The journey of Startup Factory
OUR HISTORY
9
years of intense activity
103
Events and trainings
3 311
Participants in events and hackathons
307
Developed prototypes and projects
WHO ARE WE?
Startup Factory is a non-profit organization founded in March 2015 by a group of young entrepreneurs working in the IT sector.
What unites everyone is our willingness to support people who want to develop their digital skills and start their own business.
DEVELOPMENT
THE BEGINNING
March 2015
Establishment of the organization
Initiator: Emiliyan Enev
Founders: entrepreneurs working in the IT sector
At the core of the team are Vihren Ganev, Martin Panayotov, Kaloyan Tsvetkov and Ivaylo Sholekov. What unites them all is their willingness to support people who want to develop their digital skills and start their own business.
2015
The first coworking space in Ruse
In March 2015, Startup Factory opened the first coworking space in Ruse, which functioned successfully until January the 1st 2024.
March 28, 2015
Official opening of coworking space.
March 28, 2015 is the official opening of coworking space with the event “How do I fund my startup?”
Follows a series of events, discussions, demonstrations, a gaming tournament for board games – Business in games and games in business, series of themed events Biz Factory, which present successful stories of business ventures, seminars, lessons on various topics from the IT world, presentations and informal meetings. Free programming courses begin.
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DEVELOPMENT
INNOVATORS
29 - 31 May 2015
Hack Ruse 2015
Hack Ruse 2015 – the first hackathon in Ruse is organized with the partnership of Ruse University from May 29 to 31, 2015. The motto of the hackathon “Applications for the people of Ruse and the business” demonstrates the goal of the initiative – creating a software product that solves a problem of the city or makes the life of the people of Ruse easier and more convenient. The ambition of the organizers is the event to stimulate the application of modern technologies in the daily life of people and life in the city. The ceremony of rewarding .
November 6-8, 2015
Ruse Hack v 2.0
Second hackathon in Ruse – November 6-8, 2015. The subject of Ruse Hack v 2.0 is “Application for working with external data”. For the first time, special attention is paid to students, as they participate in a separate direction and compete with each other – Ruse Hack Juniors. The ceremony of rewarding.
March 26, 2016
Startup Factory is 1 year old!
On March 26, 2016 Startup Factory celebrates its first birthday with a cocktail and Romanian guests. A discussion panel is being held on the IT sector and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Romania and the capital Bucharest. The event marks the beginning of a series of Bulgarian-Romanian meetings for getting to know each other, seeking cooperation, launching partnerships and joint projects.
June - December 2016
Workshop for
digital skills
Workshop for digital skills takes place for the first time in Ruse in June – December 2016 – a series of thematic courses, workshops, demonstrations and mentoring sessions, aimed at developing the digital and technical skills of the citizens.
DEVELOPMENT
AMBITIOUS PROJECTS
May 2016 to October 2017
CODE4TECH
Among the most ambitious projects in the coming years are national series of hackathons CODE4TECH – programming competitions in major cities of Bulgaria: Shumen, Haskovo, Veliko Tarnovo, Varna and others. The competition series runs from May 2016 to October 2017.
2018
Startup Basics
Program „Startup Basics“ takes place in 2018 and is Startup Factory’s first intensive one-month program for building a startup strategy based on established methodologies for starting up a business.
July to November 2018
New technologies and
their application in the city
The project „ New technologies and their application in the city“ takes place from July to November 2018. It is when the possibilities and areas of application of blockchain technology in real life are presented for the first time in Ruse.
September-December 2019
Women in the digital world
Project „Women in the digital world“ takes place in September-December 2019. For the first time Startup Factory is focusing on the development of the digital skills of the ladies in Ruse.
October 2019, September 2020 and October 2023
Meet and code
During the European programming week in October 2019, September 2020 and October 2023 Startup Factory participates in the “Meet and Code” initiative with a series of motivating events for children and young people in the digital sphere.
December 2019
DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVE WORK
September 2020 – June 2021
The second edition of the complete „Training program for the development of digital skills“
January-March 2021
June 2021
The NGO house in Ruse
From June 2021, Startup Factory provides services in support of NGOs – foundations, associations, sports clubs and federations, community centers and boards of kindergartens and schools, as well as active people from Ruse. Startup Factory houses in its coworking space also the NGO house in Ruse.
October 2021 to July 2023
The third and fourth editions of the program „Development of digital and entrepreneurial skills in Ruse and the region“ take place over the next 2 years from October 2021 to July 2023.
February-March 2022
Pre-accelerator program Start business in the changing world
May 2022
Support of Ukrainians in Ruse
From May 2022, the association provides support for Ukrainians in Ruse,
organizes training in the Bulgarian language, as well as provides additional help with adaptation of the refugees in the city.
May 12, 2022
Blockchain and the future
of the public sector
The first initiative in Bulgaria to present the possibilities of decentralized technologies as a catalyst for transformation and modernization of the public sector, the Conference The future of public services powered by blockchain, is organized by Startup Factory in partnership with the Embassy of France and the French Institute in Sofia on May 12, 2022.
February-March 2023
Early stage entrepreneur program Startup Booster
July 2023
September 9-10, 2023
“Fake news hunters” – an interactive meeting with journalists in Ruse with the participation of journalists Christian Yulzari and Martin Dimitrov. Recording of the meeting.
October 2023
The only training in Bulgaria for replication of social ideas Replication Challenge
start March 2024
A series of initiatives to improve information security skills. On-demand video lessons on crypto security topics.
WE KEEP GOING!
WE HELP DEVELOP YOUR DIGITAL AND BUSINESS SKILLS FOR 8 YEARS ALREADY.
TOGETHER WE BUILD A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY
Over the past years, we have helped hundreds of young people from Ruse take their first steps in the digital field; dozens of employees, freelancers and start-ups from across the country to develop their digital and business skills; active people from the region to register their NGO organizations to formalize their struggle for meaningful causes.
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