Between May 7–9, 2025, we hosted at our hub in Piatra Neamț the Founders Bootcamp dedicated to the new Rubik Scale cohort — our acceleration program that supports startups in expanding to Western markets, especially the UK.
The event was an intensive 3-day experience featuring 1:1 mentoring, working groups, workshops, pitch sessions, and connection-focused activities. It reaffirmed the importance of a framework that combines international expertise with personalized guidance.
Personalized mentoring was the backbone of the bootcamp — each startup benefited from hands-on guidance aligned with their current stage and growth goals. Ioana Engstrom, Honorary Consul of Romania in New Mexico and a successful entrepreneur with a US exit, kicked off the agenda with a workshop on B2B partnerships. Richard Engstrom, a US-based serial entrepreneur, led a practical session on business modelling.
Our working sessions focused on key topics essential for scaling:
- “Ideal Customer Profile and Value Proposition”, led by Tarig El-Sheikh, serial entrepreneur with 8 exits and lecturer at New York University
- “Go-to-Market Strategy and Sales”, led by Oana Manea (founder of AI Sales), followed by an integration session facilitated by Alex Gavril (co-founder of Promocrat)
Gautam Kumar (Partner at Track VC, UK) led a hands-on workshop on investment due diligence and the UK funding landscape. Ana Maria Drăgănuță Briard (founder of Legally Remote) presented the legal aspects of international expansion, focusing on compliance.
Each founder also received personalized mentoring on refining their pitch, guided by Samantha Attaguile, a US-based pitch coach who offered a unique perspective on stage presence, enhanced by her background as an opera singer.
One of the most appreciated moments of the bootcamp was the open Q&A session, where Sebastian Gabor (co-founder and CEO of Digitail) shared insights from his journey of international scaling, lessons learned from working with investors, and the challenges of growing in a competitive field. Vlad Gliga, our CEO, moderated the conversation, creating a space for honest, founder-to-founder dialogue.
The participants received answers to some of their most pressing questions about raising a funding round from venture capital, directly from three active investors: Valentin Filip (Managing Partner at Fortech Investments), Tarig El-Sheikh, and Gautam Kumar. In addition to the speakers already mentioned, other mentors who joined us included Alexandru Chifu (Fortech Investments) and Radu Mîndru (coach).
The 14 founders selected for this cohort come from Romania, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Moldova. Their startups are in the seed stage, with validated products and paying customers, and are now preparing for expansion into the UK. With over €6.15 million raised so far, these teams are now ready to double down on growth and take bold steps into new markets. The startups are active in verticals like Medtech, AI, Fintech, SaaS, no-code automation, and data analytics.
About the Program
The teams selected for this edition of the Rubik Scale program are: Apollo Technologies (Romania), Conexify.ai (Germany), Finergy (Republic of Moldova), Licenseware (Romania), PROCESIO (Romania), Sales Partner Automotive (Romania), and Storied Data (Bulgaria).
What’s next? The accelerator continues with over 18 workshops and mentoring sessions. In September, the founders will travel to London to connect directly with the UK entrepreneurial ecosystem. During Demo Day, they’ll pitch in front of investors, partners, and industry experts, with Fortech Investments looking to award a minimum €150,000 investment to the team with the greatest potential.
The 2025 edition of the accelerator is supported by our partners: Fortech Investments, Crew Capital, 20VC, UiPath, AmCham Romania, Legally Remote, and Lexters.
