Icanpreneur has successfully concluded a pre-seed funding round, securing €830K and bringing its total funding to over €1M, which includes a previous €200K from an angel round a year ago. The funding is led by Sofia Angels Ventures (SAV) and includes participation from MFG Invest, alongside both existing and new business angels. Established in 2021, the Bulgarian startup is dedicated to enhancing the success rates of technology startup founders and product managers. It achieves this goal by offering a guided journey, expertise, and best practices through its intuitive and collaborative Accelerator-as-a-Software platform. This tool empowers tech entrepreneurs and product teams globally, guiding them from the initial idea to achieving product/market fit with increased chances of success. The company motto is “From Idea to Product-Market Fit Without Relying on Luck.”
“What is the root of Icanpreneur’s success? Undoubtedly the most important thing for a company is product-market fit. Product-market fit is not just a point in time, reached in just a few months, but a never-ending process requiring continuous discovery and innovation. At the same time, “software is eating the world” and if product-market fit is so important, then why isn’t there any software to help companies get there? That’s how we created Icanpreneur – the most important software a company will ever have”, said Vesko Kolev, Founder and CEO of Icanpreneur.
Their recent funding round has garnered support from notable entrepreneurs, including Svetozar Georgiev (Co-Founder of Telerik, Telerik Academy & Campus X), Pressian Karakostov (Founder of PubGalaxy, PhoneArena, Co-chair of the board at Endeavor Bulgaria), Kristian Demirev (Founder and Managing Director SK-PSD Group), Hristo Kosev (Co-Founder of Telerik, Telerik Academy & Healee), Zoran Arsovski (Founder of VertoDigital), Georgi Atanasov (Chief Technology Officer at Sentur), and Emil Tabakov (ex-Senior Product Manager at Coursera).
Vesko Kolev, the company’s CEO and founder, is part of the cohort of tech founders, angel investors, and ecosystem builders who emerged from the software company Telerik after its acquisition by the American company Progress in 2014.
What is Icanpreneur?
Icanpreneur is a worldwide digital accelerator platform and online community designed to navigate tech entrepreneurs from their initial idea to investment and ultimately to product/market fit. The platform assists individuals in articulating their ideas in a structured manner, showcasing the company’s business model, elucidating how it creates value for users, and detailing strategies for revenue generation and customer acquisition.
The goal of this Bulgarian startup is to facilitate a seamless transition from a stable job to entrepreneurship, allowing individuals to progress from the idea stage to securing investments without abandoning their current employment. With the support of Icanpreneur, aspiring entrepreneurs can enhance their efficiency and significantly improve their chances of success.
What inspired Vesko, the founder, to establish Icanpreneur?
After having a great career in notable companies, he reached a point where he felt the urge to pursue a higher purpose that he deeply cared about. The transition from a well-paid job to pursuing the dream of becoming an entrepreneur proved to be challenging, particularly with the responsibility of supporting a family. He questioned why the transition was so hard and pondered over ways to make it easier. The central queries became: How can the transition be more seamless? How can he contribute to helping more people fulfill their dreams and become successful and impactful entrepreneurs?
Taking the leap and embracing the associated risks, he and his team dedicated themselves to making this journey smoother for others. Their collective purpose became building a bridge behind them for everyone else aspiring to follow a similar entrepreneurial dream.
What is next for Icanpreneur?
The recent funding injection is earmarked for expediting the evolution of Icanpreneur both as a product and a go-to-market solution over the next few years. Additionally, the company intends to broaden its team, aligning with emerging entrepreneurship trends, particularly in the realms of AI, across the CEE, EU, and US markets.
“Even though the current wave of AI models started last year, we are just starting to see how these technologies are put to good use and the biggest potential in front of AI right now is in integrating it vertically to make a positive impact in business, healthcare, climate change, and other significant problems in front of the humankind. However, whether you are solving a problem through old or new means, that doesn’t necessarily change the problem’s importance, urgency or pervasiveness. This is where Icanpreneur is perfectly positioned to create a dent by boosting the odds of market success of tech startups by enabling them to work on problems with a significant market demand.” Kolev said.
