Hello Grégoire, thank you for joining us. Could you please give us a short overview about your journey in entrepreneurship in Romania as well as angel investing?

I was born and raised in Paris. I used to work in Los Angeles and New York as an intern during my studies. But contrary to some colleagues of mine from Business School and MBA who decided to go and work for a multinational in Paris, or launch their startup in London or Silicon Valley, I chose to become an entrepreneur in Bucharest. I never left, and I will probably retire here.

As a French national, what made you choose Romania to start your first business?

In our modern world, most businesses are digital. Technology plays an increasing role in our daily lives. I believe Eastern Europeans are fully embracing digitalization and information technology. Romania has more IT engineers per capita than the US, France, Germany, China, or India. The successful presence of global high-tech companies, including Microsoft, IBM, HP, Oracle, Amazon, and TELUS International, confirms Romania’s IT experience and potential.

In your opinion, how does the Romanian startup and investment ecosystem compare now to a decade ago?

Despite COVID-19, Romanian startups had a sustained activity in Q1 and Q2 this year, raising approximately €20 million in 30 deals from business angels and VCs. It might not seem to be a big figure compared to France, Germany, and the UK, but it is definitely on an upward trend, and it is way higher than a decade ago. In 2010, there were just a few business angels in Romania and no local VC at all!

Source Credit: EU Startups