The Recursive Podcast

The Recursive Media
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The Recursive Podcast Podcast

The Recursive podcast is your weekly wander inside the minds of innovation leaders across SouthEast Europe. Each week our hosts cozy up with a digital economy champion and dive deep into their life philosophy, values, leadership style, and personal development. Join us for inspirational stories on how to grow, learn and think big.

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    Would AI Recognize the Next Nikola Tesla ft. Martina Silov Ep.102

    In this episode, Irina Obushtarova talks with Martina Silov, President of CroAI, the Croatian Artificial Intelligence Association, and Head of Partnerships at Mindsmits.  Martina is an advocate for tech optimism, focusing on integrating technology into education and fostering a strong AI community. In this episodes, she shares about:  Connecting with the AI community in Croatia and beyond The responsibilities of the mentors and their role The role of AI in decision-making Timestamps 0:00 Trailer 1:27 Intro 3:07 The beginning of Martina’s journey to CroAI 8:46 Engaging the AI community in Croatia 13:05 How much Tech optimism is OK 24:23 Women vs men in technology  28:07 The role of the mentors 39:00 The future of AI and Croatia’s place in the change 58:00 Outro

    59 min
  2. How a Cup of Coffee Can Turn You Into a VC Investor with Karol Szubstarski from OTB Ventures Ep.100

    JUL 10

    How a Cup of Coffee Can Turn You Into a VC Investor with Karol Szubstarski from OTB Ventures Ep.100

    For today’s episode, we talked with Karol Szubstarski, a venture investor at OTB Ventures. With over a decade of experience in the realm of venture capital, Karol brings a blend of traditional and corporate VC expertise to the table. He spent five years as an Associate and Investment Analyst at Intel Capital, identifying opportunities across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, to name a few. In his current role at OTB Ventures, Karol spearheads investments in Series A opportunities, focusing on deep tech. In this episodes, he shares about: How personal experiences fuels his professional career His transition to the VC world under the guidance of Marcin Hejka The advantages and disadvantages of the Polish startup ecosystem 0:00 Trailer 1:33 Intro 2:25 Backpacking through Asia with two broken arms & other challenges 5:19 Karol’s adventure with the VC world and DeepTech 10:41 What are the skills a DeepTech investor should have? 12:09 Karol’s skills and learnings from Intel Capital and OTB Ventures 15:52 Perspective on the DeepTech ecosystem in CEE 21:27 Strengths of the Polish startup ecosystem 24:23 Challenges of European tech startups for scaling globally 27:42 How OTB Ventures assesses the investment opportunities 39:45 Striking the right risk vs advantage balance 42:19 Can CEE startups get money from US investors right from the start? 44:55 How to differentiate yourself as a VC fund? 47:17 Building the top team for OTB’s portfolio companies 51:24 The leap of faith in investment decisions 52:42 What’s needed to be a good VC investor? 55:05 The CEE VC ecosystem and the lack of private capital 57:45 How will the CEE startup ecosystem look in the future? 1:03:40 How is OTB Ventures adapting to the technological advancements 1:10:00 Outro

    1h 10m
  3. The Secrets of a Resilient Tech Ecosystem With Bartosz Lipnicki | Еp.99

    JUL 9

    The Secrets of a Resilient Tech Ecosystem With Bartosz Lipnicki | Еp.99

    Our guest today is Bartosz Lipnicki, an entrepreneur, investor, and Managing Director at Endeavor Poland. With a background in industrial engineering, Bartosz's career trajectory has evolved to encompass sales, business development, and entrepreneurship. Bartosz is the Founder and Managing Partner at Alfabeat, a seed fund specializing in enterprise software companies from Central and Eastern Europe. Beyond his professional endeavors, Bartosz is an avid marathon and tower runner. In this episodes, he touches on: ☑️ How to escape the 'hamster wheel' ☑️ The skills of the future ☑️ The importance of collaboration within the ecosystem 00:00 - 01:42 Trailer 01:43 - 02:55 Intro 02:56 - 10:14 Running and personal development 10:15 - 15:42 Investor’s role and mentoring 15:43 - 17:24 Growth beyond the financial aspect 17:25 - 20:02 The right time for acquisition 20:03 - 26:00 Mitigating the risks in investing 26:03 - 30:22 The importance of networking 30:23 - 32:10 Lessons on mentorship 32:11 - 33:38 Getting off the “hamster wheel" 33:39 - 37:05 The purpose behind teaching 37:06 - 42:30 Valuable skills beyond formal education 42:31 - 52:27 Polish entrepreneurial ecosystem 52:28 - 55:05 The definition of success 55:06 - 01:01:39 Envisioning of the future of the Polish tech ecosystem 01:01:40 - 01:01:56 Outro

    1h 2m
  4. Building a Real Business vs Passion Project With Krzysztof (Chris) Wrobel? | Еp.98

    JUN 12

    Building a Real Business vs Passion Project With Krzysztof (Chris) Wrobel? | Еp.98

    Our guest today is Krzysztof (Chris) Wrobel, the founder and CEO of Virbe AI, a startup incorporating a one-stop-shop solution to extend your team with AI-powered digital employees. With passion and experience for the future of digital interaction, Chris founded Virbe AI, a Virtual Being creation suite, designed to transform Conversational AI and chatbots into interactive human-like avatars. Chris is also involved in mentoring and guiding other companies in embracing emerging technologies. In this episodes, he touches on: How he started his entrepreneurial journey by accident; What can a Virtual Being do for a business and why we need this technology; The balance between innovation and ethical implications in VR/AR; TIME STAMPS 0:00 Trailer 1:53 Intro 2:40 Chris’s entrepreneurial journey from hospitality to engineering 10:00 The skills one need to have in a startup 15:33 How Virbe started and what’s the story behind? 21:22 The business model of AI solutions 24:41 The EU AI Act and its impact 25:54 How to explain a new technology to investors 31:38 Virtual being vs chatbots 36:42 How is metaverse fitting in Virbe’s business? 39:33 Will AI steal our jobs? 47:27 What big problem is Virbe solving 53:04 Outro

    54 min
  5. Elevating CEE Potential & the Future of Venture Capital with Borys Musielak - Ep.97

    MAY 28

    Elevating CEE Potential & the Future of Venture Capital with Borys Musielak - Ep.97

    Our next guest is an engineer turned entrepreneur turned investor. Borys Musielak is a founding partner at Polish SMOK Ventures, having a particular focus on software development tools, game development, and artificial intelligence. In 2007, he founded OSnews.pl, a pioneering news site covering tech, marketing, and business. He also co-founded Filmaster, a platform providing personalized analytics solutions, acquired by Silicon Valley-based Samba TV in 2015. His contributions to the ecosystem extend to mentoring early-stage startups across various platforms and accelerators in the CEE region. He talks about: Focus and motivation when starting a venture; How to elevate the CEE potential; The future of venture capital; And more! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - 1:42 Teaser 1:42 - 3:33 Intro 3:34 - 12:28 Perks in being a VC with engineering and entrepreneurial background 12:29 - 15:19 The path on establishing your first venture 15:21 - 17:10 Focusing on one thing as a founder 17:11 - 21:24 Satisfaction as a VC investor 21:25 - 26:55 The art of being wrong 26:56 - 30:59 Lessons on fundraising 31:00 - 33:46 What is the secret of success in venture capital? 33:47 - 48:28 Potential across the CEE region 48:29 - 52:13 Thought on sales and marketing 52:14 - 54:09 Are founders couchable? 54:10 - 1:01:48 Working with youngsters 1:01:49 - 1:05:38 Hypothesis for the future & outro

    1h 6m
  6. How to Follow Industry’s Rules, Yet Stay out of the Box With Konstantin Bezuhanov @Evrotrust Ep.96

    MAY 13

    How to Follow Industry’s Rules, Yet Stay out of the Box With Konstantin Bezuhanov @Evrotrust Ep.96

    Our guest for this episode has a big, bold ambition to make digital identity services the cornerstone of all economic and social activities of people around the world. Konstantin Bezuhanov is co-founder and CEO of Evrotrust Technologies, the company that aims to solve the challenges associated with secure digital identification.  Evrotrust's products are adopted by over 1.3 million users across 58 countries. The company has attracted partnerships with industry giants like Mastercard and leading banks such as Unicredit Bulbank, and KBC, and it has been recently recognized by governments and the European Commission. In this episode, we learn more about the complexities of identity in the digital age, but also what it takes to solve meaningful problems.  Konstantin also shares:  How it is to build a global identity system transcending national borders and work with strict entities like banks or government;   Views on mission-driven entrepreneurship how a strong sense of purpose guides decision-making and success metrics; How the future would look if digital identity seamlessly integrates into daily life; The importance of data protection and compliance in Evrotrust’s solution; TIME STAMPS 00:00 Trailer  0:56 Introduction  1:47 Moving from the comfort zone to entrepreneurship and what it takes  4:41 Konstantin’s endeavors in London and why he lived there  10:08 Why Konstantin moved back to Bulgaria  11:03 Why execution matters more than the idea  13:00 Evrotrust’s story and how the founding team was formed  20:42 Choosing the best market and end users for Evrotrust  24:00 The most difficult problem in the space of digital identity  28:58 The mission and vision of Evrostrust  36:08 Early adopters for digital identity solutions  38:05 Konstantin’s many hats and switching them  44:39 Finding success as a founder and in life  47:30 The future of digital identity  55:43 Outro

    57 min
  7. The Secret of a Successful Lifestyle Company with Radoslav Gaydarski from Cleverpine Еp.95

    APR 24

    The Secret of a Successful Lifestyle Company with Radoslav Gaydarski from Cleverpine Еp.95

    Our guest today is Radoslav Gaydarski, co-founder of CleverPine, a company that has made significant strides in the tech industry since its inception during the pandemic. Prior to this position, he was the co-founder and CEO of Upnetix, offering client-tailored software solutions, which was acquired by Scalefocus.  With a deep background in software development and a passion for entrepreneurship, Gaydarski shares his journey from tinkering with computers in his youth to leading a company that has seen substantial growth and has recently partnered with Lufthansa Technik to innovate within the aviation sector. In this discussion, you will discover Radoslav’s approach to leadership style,but also CleverPine's way of delivering exceptional value to its clients.  On top of that, he touches on:  How their company cultivates a positive and productive workplace culture; The importance of surrounding oneself with the right team; Learning from past challenges, and how these principles have guided his strategies for talent development and company growth;  TIME STAMPS:  00:00 Trailer  01:47 Introduction 03:27 Why Radoslav Moved to the US and Back to Bulgaria 08:11 Choosing Entrepreneurship and What Does It Take 13:25 Radoslav’s Failures and What He Took Out of It 20:00 What Is a Lifestyle Company 20:33 Upnetix’s Acquisition and the Learnings Learned 23:20 Cleverpine and Lufthansa Technik’s Partnership and What Is ViTech 39:06 The Importance of Studying the Client’s Industry and How Cleverpine Does That 42:41 How a Lifestyle Company Works and Why It Doesn’t Care About Metrics 51:59 CleverPine’s Working from the Office Culture  54:59 Team Structures and How to Deliver Quality Projects on Time  1:01:17 Developing Yourself as a Leader and Self-Reflection 1:04:58 CleverPine’s Flans for the Future  1:10:20 CleverPine Ventures and Supporting New Businesses  1:16:30 The Happiness Culture and How Can a Leader Foster This  1:21:40 Outro

    1h 24m
  8. Why to Visualize Failure and How to Find Your Energy as a Founder with Milen Manev from PlanDelta Еp.94

    APR 16

    Why to Visualize Failure and How to Find Your Energy as a Founder with Milen Manev from PlanDelta Еp.94

    Our guest today is Milen Manev, the co-founder and CTO of PlanDelta, a next-generation planning tool bridging the gap between strategic and financial planning.  With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, Milen has a wealth of knowledge in software product development and has held various leadership positions, including Vice President at the American software company SyncHR. He holds a Master Degree in Management of Information Systems from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.  In this episode we discover Milen’s approach to entrepreneurship, fundraising and what he learned from pitching to the biggest VC funds.  He talks about:  How visualizing failure and making peace with the worst case scenario can help you prepare for hard decisions;  Why self-promotion and highlighting your capabilities is crucial during fundraising; What sacrifices comes with entrepreneurship and what mental health challenges occur;   *This episode of The Recursive Podcast is released in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As part of their mandate to support small and medium-sized businesses, The EBRD’s SME Finance and Development Team provides knowledge, network, and skills to help emerging businesses innovate, thrive, and succeed. TIME STAMPS:  00:00 - Trailer  01:56 - Introduction 02:27 - How PlanDelta Choose the Problem They Want to Solve 05:52 - How to Know if You Are Solving the Right Problem 09:22 - Carving a Niche in Complex IT Ecosystems: How PlanDelta Identified Its Place in the Big Picture  15:09 -  Data Integrity for Strategic Decisions in Fast-Moving Startups 17:06 - Mastering the Pitch and How Many Meetings With Investors You Need 27:48 - The Truth About Fundraising as an Early Stage Startup 30:32 - Why and How PlanDelta Fundraised from 17 Angel Investors  34: 54 - Step by Step: PlanDelta's Methodical Approach to Growth 39:00 - The Fine Line Between Ego and Ambition  44:28 - Navigating the Competitive Landscape of Tech Startups 51:09 - How to Get Energized as a Founder and the View on Failure 1:04:37 - Mentorship and Asking for Support  1:08:33 - Outro

    1h 10m
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About

The Recursive podcast is your weekly wander inside the minds of innovation leaders across SouthEast Europe. Each week our hosts cozy up with a digital economy champion and dive deep into their life philosophy, values, leadership style, and personal development. Join us for inspirational stories on how to grow, learn and think big.

Information

  • Creator
    The Recursive Media
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    103
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Recursive Media
  • Show Website
    The Recursive Podcast

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