It’s great that you want to start your company in Bulgaria! Or that you want to get to know the startup community better. Or you’re simply on holidays and you’re looking to meet some new people from the area. That’s just as great. To do so, though, you would probably need to know who’s there, what they do, and where you can find them. So we thought a list of the most prominent startup events, organisations, and coworking hubs in not just one but three cities – Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna – could only make things easier. Here they come! In case we’ve missed something, make sure to hitus up!
SOFIA
Sofia University Photo credit: © Plamen Agov • studiolemontree.com, License: WikiCommons
Organisations
Start It Smart was founded in 2009 with the goal to connect people with ideas, businesses, accelerators and successful entrepreneurs. Since then, its team have been organising networking events, lectures, discussions, and pitching competitions.
https://www.facebook.com/startitsmart
StartUP Foundation also aims to support the startup ecosystem by organising events with hand-picked guest speakers from fields spanning IT, sales, marketing, and more.
https://www.facebook.com/startupbg
NewBiz Club Sofia organises weekly networking events for the local business and entrepreneurial community. Every Wednesday starting at 18:30.
https://www.facebook.com/newbiz.clubsofia?fref=ts
BNC Sofia, or the Business & Networking Club Sofia, offers monthly networking meet-ups, business seminars and trainings, and various opportunities for participants to raise awareness of their projects. Their next big event is in mid-September.
https://www.facebook.com/BusinessNetworkingClub
Still to come!
Sofia Tech Park is a project by the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, which, once completed, will aim to accelerate innovation and communication technology in the country. A startup city within the bigger city.
https://www.facebook.com/SofiaTechPark
Events
Open Coffee Sofia is a meet-up created with the goal to encourage entrepreneurs, developers and investors to get together, network and collaborate.
HackFMI is a three-day hackathon starting on a Friday evening and ending the following Sunday. It includes idea pitching, coding and eventually, prototype creation. The goal is to have a hackathon every semester, giving students a regular opportunity to participate.
https://www.facebook.com/hackfmi
Startup Weekend Sofia has already been to the city twice. Look out for the third one!
https://www.facebook.com/StartupWeekendSofia
StartUP Conference is a two-day event by the StartUP Foundation that brings together entrepreneurs, investors and experts for presentations, panels and networking.
3Challenge is a tournament by Start It Smart that offers startups the opportunity to develop an idea into a full-functioning company in three steps. Read more here.
https://www.facebook.com/3challenge.tournament
betapitch | Sofia is the local edition of the originally German format. The next event in Sofia is planned to take place in November. And in the meantime, catch up on our previous coverage here.
DigitalK is an annual one-day conference by the Bulgarian weekly business newspaper Capital. The event offers a platform for entrepreneurs, investors, professionals from the creative industries and marketing experts to talk about technology and the web.
https://www.facebook.com/digitalkcon
Coworking spaces
betahaus | Sofia
https://www.facebook.com/betahausSofia
Address:
56-58 Krum Popov Str.
Sofia 1421
SOHO
https://www.facebook.com/sohosofia?ref=hl
Address:
4 Iskar Str.
Sofia 1000
init Lab is Sofia’s hackerspace and the oldest coworking space in the city.
Address:
4 Lozenets Str.
Sofia 1421
The Roof is the coworking space of the Eleven accelerator.
Address:
4 Gurko Str.
Sofia 1000
Contacts
Our contacts in Sofia
Nikola Yanev, founder of entrepreneur.bg
Available per email and on LinkedIn.
LAUNCHub, Sofia-based accelerator/seed fund
Available here.
Other useful contacts
Petar Sharkov, co-founder and president of Start It Smart
Available per email and on LinkedIn.
Radoslav Georgiev, partner at entrepreneur.bg
Available on his blog and on Twitter.
Eleven, Sofia-based accelerator/seed fund
Available here.
VARNA
Varna Photo credit: Kamen Kunchev, Flickr http://bit.ly/173OmpJ
Organisations
NewBiz Club Varna organises weekly networking events for the local business and entrepreneurial community, just like its branch in Sofia. They take place every Wednesday starting at 18:30. Additionally, the club in Varna hosts seminars and public discussions.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/NewBiz-Club-Varna/233354526754496
BNC Varna offers monthly networking meet-ups, business seminars and trainings, and various opportunities for participants to present their projects.
https://www.facebook.com/BusinessNetworkingClub
Events
Open Coffee Varna
https://www.facebook.com/groups/opencoffee.varna/
Founder2be is a co-founder matching event, which made its debut in Varna earlier this month. The goal was to bring together people who are looking to find a co-founder or simply join a startup. A second event has not yet been planned, but in the meantime, you can read a recap of their first one here.
https://www.facebook.com/Founder2be
Biz2bizi organises investment-entrepreneurial forums that take place every few months. Every event consists of a keynote speech, a panel discussion, and a final part where the audience has the chance to solve a business case. Check their website for the next dates.
E-manager is a two-day event focused on online marketing, SEO, and mobile applications, among others. The next edition is coming up on 30-31 August.
https://www.facebook.com/EManagerBulgaria
Startup Weekend Varna was, in the words of locals, possibly the biggest entrepreneurship the city has ever hosted. It first took place in May this year, and there might be a second one in the pipeline any time soon.
https://www.facebook.com/StartupWeekendVarna
Coworking space(s)
Varnalab is the city’s hackerspace, and the meeting point for the area’s IT-savvy folk.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/varnalab
Address:
50 Pencho Slaveykov Str.
Varna
Contacts
Our contact in Varna
Zornitsa Doncheva, Director NewBiz Club Varna
Available per email and on LinkedIn.
Other useful contact(s)
Galin Zhelyazkov, entrepreneur
Available on LinkedIn.
PLOVDIV
Plovdiv Photo credit: Klearchos Kapoutsis, Flickr http://bit.ly/13GQtmn
Organisation(s)
The Centre for Entrepreneurship is part of the Technical University in Plovdiv and aims to inform and educate the community about entrepreneurship as well as to support startups from the region.
Event(s)
Startup Weekend Plovdiv will take place for the first time in mid-October. Mark your calendars!
https://www.facebook.com/StartupWeekendPlovdiv
Coworking space(s)
Hackafe is the coworking/hacker space bringing together the entrepreneurial and especially, the IT-savvy community in and around Plovdiv.
https://www.facebook.com/HackafePlovdiv
Contacts
Our contact in Plovdiv
Stoyan Naydenov, co-organiser of Startup Weekend Plovdiv
Available per email and on Facebook.
Other useful contact(s)
Martin Nankov, co-organiser of Startup Weekend Plovdiv
Available per email.
BURGAS
Coworking space(s)
BurgasLab is the local hackerspace, part of the same network as VarnaLab, init Lab (in Sofia), and Hackafe (in Plovdiv).
https://www.facebook.com/groups/burgaslab/
Contact(s)
Tsvetelin Panchev, support member at BurgasLab
Available per email.
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