Artificial intelligence (AI) in business isn't just a trend, it's becoming a staple. For entrepreneurs who live and work in Europe, it’s inspiring to see people lead in this domain. One such leader is Tsvetan Alexiev, CEO of Sirma Group Holding. Alexiev describes AI as part of Sirma’s DNA, woven into the company’s solutions since its founding in Bulgaria over 30 years ago. As a bootstrapped founder and creator of Fe/male Switch, I’m fascinated by how certain organizations integrate AI fundamentally rather than surface-level.
Let’s dig into Sirma’s story, its recent developments, and lessons you can take away if you’re figuring out how to leverage AI in your own entrepreneurial path.
AI’s Role in the DNA of Business Success
Alexiev’s message isn’t about chasing AI for headlines; it’s about embedding useful AI into everything Sirma delivers. The company originally started with projects that were ahead of their time, like expert systems for governments. Today, they’re shifting again with their enterprise-grade platform, Sirma.AI, made to suit sectors like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing.
This isn’t flashy stuff; it’s deep integration. Their platform focuses on secure local infrastructure for large language models (LLMs). Why? Industries like banking and the public sector need control over sensitive data, a reality most online generators can’t address.
As of 2025, Sirma has positioned itself as both a leader in AI solutions and a stock-market player, soon to list on Europe’s Frankfurt and Bulgarian exchanges. Businesses in Europe should pay attention not just to the tech possibilities but capital and growth strategies like these.
For startup founders, the idea here is about understanding both the technical relevance of AI and how it impacts tomorrow’s financial moves.
AI Lessons for Founders in Europe
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Start Early, Build Depth
Sirma’s initial steps in AI weren’t trendy, they were foundational. For European entrepreneurs, especially bootstrapped ones, this offers a key idea: don't just add emerging technologies; ensure they solve deeper problems. What’s your long-term thinking about integrating AI, even in small ways? -
Focus on Trusted Industries
Proven spaces like finance, logistics, and regulated sectors offer fewer immediate competitors than broad tech markets. Sirma found its niche by creating smart tools for high-compliance environments, challenging itself within layers of digital security. -
Pull Real Numbers
Sirma reports steady growth year after year, with a 70 percent rise in share value and a dual listing soon coming in Germany. They’re proving what data-backed progress looks like in the European AI space, something startup founders should aim to replicate. Share your valid metrics confidently.
European AI Challenges and How Founders Can Approach Them
The conversation doesn’t push toward hype but solutions. Alexiev mentioned Europe’s slower AI adoption rates compared to North America, driven partly by a “chatbot mindset.” Startups often focus on quick-win AI tools rather than embedded transformations. This leads to fragmented progress across the region.
Fixing that won’t come from downloading chat-based assistants without strategy. If you’re an entrepreneur, here are direct steps you might learn from Sirma’s journey toward deep industry connection.
Step 1. Absorb Industry Trends Regularly
European startup ecosystems like those in Bulgaria and Romania are filled with seasoned AI expansion efforts. Discover more about Sirma's AI focus directly on Sirma.AI's website.
Step 2. Build Expertise or Partner with People Who Have It
I’ve studied several AI niches over the years, from crash courses to machine learning development. Your learning doesn’t have to be solo efforts, invest in productive collaborations like Sirma did. They blend AI innovation with rigorous security layers tailored to local industries.
Step 3. Create Flexible Plans Around AI
Instead of locking into trends, founders should chase the “flexible building block” model. Sirma spent time mapping significant use cases and adapting its offerings. In turn, any founder looking toward AI should prioritize modular, multi-use tools rather than one-size-fits-all designs.
Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make with AI
The benefits of AI grow clear when used strategically, but errors magnify quickly. Let’s break down typical mistakes many European startups face.
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Treating AI as an Optional Add-on
You’ll lag behind competitors if AI functions as an afterthought rather than central to workflows. Like Sirma’s AI embedding in its platform, look for deeper areas to make technology essential. -
Ignoring Localized Security
European GDPR rulings require sensitivity toward data handling. Sirma responded by creating safe systems for LLMs working internally at companies. Don’t overlook such localized adaptations wherever you launch. -
Investing in “Hype” Over Value
There’s temptation to push AI-based tools before validating whether end-users genuinely benefit. Focus heavily on outcome-driven progress rather than counterproductive exploration.
A Template for AI Use in Business
Here’s a simple framework to help you prioritize AI effectively. It’s something I’ll be adapting for startups joining us in the Fe/male Switch incubator.
- Define two real problems worth automation or improvement.
- Simplify solutions into actionable prototypes with human-led tweaking first.
- Test small but scale bigger after three pilot programs succeed locally.
- Learn specific AI limitations from watching peers in industries who struggle (like creative tech slowdowns or retail roadblocks).
- Update these models yearly instead of freezing progress.
Final Thoughts for Founders
European founders need inspiration, not only from fellow women entrepreneurs thriving independently but specific examples of applying AI deeper than initial tools. Collaboration between future-facing startups like mine and operational examples like Sirma’s teaches each project differently.
For continued study into Sirma’s background or tools, especially its unique dual-location operations, visit Sirma Group Holding’s news division for stories.
Keep experimenting, network often, and experienced thought leaders contribute broadly across this space. Whether you scale independently or co-create in dynamic partnerships like these AI-led groups, finding ways to connect across business regions matters.
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FAQ
1. How has Sirma Group integrated AI into its operations?
Sirma Group, led by CEO Tsvetan Alexiev, has integrated AI deeply into its operations since its founding, focusing on secure and scalable AI solutions for enterprises in sectors like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Explore Sirma’s AI innovation
2. What industries does Sirma.AI Enterprise target with its solutions?
Sirma.AI Enterprise focuses on regulated industries, including banking, financial services, logistics, healthcare, transportation, and the public sector. This specific concentration ensures secure and adaptive AI solutions for these fields. Learn about Sirma.AI Enterprise
3. What makes Sirma.AI Enterprise stand out among other AI platforms?
Sirma.AI Enterprise offers local large language models (LLMs) that run securely within client infrastructures, catering to organizations concerned with data sensitivity and regulatory compliance. Discover what powers Sirma.AI Enterprise
4. Why is Sirma planning a dual listing on the Frankfurt and Bulgarian Stock Exchanges?
The dual listing will broaden Sirma's visibility, enhance liquidity, and provide access to European capital for expansion and innovation. This move underscores Sirma's ambitions to grow as a leading tech player in the European landscape. Learn about Sirma’s dual listing
5. How does Sirma plan to address Europe’s slow AI adoption rates?
Sirma advocates for deep and structured AI integrations in enterprises rather than superficial tools like chatbots, emphasizing industry-wide transformation. Read about Sirma’s approach to AI adoption
6. What growth has Sirma experienced recently?
Between 2023 and 2025, Sirma reported 20% annual growth, with a 70% year-over-year increase in share value, demonstrating its strong performance in the European AI sector. Find out more about Sirma’s growth
7. What is a key takeaway for European entrepreneurs from Sirma’s success?
Sirma’s success showcases the importance of investing in foundational AI technologies, targeting high-compliance industries, and using a data-driven approach for sustained growth. Learn from Sirma's strategy
8. How does the Sirma.AI platform ensure data security?
The platform integrates hybrid models that clean and anonymize data locally before processing, in line with GDPR guidelines, ensuring data security for its clients. Read about Sirma.AI’s security features
9. What was Sirma’s initial focus in AI development?
Since its founding in the early 1990s, Sirma worked on advanced AI-driven projects such as expert systems and neural networks, long before the technology gained wider popularity. Dive into Sirma's AI legacy
10. What is Sirma’s long-term vision?
Sirma aims to lead in enterprise AI transformation with innovative, adaptable solutions while expanding its operations internationally and fostering sustainable corporate growth. Explore Sirma’s future plans
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.
