The Growth Program for most promising companies.
Empowering Bulgaria’s leading late-stage startups to reach new heights with Dare2Scale Program. #Dare2Scale
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Connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors and expand your network.
55 alumni
Some of Bulgaria’s highest impact late-stage startups
80+ mentors
Since the Program’s first edition in 2019
150+ warm intro’s
To partners, investors & media outlets
620+ hours donated
By network members in the last 4 editions
Dare2Scale Cohort 6
Headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria, we are designing and developing end to end embedded system architectures, AI solutions for IoT systems, Cybersecurity consulting, implementation and certification support, Data Management and optimization, comprehensive software design and development.
www.blueberry.bg
Concrene is a nanotechnology company which decarbonises concrete using the most advanced nanomaterials. Based on 10 years of work and protected by a portfolio of granted patents, the revolutionary technology is making headway in North America.
www.concrene.com
They offer holistic personalized prevention packages. These are based on biochemistry, genetics and epigenetics. Their packages include people’s biological age, as well as their risk of age-related diseases.
https://www.epix.ai/
finbryte develops a digital white-label mortgage origination platform that streamlines the work of lenders and mortgage brokers. The company has developed digital solutions for the biggest mortgage lenders in Bulgaria.
finbryte.com
“Several Clouds provide Cloud and DevOps professional services.
The company is an AWS Advanced and Public sector partner, providing expertise and services in Cloud Adoption, Cloud Security and Compliance, DevOps & DevSecOps, Cloud-Native Serverless Development, Data & Analytics.
Several Clouds is heavily engaged with the cloud community in Bulgaria, people within the team teach for FMI – Sofia University, Telerik Academy, help local community groups and organize the biggest cloud conference in Bulgaria – AWS Community Day Bulgaria.”
https://www.severalclouds.com/
The company is an AWS Advanced and Public sector partner, providing expertise and services in Cloud Adoption, Cloud Security and Compliance, DevOps & DevSecOps, Cloud-Native Serverless Development, Data & Analytics.
Several Clouds is heavily engaged with the cloud community in Bulgaria, people within the team teach for FMI – Sofia University, Telerik Academy, help local community groups and organize the biggest cloud conference in Bulgaria – AWS Community Day Bulgaria.”
“SHOOT THE PIMPLE are science-based acne healing products.
Our mission is to change the lives of millions of people, suffering from acne.”
www.shimani.bg
Our mission is to change the lives of millions of people, suffering from acne.”
Teenovator is an 8-month program designed for 10th and 11th-grade students, focused on developing soft skills and guiding them through the process of creating their first startup. The program leverages the power of mentorship, pairing two mentors with each team of 10 students, and follows a specially curated curriculum validated by the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG). Over the first six years, more than 2,600 students from 40 Bulgarian cities and over 300 mentors have participated in the Teenovator program. Approximately 300 startup projects have been presented by students to a panel of investors.
www.teenovator.bg
VEDA has been providing accounting, payroll, and legal services to hundreds of tech startups and scaleups for over a decade. By living the journey with tech founders and helping them grow their companies from little ponies to full-grown unicorns, VEDA has gained valuable knowledge which they now share with many more startups from Bulgaria and the UK.
https://veda.fyi
For a small company in Vratsa, our biggest achievement was when we managed to scale up our team and cover all parts of the development cycle through hiring or training internal experts. This way we managed to provide a full service to our clients and be responsible for the quality from end to end.
volasoftware.com
What is Dare2Scale
Dare2Scale is a 4-month accelerator for entrepreneurs across various industries who are eager to scale their already profitable businesses with the help of group workshops and 1:1 mentoring from Endeavor’s network members and PwC’s top consultants. The highly-customized program is aimed at nurturing Bulgarian late-stage startups in their quest to become globally competitive, growth-oriented, and resilient businesses.
Every year, the program partners, together with the Endeavor network, interview the shortlisted candidates and select a cohort of 8-12 aspiring companies to join Dare2Scale.
Dare2Scale is run by Endeavor Bulgaria – an affiliate of Endeavor, a global non-profit organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs in over 40 markets.
In its latest 2023 edition, the program has yielded numerous success stories. We have hosted four networking events, and our methodology is being utilized by other Endeavor offices.
Eligibility criteria for candidate companies
HEADQUARTERS IS LOCATED IN BULGARIA
MAX 150 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES
2023 ANNUAL SALES OF MIN €100 K
Group Workshops
The program features group workshops dedicated on key business topics. The meetings are led by high-profile executives from various fields and industries – IT, VCs, financial institutions, retailers. The sessions provide the founders with useful resources and takeaways to help them further grow their ventures.
Intro’s & Mentorships
Dare2Scale provides the participants with introductions to top level executives, successful founders, and local VCs. Each company is assigned an individual mentor – a senior PwC Bulgaria consultant. On top of that, the founders meet regularly with Endeavor Bulgaria’s mentors. The consultants and mentors work with the entrepreneurs throughout the program and advise them on topics related to their specific business challenges.
Networking events
The entrepreneurs are invited to attend all networking events as part of Dare2Scale. During the final Demo Day event, they are given the opportunity to pitch their businesses in front of a significant audience of prominent jury members, VCs, Endeavor mentors and some of the most successful Bulgarian entrepreneurs.
Timeline
Submit your interest
Office Hours
January – March 2024
Applications
Open call
April 2024
Interviews
May 2024
Notification to selected participants and alternates
June 2024
Get to know our newest cohort
July – August 2024
Program Run
September – December 2024
What our Alumni are saying 
I plan on implementing multiple changes based on the discussed topics. Two topics were really eye opening to me – the concept of adapting my business strategy, services and effort in order to meet a specific yearly revenue (discussed with my PwC mentor), and the topic on good B2B sales practice.
Boryana Gerasimova
Founder, Re:Gena
Participating in the Dare2Scale program not only allowed us to take a fresh look at our business but also to dive into specific details and opportunities. The positive impact of the program was evident right from the start, and we are excited that it will continue to deliver results in the future.
Yasena Zasheva & Diana Dobreva
Founders, MyCFO
The Dare2Scale program was incredibly insightful and helped us expand our network significantly. We also found direct appliance of our technology in a new market thanks to the other companies in the program and our PWC mentor. We always had considered expanding in sports but now we have the network to do so as well, thanks to the Dare2Scale program.
Tihomir Petrov
Founder, Augment
Going through Dare2Scale was a natural next step in the development of our company and it came at the perfect moment as we started our scale-up efforts. Thought provoking workshops with amazing speakers and interesting mentorship sessions leading to a fun-filled Demo Day provided us with a step-by-step guide for our company to level up!
Martin Kokalov
Co-founder, Price International
Dare2Scale helped us zoom-out of the day-to-day challenges, think strategically, define our ultimate objectives and start taking long-term bets towards them. The program also had a huge network effect for our company within the Bulgarian scale-up community! And most importantly, even during the COVID times, thanks to Dare2Scale, I managed to make some awesome new friends!
Ruslan Leteyski
Founder, Checkout X
Dare2Scale program is an excellent opportunity for early stage founders to learn from experienced entrepreneurs who have walked the path before. Besides various workshops that cover many of the aspects of running a company, you also get appointed a personal mentor, who will be supporting you during 1:1 sessions! Above all, it’s really up to you to take most of the program, the access to many successful entrepreneurs and peers.
Oggy Popov
Founder, Prospecto
Dare2Scale was very useful in a number of ways: 1) We made a number of improvements to our business, based on practical advice from mentors and speakers. 2) I upgraded my knowledge in each of the business areas we covered. This would serve me in the years to come. 3) Dare2Scale gives you access to a vast network of top experts and achievers in all business areas. Everyone was open to invest some of their time, talking to us.
Svetoslav Dimov
CEO, DEV.bg
On top of everything learned, the program provides you a friendly 360 degrees view of yourself and your company and this gives a strong kick for your next endeavors and growth.
Blagovesta Pugyova
Co-Founder, Childish
The great strength of Dare2Scale is that it has mentors who are business practitioners. These are entrepreneurs from the local community who have build successful companies and are business operators, not lecturers.
Boyan Ivanov
CEO & Co-founder, StorPool Storage
Dare2Scale proved to be an excellent opportunity also for non-software scale-ups, which is a rare gem to find in the sea of accelerators and programs. I believe the mentors and presenters at the workshops at Endeavor are the best you can find in our market and we highly value everything we learned. I believe Dare2Scale will change our business tremendously.
Olya Antonova & Boris Georgiev
Founders, Trastena Wines
Dare2Scale exceeded our expectations both in terms of value obtained through the workshops and mentor sessions and with respect to the way it was organized. The program pushed us to make some key steps, which are now enabling us to scale our business.
Boris Pavlov
CEO, FlatManager
Being part of Dare2Scale was a great experience for our team. All the meetings and workshops are so inspiring and, at the same time, challenging. We want to encourage every founder to participate in next year’s cohort as the value you will take, the people you meet and the opportunities you will have are priceless.
Ralitsa Ivanova
Co-founder, Appolica
Thanks to the Program, I have become way more confident and ambitious as a CEO. Dare2Scale not only allowed us to dream big but also provided us with practical business guidance.
Mihail Dimitrov
CEO, Swipe.bg