For those of us building businesses in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the road often feels both promising and underfunded at critical stages, right after Seed and before Series A or more robust growth funding. This is especially true for women entrepreneurs like me, bootstrapping as hard as possible to make overseas expansions and sustainability happen. Enter Cofounder VC’s €35 million fund, a support system I wish had existed years ago when I was knee-deep in the challenges of market validation and revenue scaling.
Why This Fund Stands Out
Cofounder VC, also known for its practical, no-nonsense approach to backing startups, is focused on early growth-stage companies in CEE. Specifically, they’re looking for startups with not just ideas but proven traction. Their targets include businesses generating at least €100,000 in monthly recurring revenue. This is particularly relevant for entrepreneurs struggling to scale internationally while balancing the need to remain operationally efficient.
Michal Sioda, General Partner at Cofounder VC, explained their approach clearly: “The region is full of high-potential teams overlooked by international funds, and our goal is to fill this gap.” The fund's focus on markets like Poland, which has historically lagged in terms of access to later-stage investments, offers hope to those of us trying to break past the never-ending cycle of early-stage pitching.
The Fund’s Key Ingredients
Here’s what makes this fund valuable:
- Sizeable Ticket Range: With a funding range between €1, 3 million per startup, companies can unlock serious capacity to grow (hello, sales teams).
- Sector-Agnostic but with Preference: While they are open to different verticals, their preference for business-process digitisation, sustainability, and health tech signals a focus on meaningful innovation.
- Operational Support: Beyond money, Cofounder VC provides hands-on expertise through their network of over 250 business angels and seasoned venture partners. As a founder, I can vouch for how vital this support becomes after early-stage funding: You’re not just looking for advice but a team ready to jump in and help solve specific problems.
- Geographic Relevance: CEE is ripe with talent but still suffers from limited access to resources or an ecosystem hungry for growth-stage funding.
Startups That Fit the Mold
Companies applying for Cofounder VC will need to meet some clear benchmarks, primarily around revenue generation and market validation. These requirements might exclude pre-revenue startups or more exploratory ideas, but that’s precisely the gap this fund targets, companies that are no longer sliding by on hopes and promises but have battle-tested their models.
If you meet these basic criteria:
- Your product has clear recurring revenue (think subscription models in SaaS or product innovation).
- A solid team is already in place with industry know-how.
- You're tackling a market with high scaling potential but limited funding options.
Then this is your moment.
My Biggest Lessons Scaling Without External Funding
While reading about Cofounder VC’s focus, I couldn’t help but reflect back on my early days as a serial entrepreneur. For anyone in the trenches, here are a few lessons I learned the hard way that might resonate:
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Don’t wait for outside funding to validate your idea. Investors prefer businesses that can prove traction. Validation through sales before seeking funding strengthens your pitch immeasurably.
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Understand the true cost of growth. The move from idea to revenue isn’t just about building but also about acquiring clients sustainably. Scale too fast without revenue to match, and you’re headed for burn-out or even debt.
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Consider all the help you can get. Whether it’s mentorship, small grants, or partnerships with accelerators, resources exist beyond high-profile investors. Apply to everything you can before targeting VCs.
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Angel investors are underrated. As limited as resources can be in CEE, the region has a strong network of individuals passionate about innovation and willing to advocate for founders.
Common Mistakes Female Entrepreneurs Need to Evade
From my personal experience:
- Spending Too Long Perfecting: Waiting for perfect products? Don’t. Launch, collect user feedback, iterate. Imperfect action beats perfect inaction.
- Underestimating Financial Planning: Women are often more conservative in asking for funding, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn't aim high. Understand exactly how much you need for 18 months and ask for it.
- Thinking You Have to Do It Alone: Women tend to bootstrap longer and pull fewer favors than male counterparts in similar stages. Don’t fall into this trap; your network is more valuable than you think.
What Cofounder VC Could Teach Us All
Beyond just the funding numbers, I admire Cofounder VC’s focus on narrowing the funding gap in CEE. One of their biggest contributions is bringing operational partners into the fold who specialize in areas like governance, international sales, and scaling. For any founder, and women in particular, who often juggle multiple roles, access to this kind of expertise could be the game-changer that larger and more established players in the space won’t offer you.
From a broader perspective, this fund is evidence of resources moving into places largely unseen by larger global players, fundamentally changing the opportunities available in previously underserved European markets.
What to Keep in Mind When Applying for VC
If you’re thinking of applying:
- Focus on What’s Already Working: Have customers, keep loyal ones, and prove retention or repeat sales.
- Frame the Scalability of Your Business: Investors like Cofounder VC care about your company’s capacity for future growth, not just what it’s achieved today.
- Be Ready to Back Your Numbers: Show a deep understanding of your financial runs, investors respect data-driven approaches and realistic projections.
Closing Thoughts
Efforts like this make me optimistic about the future of female-led startups and the untapped potential of the CEE. A region with brilliant ideas is finally getting the attention it deserves. Groups like Polski Fundusz Rozwoju stepping in as foundational investors ensure regional players will drive actual change from within. If only more initiatives would embrace co-investment with angel groups alongside larger rounds, founders could tap both flexibility and industry mentorship.
To all the entrepreneurs reading this, here’s my advice: Stay the course, but don’t be afraid to reach out toward funds like Cofounder VC that can accompany you on the next leg of your journey. Together, we can transform not just our businesses but the narrative around entrepreneurship in our region.
FAQ
1. What is the focus of Cofounder VC’s new fund?
Cofounder VC’s new €35 million fund focuses on supporting CEE startups at the early growth stage, particularly those with validated products, recurring revenue, and proven market validation. Read more about the fund focus
2. How much funding does Cofounder VC provide per startup?
The fund offers investments ranging between €1, 3 million per company in CEE, targeting startups ready for scaling after market validation. Learn more about investment size and strategy
3. What industries is the fund focused on?
Although sector-agnostic, the fund has a strong preference for startups in business-process digitisation, sustainability, and health tech. Find out more about preferred sectors
4. Who are Cofounder VC’s key team members?
The general partners include Michal Sioda and Dr. Tomasz Golinski, with Maciej Kowalczyk joining as a Venture Partner to provide operational expertise. Read about the team and its expertise
5. What differentiates Cofounder VC from other funds?
Cofounder VC combines financial backing with operational support through a network of over 250 business angels and venture partners, helping startups with scaling, governance, and sales strategy. Discover their unique operational model
6. Which startups are not eligible for funding from Cofounder VC?
Startups without recurring revenue or market validation, and pre-product or exploratory companies, are excluded from Cofounder VC’s investment criteria. Learn more about eligibility
7. Why is this fund important for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)?
CEE startups typically lack access to growth-stage funding, and Cofounder VC seeks to fill this gap by focusing on companies often overlooked by larger international VCs. Read about CEE’s funding landscape
8. Who are the investors backing Cofounder VC’s fund?
The fund’s initial close includes backing from the Polish Development Fund (PFR), private investors, and family offices from Poland and abroad. Learn more about the fund backers
9. What data do founders need to present when applying for investment?
Founders should provide proof of recurring revenue (e.g., €100k, €200k MRR), retention data, and scalability metrics to demonstrate market validation. Find out about application requirements
10. How does Cofounder VC help startups beyond providing capital?
Startups benefit from hands-on support such as guidance on scaling internationally, building sales teams, fundraising strategies, and governance implementation. Explore their post-investment support
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
