03 January 2023·7 min read

Martyna Konys

Program Manager, Vestbee

Startup Accelerator Of The Month - Endeavor

Endeavor is the leading global community of, by, and for High-Impact Entrepreneurs — those who dream bigger, scale faster, and pay it forward. Endeavor believes that High-Impact Entrepreneurs transform economies and is on a mission to build thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems in emerging and underserved markets around the world. Launched in 2015 in Bulgaria, the office has welcomed 100+ entrepreneurs, leading 50+ companies in three programs – Endeavor’s Global Program, Regional Support Program and Dare to Scale Growth Program. Dare to Scale is a 4-month accelerator aimed at nurturing companies in their quest to become globally competitive, growth-oriented, and resilient businesses.

Accelerator Strategy Overview

Geography: SEE
Preferred industries: Industry-agnostic
Company stage: Late-stage startups
Product stage: Ready product
Product type: No specific requirements
Revenues: min €100K 

Dare to Scale (D2S) Program Details

Duration: 4 months
Participation fee:  €2.500
Equity Investment: No
Grant: No
No. of batches per year: 1 batch per year; application opens in March-April and lasts up to 2 months
No. of startups in a cohort: 5-15 companies, 10 on average

Q&A with Momchil Vassilev, Managing Director of Endeavor Bulgaria

What are the 5 most important things you look for in a startup applying to your acceleration program?

First, we make sure that the companies meet the selection criteria: annual revenue of a minimum €100K for the preceding year and up to 150 employees. Then, we take into account the mindset of the founders – if they have the vision, energy, and skills to take their business to the next level and become role models by giving back to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

What startups should take into account before applying to your acceleration program?

Founders shall be ready to dedicate time and energy to participate in all workshops and mentorship sessions. Also, we expect all participants to be proactive by seeking and asking their dedicated account manager for further sessions and introductions.

Can you share some of the red flags that can disqualify a startup from joining your accelerator?

Our program is named “Dare to Scale” for a very obvious reason – we actively look for companies that are willing to scale fast and make an impact in our community. Therefore, lifestyle businesses would not be a good fit for the program – we would be happy to support such ventures, but the intensity of the program would prove to be too overwhelming for them. This brings me to my next point – we expect the entrepreneurs to be full-time committed to Dare to Scale for around 4 months. If they can’t guarantee that they would be able to take part in the majority of the program events, this would disqualify them from participation. Last but not least, we expect the entrepreneurs to pass the knowledge they gain during Dare to Scale to other entrepreneurs through coaching or mentorship. This is in unison with Endeavor’s overall mission to pay it forward.

What are the most valuable skills that selected startups can develop thanks to your program?

Through carefully curated sessions, workshops, and events that are aligned each year with the challenges of the founders, participants in Dare to Scale are equipped with the skills to further grow businesses. The program is designed to extend their knowledge in leadership and scaling, product-market fit, go-to-market strategy, capital raising, recruitment and retention.

How does your accelerator support portfolio companies during and after the program?

During the program, companies participate in 6-7 workshops, 1:1 mentorship sessions, and networking events. They have up to 8 mentorships sessions with high-level executives from PwC (which is an official partner of the program in 2022) and up to 4 sessions with mentors from Endeavor Bulgaria’s network. As part of the events, participants have two informal community gatherings where they can exchange best practices with peer entrepreneurs, and two big networking events – the Kick-off Party and the Demo Day, where they meet major players from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, potential partners, and get the chance to pitch their business to potential investors and a prominent jury.

The Endeavor team supports them with introductions and media coverage as well. Moreover, after finishing the program, startups become part of the D2S alumni community, where they attend meet-ups, workshops, and get invitations to some Endeavor events. If an alumni company is raising capital, the Endeavor team is happy to include their pitch deck in our regular investor bulletin or to support with warm introductions.

What are the best-performing companies in your portfolio?

In the past 4 years, we’ve witnessed plenty of success stories from our alumni companies. Some that are definitely worth mentioning are:

  • Out2Bound, a 2020 Alumni sales development agency for tech companies, recently got acquired by MarketStar, a US-based pioneer of global outsourcing;
  • RPA.bg, a 2020 Alumni that specializes in the development of optimization and robotic automation of business processes (RPA), was backed by F27 – the Program’s Capital Partner with EUR 200K shortly after Dare to Scale’s Demo Day;
  • Shkolo.bg, a 2021 Alumni company, founded with the mission to reduce the administrative paperwork at school and let the teachers focus on more value-adding activities, got accepted into Endeavor’s Regional program;
  •  Swipe.bg, 2022 Alumni and the first Bulgarian platform for easy purchase and sale of second-hand mobile phones, raised BGN 1M from 2 Bulgarian VCs and various Angel investors, including Appolica, a fellow 2022 Alumni participant that develops mobile applications and offers a full range of services to create mobile products and custom solutions for early-stage companies.

Other notable scaleups in our portfolio are: Inoxsys, StorPool Storage, Dev.bg, Flat Manager and Pollenity.

What key lessons have you learned from projects that didn’t work out the way you expected?

Our program is demand-driven – a valuable lesson we learned is around the fact that we cannot force the participants to take the most of the resources we are offering despite our best efforts. Therefore, we are doing our best to test the candidate’s motivation during the selection process and make sure they are willing to take the most of their participation in Dare to Scale.

Why, in your opinion, accelerators are becoming more popular nowadays?

In our region, accelerators are booming in popularity. In the past couple of years, local startups and scaleups have realized the significance of the entrepreneurial community and the importance of being part of a network through which they can form partnerships, exchange solutions, and develop best practices. Accelerators are namely seen as one such network which can provide its participants with a multitude of valuable introductions and new connections.

What are the hottest markets you currently look at as an accelerator, and where do you see the biggest hype?

According to a recent study performed by Dealroom, South Eastern Europe is the hottest region in terms of Enterprise Value growth, reaching 49.9x compared to the 9.1x in the rest of the CEE or 12.1x on average for Europe. Being based out of Bulgaria and with the well-developed connectivity of the Bulgarian entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region, we are very well-positioned to tap into and support this high-potential market.

Do you have any predictions about the key trends that will shape the European accelerator scene in the near future?

We see a big potential in the fast-paced digitalization of various B2C and B2B business models across a wide range of verticals. Based on the good quality tech talent in the region and the relatively undeveloped connections between the industry and academia, it can be expected that in the mid-term tech transfer will be the new hot topic.

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