Meet the 2025 Dare2Scale Cohorts – IT Stara Zagora Association
33 founders from 18 companies across Bulgaria and the Western Balkans are joining Dare2Scale 2025 — united in one program to scale bold ideas and grow thriving businesses.
Meet IT Stara Zagora Association who works to develop the local entrepreneurial, digital, and IT ecosystem by building partnerships and organizing initiatives in the fields of technology, digital skills, and entrepreneurship. We believe the region has enormous potential to secure a strong place on Bulgaria’s technological and entrepreneurial map. In its five years of active work, the association has organized over 100 events, reaching more than 2,000 people directly.
Tell us how your story began. What was the inflection point that made you realize this could become a serious business, not just an idea?
Our story began during the COVID crisis, when we organized our first event, which we called “IT and YOU” (a play on words meaning “ИТ и ТИ” in Bulgarian). The goal was to connect local young people with entrepreneurs from leading tech companies like SiteGround, MentorMate, and others. The inflection point came when we saw how much communities outside of Sofia needed and valued such initiatives — it became clear that this wasn’t just a one-time idea, but a meaningful mission to drive digital and entrepreneurial growth beyond the capital. And that’s how it all started.
Share a little-known fact about your industry, product, or market that would surprise most people.
A little-known fact that surprises most people is that right here in Stara Zagora, there’s a tech company that started from scratch and grew to a team of 170 people locally. Even more impressive, they now hold nearly 70% of the UK market in their business niche. It’s a powerful example that world-class tech success stories don’t only come out of Sofia — they can be built in regional cities like ours too.
(The company is eDynamix and its founder is a co-founder of IT Stara Zagora Association.)
Five years from now, what headline would you love to read about your company?
Five years from now, I would love to read a headline like: “Stara Zagora: The Bulgarian City Leading the Way in Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship – A Role Model for Regional Development.”
Our vision for IT Stara Zagora Association and the city is to be recognized nationwide as a vibrant tech and entrepreneurial hub, showing other Bulgarian cities that with collaboration, persistence, and the right initiatives, local communities can thrive and drive meaningful change beyond the capital.