Sofia Angels Ventures – New Investment Press Release
As we are nearing the end of November 2023, Sofia Angels Ventures (SAV), a €13M venture fund backed up by EIF for angel and private co-investment, headquartered in Sofia, is pleased to announce its fourteenth investment – Icanpreneur – the innovative Accelerator-as-a-Software.
Icanpreneur has successfully concluded a pre-seed funding round, securing €830,000 at a post-money valuation exceeding €5 million. This substantial investment is intended to support the startup’s unexpectedly rapid organic growth. The funding round, spearheaded by Sofia Angels Ventures (SAV) and featuring participation from MFG Invest, as well as existing and new business angels, marks a crucial milestone for the Bulgarian company. The diverse mix of investors brings unique domain expertise, product experience, reputation, and relationships, making this pre-seed round one of the strongest in the region.
Having embarked on a mission to enhance the success rates of technology startup founders and product managers, Icanpreneur offers a guided journey, expertise, and best practices through its intuitive collaborative software. This funding initiative comes on the heels of a triumphant €200,000 angel round just over a year ago, valuing the company at €2.5 million post-money and attracting key figures from Bulgaria’s IT ecosystem.
Over the past year, Icanpreneur has swiftly developed the initial version of its Accelerator-as-a-Software. This tool empowers technology entrepreneurs and product teams globally, guiding them from initial idea to achieving product/market fit with heightened probabilities of success. The current version concentrates on facilitating effective market validation of initial ideas, fostering their evolution to address substantial market needs. The software delivers a practically-proven entrepreneurial journey with an innovative user experience, promoting effective team collaboration.
“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.
Despite a global decrease in VC investment to $74 billion in Q3 2023, Icanpreneur has demonstrated that well-structured companies with a systematic entrepreneurial approach can continue to attract investor support. The funds raised will accelerate the development of Icanpreneur as a product and in its go-to-market strategy over the next 12-24 months. The company has recently expanded its team with key hires, nearly doubling its headcount. Icanpreneur aims to capitalize on emerging entrepreneurship trends, particularly in AI, in the Central and Eastern Europe, EU, and US markets.
“The startup world is evolving beyond its initial romantic phase. Founders are starting to realize that discovering and solving significant problems is more than art and energy created by the initial inspiration. They started applying a more systematic and scientific approach when creating products, focusing on customer satisfaction and efficient technological solutions. That’s exactly where Icanpreneur offers essential tools to accelerate their progress significantly. We believe the timing is perfect and the company’s team is right for the mission,” said Milen Ivanov, Managing Partner at Sofia Angels Ventures.
In addition, Icanpreneur announced the expansion of its Early Adopters Program, offering exclusive access to 300 new super early customers. These participants will actively contribute to shaping and improving the platform while receiving a 50% lifetime discount. The program’s success is evident as the initial one hundred seats were filled in a matter of days, with members securing successful investments in their companies.
November 2023
Sofia
