth. Founders must pass through a rigorous selection process that includes interviews, panels, and global peer review. Once selected, they become Endeavor Entrepreneurs for life.

ScaleUp by Endeavor
ScaleUp by Endeavor is designed for early-stage growth companies across Bulgaria and the Western Balkans who are ready to scale with intention. Some are already operating internationally, but all use the program to sharpen strategy, expand networks, and prepare for the next level of growth.

Dare2Scale
This is where many founders first step into the Endeavor experience. A four-month growth accelerator for late-stage startups, Dare2Scale is a fast-paced program focused on building scalable foundations. With 70+ alumni and 17+ represented sectors, it’s known for diversity, depth, and a bold founder mindset.

Alumni+
#OnceEndeavorAlwaysEndeavor! Alumni+ offers continued engagement for founders who have gone through one of our programs. This is one more way for these founders to continue to engage with the community and receive support where needed.

Open Innovation
These initiatives bring together scaleups and corporates for real-world collaboration. Our partnerships with Veolia and Sofia Municipality as well as Murata Manufacturing have helped founders pilot solutions, unlock new distribution channels, and break into enterprise markets.

Each program is a different chapter – but they’re all part of the same story: empowering founders to dream bigger and scale smarter.

Since 2015, we’ve welcomed 180+ entrepreneurs leading 100+ companies into the Endeavor network in Bulgaria and SEE. But the impact isn’t measured by who gets selected – it’s measured by what happens next.

Some founders joined through Dare2Scale, others through ScaleUp, and yet others became Endeavor Entrepreneurs (EEs) through the international selection process. Their paths differ, but the level of care and strategic support is always the same, and always personal.

Some of our earliest companies – like EnduroSat, BY FAR, Tiger Technology, Softgroup, and Antelope Audio – have been part of the network for over seven years. Others, like Shkolo and OfficeRnD, scaled fast, exited successfully, and continued contributing to the ecosystem.

And in true Endeavor fashion, several founders became ecosystem builders in their own right. Sabina Gyosheva, Viktor Bilyanski, and Pressian Karakostov didn’t just grow impactful companies, they joined the Board of Endeavor in Bulgaria, contributing their experience and perspective to guide the next generation.

Their journeys span industries, regions, and outcomes. But they all reflect the same belief: scale is possible, and no founder should have to do it alone.

Endeavor in Bulgaria has never been defined by one sector – and the industries in our network prove it.

Enterprise Software & Services leads the way at 21.9%, reflecting Bulgaria’s strength in infrastructure, security, and B2B innovation. But innovation isn’t limited to code.

Food & Beverage comes in at 14.6%, with founders reinventing how we eat, deliver, and experience food. Retail & Consumer Tech (12.2%) showcases the rise of design-driven D2C brands, while Healthcare (8.5%) is surging with companies tackling everything from digital health to wearables and diagnostics.

Nowhere is this diversity more visible than in Dare2Scale, where founders from more than 17 sectors, including Smart City, and Maritime, have brought fresh ideas and scaled them into real solutions.

This depth of industry representation is more than a statistic. It’s a signal that Bulgaria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is expanding in every direction.

This isn’t a story of one big exit or a unicorn-fueled spike. It’s the story of builders – the kind who show up year after year and compound their impact.

When we talk about the $1.04 billion in revenue generated by Endeavor companies in Bulgaria, we’re really talking about:

• A satellite company that went from a single CubeSat to a global space player
• A cargo drone company sparked by a simple delivery problem — two brothers set out to ship Bulgarian cheese and ended up building Europe’s first licensed drone airline
• A fintech that scaled across continents, then became the country’s first unicorn
• Dozens of early-stage companies that raised their first round, hired their first teams, and made their first sales, and then kept going

This number grew the way great companies grow – consistently, quietly, and then all at once.

In 2015, companies in our network generated just over $18 million in total revenue. By 2024, that number had grown to more than $180 million in a single year — with scaleups accounting for the majority, and early-stage scaleups and late-stage startups continuing to grow steadily. These are the results of long-term support, smart capital, and founder-first strategy.

Since 2021, companies in the Endeavor in Bulgaria network have created 10,279 jobs. But the real story is who those jobs were created by- and for.

The team at Tiger Technology grew from a small R&D group into a global leader in hybrid cloud storage, expanding their engineering and support teams in Bulgaria.

At EnduroSat, mission planners and engineers are building the future of space tech, not in Silicon Valley, but in Sofia.

Shkolo scaled into a national EdTech platform used by nearly every school in Bulgaria – and even after its acquisition, the company continues to grow, expanding its team locally and investing in the next phase of digital transformation in education.

And in Varna, Pressian Karakostov – founder of PhoneArena and PubGalaxy – built companies that created high-quality jobs outside the capital, proving that global products can be built from anywhere.

The 10,239 roles span engineering, design, ops, and customer support. They’re in Sofia, Varna, Targovishte, Plovdiv, Gabrovo, and beyond. They’re why talent stays. Why people return. And why the future of work in Bulgaria is being shaped by founders who chose to build here.

Endeavor’s backbone is its people – especially those who give their time and experience to help others grow.

Since 2015, we have built a robust network of Endeavor Mentors, Board Members, friends and partners, numbering well over 100, who are actively engaged offering our entrepreneurs strategic advice through 1:1 sessions, advisory boards, and selection panels.

Some – like Bojidar Neytchev and Hristo Hristov – began as mentors and later joined the Board. Others, like Zornitsa Chugreeva, co-founder of HelloHungry, returned after their exit to Takeaway.com to become an official mentor – the first Endeavor Entrepreneur from Bulgaria to do so.

Over 1,658 hours of mentorship have been donated so far. But the real value lies in the moments that can’t be measured – the honest feedback, the key introduction, the decision that changed everything.

In the past three years, in Bulgaria the Endeavor team has built a curated regional investor network of 160+ institutional investors, helping founders raise smart capital at the right time.

55% of companies in our network have accessed new funding opportunities through Endeavor – from early rounds to multi-million growth raises.

Payhawk

Payhawk became Bulgaria’s first unicorn after raising $238M in just four years, backed by international investors like Lightspeed and Endeavor Catalyst. Its rise redefined how the global ecosystem views Bulgaria’s startup scene, and marked Endeavor Catalyst’s first-ever investment in a Bulgarian company. A bet that paid off.

Alcatraz AI

Founded by Bulgarian entrepreneur Vince Gaydarzhiev, Alcatraz AI develops facial authentication tech used by Fortune 500 companies. Headquartered in the US, it became the first Bulgarian diaspora-led company Endeavor Catalyst backed.

These are more than funding wins. They’re proof that founders don’t have to choose between being local and being global. They can be both – with the right network behind them.

Endeavor is not just a network – it’s a global community built on trust. And Endeavor in Bulgaria is plugged into all of it.

Our entrepreneurs are connected to over 46 countries and thousands of fellow founders, mentors, and investors. That means access to peer learning in Riyadh, investor meetings in London, and mentorship in Silicon Valley – all without losing the roots that shaped them.

But the story doesn’t stop at going global. We are building a strong network of Bulgarian diaspora – founders and leaders who built their careers abroad, but chose to support the next wave back home.

Because when we say “global reach,” we don’t just mean scaling out. We mean reaching back, and bringing others with us.

In Bulgaria, Endeavor’s programs are designed to be stepping stones – stages in a founder’s journey that evolve with the company’s needs. They’re a pipeline for success – a system designed to support founders as they evolve, grow, and scale.

Barin Sports and Shkolo began their journeys in Dare2Scale, later advancing into the ScaleUp program as their businesses matured.

Dronamics joined as a ScaleUp company and the brothers Rangelovi went on to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs in 2024.

In fact, 100% of the founders who took part in our Global and Regional ScaleUp programs have gone on to support the next generation — as mentors, speakers, or selection panelists.

This is what we envision: a founder starts somewhere – and then keeps moving forward. Whether they begin in Dare2Scale or enter through ScaleUp, the support adapts with them. And when they succeed, they don’t exit the system – they enrich it.

We don’t have “programs”. We guide founders on their journeys. And every step is built to accelerate what comes next.

The Multiplier Effect describes how one entrepreneur’s success sparks a ripple of growth, as they mentor, invest in, and open doors for others, amplifying impact across the entire ecosystem.

Founders behind companies like Tiger Technology, Antelope Audio, LimeChain, and OfficeRnD continue to shape the ecosystem – not just through their success, but by supporting the next generation as mentors, investors, and ecosystem leaders.

But our impact doesn’t stop with the founders or their companies. In Bulgaria, Endeavor is a driving force behind ecosystem development, serving not only as a supporter, but as a trusted partner in capacity building and collaboration.

Our Managing Director and several Board Members actively serve as advisors and board members across the Bulgarian startup and innovation landscape, multiplying expertise and accelerating progress.

In Dare2Scale, we reserve a quota for NGOs, welcoming organizations like BESCO, Mentor the Young, and Teenovator. By including these drivers of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, we help strengthen the infrastructure that supports thousands of current and future founders.

When this cycle repeats, when knowledge, opportunity, and support are paid forward, the ripple becomes a wave. This is the Multiplier Effect at scale: a community where every founder’s success contributes to a stronger, more connected, and more resilient ecosystem. And together, we’re building a future where Bulgaria’s impact only grows.

From six believers around a table in 2015 to a thriving network of hundreds today, Endeavor in Bulgaria has always been about building a living system of support, built by founders, for founders, that evolves with every new ambition and milestone.

Over the past decade, we’ve helped scale more than 100 companies, supported over 180 entrepreneurs, unlocked over $1 billion in revenue, and created more than 10,000 jobs. We’ve cultivated a generation of mentors, investors, and leaders who are shaping Bulgaria – and strengthening an entire region.

And that’s the next chapter.

Today, we’re doubling down on our mission, not just for Bulgaria, but for the whole region. We’re deepening relationships across the Western Balkans, forging new bridges between founders, and working to ensure that Southeast Europe grows together. Not divided by borders, but united by shared ambition and purpose.

Here’s to scaling what matters — from Bulgaria, across the region, and back.