Amidst a plethora of panels focusing on how CEE startups can excel, there was a bit where leading investors Marius Istrate (President, TechAngels), Eva Arh (Principal, 3VC), Bogdan Iordache (General Partner, Underline Ventures) and Felix Martinez (Principal, Seedcamp) explored whether Europe can hold a unique position in the global tech ecosystem.
The conversation highlighted Europe’s potential, strengths, and challenges in replicating innovation and competing on the world stage, with a particular focus on one essential trait for success – “shamelessness”.
Istrate emphasized that European entrepreneurs, particularly those from Eastern Europe, often struggle with deeply ingrained feelings of shame, which hold them back from being bold in their communications and actions.
Shame often holds startups back
“We need to behave shamelessly,” Istrate argued, pointing out that this shift in mentality is crucial for driving the kind of audacious thinking that propels startups to success. He underscored that for investors and founders alike, embracing shamelessness is not about being reckless, but about shedding the inhibitions that prevent them from articulating and pursuing bold, visionary goals.
“What we need is leadership—not necessarily political, but community leadership—people who can articulate bold visions and inspire others to follow. We need to have these conversations openly. We need to give people a reason to believe they can build $100 billion companies,” Istrate said during the panel.
Martinez echoed this sentiment, contrasting European caution with the mentality in the US, where failure is worn as a badge of honor. “In the US, trying and failing is respected—it means you had the ambition to give it a go,” he noted.
In Europe, however, founders often shy away from risk due to fear of embarrassment or judgment, preventing them from fully committing to bold ideas.
Perseverance is key
3VC’s Eva Arh also weighed in, acknowledging that while regulatory challenges and cultural differences across Europe may create hurdles, the key is perseverance.
“Life in Europe is good, but sometimes that comfort diminishes the drive to push for greatness,” she explained, urging European founders to remain steadfast and continue building meaningful companies despite these obstacles.
Founders’ struggle to hype their companies
Underline Ventures’ GP Bogdan Iordache took this a step further, observing that many European founders fail to hype themselves and their companies enough.
“Founders here don’t tell the audacious stories about their vision,” Iordache said. This lack of audacity, he argues, often leads to incremental growth rather than the disruptive breakthroughs needed to capture global attention.
“We need people to tell better stories – that’s one of the key bottlenecks I’ve noticed when working with founders. Often, the issue isn’t just a lack of boldness or audacity; it’s that they don’t fully embrace or articulate the ambitious story behind the company they’re building. When you hold back from telling that big, audacious vision, you fall short in execution. What you end up with is incremental, safe progress – something that’s reasonable but lacks the bold risks needed to achieve something truly remarkable,” Iordache pointed out.
Ultimately, for CEE to truly stand out in the global tech ecosystem, founders and investors must adopt a shameless, bold mindset. In doing so, Eastern European startups can carve out a distinct and powerful role on the world stage, proving that audacity and shamelessness are not just desirable traits, but essential ones for long-term growth and innovation.
