StartUps in BG: Icanpreneur

An interview by Economy.bg, Translation by Icanpreneur

How the idea of a collaborative software platform was born

told by Vesko Kolev, co-founder and CEO of the company

In Economy.bg’s new column Startups in BG, founders of startup companies in the country share how they took their first steps, what specific and/or innovative products/services they offer, what their main competitive advantages are, and what lies ahead.

Vesko Kolev, co-founder and CEO of Icanpreneur, talks about the company's main product, how the idea was born, what the biggest challenges are and how they are overcome, how the company got financed, what its main competitive advantage is, etc.

Tell us about your company - what is your main product/service and how did the idea come about?

Our mission at Icanpreneur is to significantly improve the odds of success of technology startups and product teams within large companies. To this end, we are developing an innovative and collaborative software platform around which we are nurturing a community of support and mutual assistance. Why is there a need for improvement? Statistically, 9 out of 10 startups and product innovations fail to achieve product-market fit, and this statistic has not seen change for decades, regardless of industry. In our own experience, we have found that the typical entrepreneurial path is quite chaotic, often reaching the same “dead ends”. A major reason we've taken note of is that entrepreneurs and product builders still have to rely primarily on gut feel, instead of using a structured approach to entrepreneurship. Those who try to follow a structured approach are forced to use shared documents, presentations and the like for their work, which in no way helps the process and work remains largely “locked” there. So, on the one hand, in our personal entrepreneurial experience, mentoring startups and judging hackathons, we have seen over the years how the problems that teams face are similar and generated by the lack of a well-facilitated structured process. On the other hand, in larger organizations such as Telerik, Progress and Coursera, we’ve clearly seen that the creation and development of innovative products face the same challenges and should not be merely a matter of luck. My team and I decided to change that.

What exactly does Accelerator-as-a-Software mean?

Accelerator-as-a-software is a new product category we are creating. It is software aiming to accelerate the development of startups and product teams by providing three main things: a) a clear structured process, always giving an answer to the question of what we should be focused on, b) intuitive software with which the process is executed and c) effective collaboration, allowing this process to be followed by a team and not just individually. The creation of this type of software is quite complex, since, on the one hand, it requires the entrepreneurial process to be put together from many methodologies and theories, a large part of which still live in books, courses and videos. Additionally, unlike typical software products that just offer features, Icanpreneur aims to provide a process to follow. Thirdly, using artificial intelligence intelligently, effectively and substantively, and not just for marketing purposes, makes the task even more complex. All these challenges give a huge motivation boost to our team, because our experience in previous companies taught us what it means and what it takes to become a #1 company in the world in a given field.

How long did it take you to go from an idea to a working business?

9 out of 10 startups failing has become more or less a “gravitational constant” for entrepreneurship and the ecosystem, that is, it is widely accepted as fact. Creating a product to change that is a huge challenge. However, we were able to land our first paying customers in less than a year. With their help, we are developing the product and moving forward with scaling the business.

What were the biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

The challenges are many and on many levels. One of the main lessons we learned is to have a deep belief that “there is no way there isn’t a way.” A leap of faith. When a person says that he is leaving a high position in an extremely good company to found a startup for something that for years has gone nowhere in terms of development, you can imagine what the primal reaction of most people would be. Things like “Are you okay?”, “If it were possible, it would have been done already”, etc. Thousands of reasons why it won’t happen. The lesson is extremely simple, but important — everything seems impossible until it gets done by someone. And when most people absolutely benevolently encourage us to give up, that is because what the odds look like right now — we have a 90% chance to fail. How do we overcome these challenges? Well, each time we remind ourselves how many of things we have done already, both together and individually, were considered impossible. One example is Telerik, where we have all participated. How likely is it that a product company from Bulgaria, established at the dawn of 2000, will become a world leader and remain there for years to come? Every time doubt arises, ask yourself: “Is there something that I wanted to happen, but didn’t?”. It will happen! Count on it!

How did you finance the start-up of your company? Are you having trouble finding funding?

We started with our own funds. After we became a four-man team (Katelina, Kristian, Andrey and myself) working full time, we sought angel funding. We had a website, several dozen people who had expressed interest in our product and with that we managed to raise 200,000 euros in angel investment. A little over a year later, we raised an 830,000 euro pre-seed round from Sofia Angels Ventures, MFG Invest and angel investors. Was it difficult? This process is generally not easy and requires thorough preparation. When it comes to angel investing, it is largely a function of what the team behind the idea is like and only then what the idea itself is. With pre-seed investment, what’s important is the progress made so far and the vision for the future. Purely psychologically, keeping the right mindset is very important. When you're negotiating with funds, you only need a couple of yeses. The rest will be nos. So out of 50 — 100 funds, one should aim for 1 — 2 for support. And when they take the step, others will follow suit and show interest. And let's not forget — there is hardly any successful company that has not started with hundreds of nos. Take AirBnB as an example. When the company started, its proposition to take strangers to sleep at your place on the couch for money, or to sleep at strangers’ places while they're still there, seemed crazy. And how does it sound today?

Who were your first customers and how did they find out about you?

Many of our first clients were people who had heard about us from social networks and the media, including your own. When we announced the angel investment, hundreds of people signed up for our Icanpreneur Insiders Program within days, expressing interest in being among our first early adopters. After that, quite naturally, they became some of our first customers.

What are your main customers and markets right now?

Our focus is on entrepreneurs and product teams and we have clients from companies of all sizes, from different countries. But we walk our way, with discipline and without putting the cart in front of the horse. We aim to have as many clients as necessary to go to the next level without scaling before we are ready for that. And although our main focus is on Europe and the US, we are also actively experimenting with the rest of the world. The more we move into the next phase of the company's development, the more we work to scale our customer outreach strategy.

What do you think makes you better than similar solutions?

There are companies that understand the theory of entrepreneurship. They are usually consultants and work with very large companies that can afford them. On the other hand, there are software companies that understand software and not so much the depth of entrepreneurial matters. We've invested a lot of years in getting good at both parts. We have seen in practice what is possible and what is necessary. And we are brave enough to take the risk of being different, working on a scalable solution through software and a community around it. Our goal is to be accessible to every single entrepreneur and company in the world.

How has your company evolved since its founding?

The company has developed and continues to develop very rapidly. What is most interesting is when one of us goes on vacation, even for just a few days. When he/she comes back, it always has that “wow, how much things have progressed” effect. Personally, I am most proud of how strong a team we are building. We have successfully passed through such difficult and even seemingly impossible situations. With the market, with the product, with the raising of capital, with just about anything. Perhaps the expression “When your back is against the wall, break the wall!” describes our culture best. We have also received tremendous support from people and organizations that are constantly at our side. Starting with our angels Svetlozar Georgiev, Georgi Atanasov, Faris Sweis, Zoran Arsovski — all from Telerik, through the MFG Invest and SAV funds and reach Campus X, VEDA Accounting, DSP law, CFO Insights, BESCO, ABLE, Power of BG, Bulgarian Angels Club, Telerik Academy... it is impossible to list everyone. So all these people and organizations have helped and are helping a hell of a lot. And although there is still so much work ahead of us, the future is bright. And it will happen!

What's next?

In recent months, we have made significant developments in our product based on feedback from the market. Thus, somehow without noticing and by the way, we successfully transformed from a software company to AI. The next steps are: accelerated product development, with even deeper implementation of Gen AI and scaling the go-to-market strategy. Our goal is to increase the number of customers 10-20x in the next 6-12 months. We are ready.

Can you share the biggest mistakes that, from today's point of view, you think you have made since the inception of the idea?

As I said, we have a lot of experience with technology. We also have a lot of experience with the entrepreneurial process of creating products. What came as a surprise is the increased role of the psychological element in entrepreneurship. As I have already shared somewhat, it is very easy for a person to slip into a downward spiral. You get up and you're worried, you feel at an impasse. You start thinking about how bad you are doing, how you're not performing. Well, precisely in these moments it is necessary for a person to realize that the more experience he has, the more he has unrealistically high expectations of himself, because he knows how much he does not know. We literally lack empathy toward ourselves. It is precisely at these moments that it is important for a person, even purely mechanically, to repeat to himself as many times as necessary: “There is no way there isn’t a way”, “We have been through so much, so will this stop us?” Self-talk is very important and it is key to direct it in a positive direction. Why? Well, it's very simple. The structured process in entrepreneurship gives order, gives what and how to think about, but does not cancel the need for a person to be creative. Creativity is a function of the circumstances in which we can bring out the best in ourselves and our team. And on that note: when will we be more creative? When we blame ourselves or when we support ourselves?

What are the most important lessons you learned?

You can't give something you don't have. A lesson I learned from my friend, mentor and investor Faris Sweis. You can't give happiness if you're not happy. You can't give confidence if you're not confident. You can't spread positivity if you're not positive. Therefore, being a good entrepreneur requires living a balanced life. It's not just about working long hours. It's not just thinking about work non-stop. It's important to recharge. Knowing what charges you. For example, I get charged by gardening, reading, football, music, spending time with my wonderful family, with my friends. If we live fully, if we are charged, problems fall one by one like dominoes. People around us want to be by our side. They want to work with us. They want to pursue goals with us. Success starts with satisfaction. And satisfaction starts from within.

What advice would you give to those who are hesitating to start a business right now?

Come on, there's a way! There is no better time than now. We are here to support you and help you realize your full potential. As an organization, we deeply believe that anyone can be a successful entrepreneur as long as they are willing to put in the necessary effort and follow the right approach. That's why the company is called I-can-preneur. The initial idea is not so important, it is important that it be in a field that you care about. By following the right process, the idea will evolve into something that has the potential to become a viable business, and as long as it is in your chosen field, everything will go great!

How do you expect the advancement of artificial intelligence to affect the startup ecosystem?

AI is a great opportunity to create products and innovations that were previously objectively impossible. We have to take the plunge. However, all this leads to even greater competition across all vectors, and it becomes even more critical to follow a structured approach in entrepreneurship, rather than just relying on gut feeling. It is clear that any technology can be used both for good and to do harm. If we want to help and tip the scales in the right direction, we need to create more startups and products with AI. Startups are traditionally in a better position than incumbents when it comes to implementing and using new technologies, so now is the time!