Founder Meet & Greet: In-Person Startup Networking in Bucharest

ALWAYS LAST THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH

REGISTER 👉: https://fi.co/e/394614/viameetup

Since its inception, the Founder Institute Romania and CEE led by Alex M Dascalu for the last decade has been the gold standard for pre-seed acceleration.

𝐎𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 30𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 18:00, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 - 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 67𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭.

AI has made building cheaper, but not conviction: in 2026, the startups that look investible are the ones that turn AI into durable advantage through proprietary workflow data, trusted execution, faster learning loops, and a clear path from prototype to measurable value.
This fireside chat brings together operator insight from Irina Raicu and investor pattern-recognition from Gratian Urcan to unpack:
1. what a real moat looks like now,
2. how AI is reshaping early-stage due diligence, and
3. why “AI-native” alone is not enough to make a company fundable.

We will also test a sharper question: can AI-native startups from Bucharest and CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) win globally by pairing regional capital efficiency and deep domain knowledge with world-class speed, trust, and distribution before larger markets even react?
Host: Alex M. Dascălu (FI Director, CEE & Caucasus).

Venue: BRUMA Coffee and Wine

This is not a community to show up passive. Come ready to pitch yourself.
Not your job title.
Not your life story.
What you are building, why it matters, where you are strong, how you can help, and what you need now.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
Please, use this format 👇
1. 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞
Who you are.
2. 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
One line only. Your most useful professional context.
3. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧
𝙐𝙨𝙚 𝙖 𝙤𝙣𝙚-𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙥 𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝:
We help [customer] solve [problem] with [solution].
4. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫
What are you unusually good at?
5. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬
Be concrete: intros, co-founder support, customer discovery, validation, product feedback, mentorship, advisory, investment, distribution, infrastructure, hiring, partnerships.
6. Your ask
What do you need right now? Funding, co-founder, pilot customers, intros, product feedback, advisors, technical talent, distribution, media, legal, ecosystem access.

❯ Who should Attend?

• FI Alumni Founders, Mentors, Investors & friends
• Anyone interested in entrepreneurship and starting a tech company
• Anyone who has a pre-seed tech company or a startup idea
• Anyone interested in joining a startup accelerator
• Anyone interested in being an active part of the thriving start-up ecosystem
• YOU

`REGISTER HERE: https://fi.co/e/394614/viameetup