Builders & Bridges: Crossroads in Sofia
Sofia, October 17–19, 2025
Under Vitosha’s watch, the National Palace of Culture thrummed as Crossroads turned Bulgaria’s capital into a launchpad for founders, investors, and ecosystem builders. Club GLOBALS was right in the middle, powering connections across AI, Web3, and scaling tracks, and capping the day with our community happy hour.
Debut at Crossroads: the Sofia Edition
Crossroads in Sofia arrived with a simple promise: turn conversations into outcomes. Inside the National Palace of Culture, Startup Bulgaria pulled together a rare mix of founders, investors, and operators from across the Balkans and beyond. It was the right room for a first Club GLOBALS appearance, and we treated it like a field mission.
Friday: Map the Room, Make the Matches
Friday began in the VIP lounge, where coffee doubled as a briefing and we mapped the floor with a short list of must-meets. The expo offered a quick signal check, the opening set a practical, growth-first tone, and a late-morning panel on scaling in Southeast Europe sharpened the day’s focus. By lunch we’d already brokered founder–mentor pairings and penciled investor coffees; pitch rounds added urgency. As parallel tracks spun up, we split coverage and lined up the right intros, closing on the rooftop where warm conversations turned into calendar holds for the weekend.
Saturday: Doors Open, Momentum Builds
Saturday felt like momentum in motion, Hall 3 buzzing, workshops favoring tools over talk, and the Startup World Cup nudging founders to tighten their asks. In between sessions, we turned corridor run-ins into quick working huddles, pairing founders with the right mentors and pressure-testing go-to-market angles on the spot. By late afternoon the expo had shifted from browsing to business: laptops open, metrics on screens, and product demos getting sharper with every pass. By early evening, our shortlist was locked and a few quick wins were already in motion. The hallways never really quieted, energy carried straight into the night. Investor calendars filled quickly, with Sunday deep-dives penciled in and next-week calls queued. Our headline moment came that evening: Club GLOBALS Presents 7PM in Sofia: Sparking Connections at Crossroads (scroll down for the full 7PM recap).
Sunday: Focused Hustle and Final Flourish
Sunday was the sprint to clarity. Hackathon teams locked in final cuts while we helped a couple of founders frame outcomes and asks investors could react to quickly. The Founders’ Brunch traded polish for honesty, market entry puzzles, partner fit, term-sheet timing, and by Demo Day the best teams had translated ideas into something you could hold up and interrogate. Judging moved fast because the stories were tight. The afterparty felt more like a debrief than a celebration: calendars out, priorities set, and a shared sense that Sofia had just stepped up a weight class.
Highlights from Sofia
- Green Glasses Movement: Our signature green frames became a low-friction icebreaker, spot the glasses, start the conversation, skip the awkward opener. They signaled “I can help,” turning hallway glances into warm intros, fast context swaps, and a few on-the-spot collaborations.
- AI Hackathon: The room pulsed with deadline energy, rapid sprints, mentor drop-ins, and feature cuts that made demos tighter by the hour. Teams didn’t just build; they validated, stress-tested go-to-market angles, and left with clearer roadmaps (and a couple of investor deep-dives queued).
- New Connections, New Friends: Beyond stage time and workshops, the real magic was the people, founders, investors, and operators who showed up ready to help. What began as quick chats turned into shared notes, WhatsApp groups, and follow-up coffees, with several conversations already moving toward pilots and advisory roles.
Club GLOBALS Presents 7PM in Sofia: Sparking Connections at Crossroads
At 7 PM on Saturday, the energy at Crossroads shifted to something special: the Club GLOBALS networking event. It was the perfect blend of inspiration, opportunity, and community. Founders, investors, and ecosystem leaders gathered in a buzzing space where connections flowed as freely as the conversation.
Before diving into pitch-time excitement, we were lucky to have Gergana Stoichkova, startup mentor and ex-VC—deliver a quick but powerful pitch session. Her insights were a game-changer for many, helping founders refine their pitches and step into the spotlight with confidence.
Then, it was showtime. The stage was set, and we were thrilled to have a distinguished jury to judge the pitches:
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Milena Stoycheva, former Minister & Board Member of the Ministry of Innovation and Growth Bulgaria
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Andrey Kostyuk, General Partner & CEO of Alchemy Ventures
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George Gueorguiev, Managing Partner at Yanva & Disava Capital
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Ivaylo Ivanov, Director of Founder Institute CEE
The pitches came thick and fast, each one better than the last. From AI-driven solutions to breakthrough Web3 innovations, every pitch captured the audience’s attention, and the jury was tasked with making tough decisions. It was a truly exciting moment to witness.
A huge thank you to everyone who attended, to our amazing jury, and to Gergana Stoichkova for getting us all pitch-ready. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to wrap up an incredible day at Crossroads!
Final Word
As Sofia’s skyline lit up one last time for Crossroads, it was clear this wasn’t just another event, it was the start of something bigger. For us, it was our first time in Bulgaria, but absolutely not the last. The energy, the connections, and the conversations sparked here will keep moving forward long after the doors closed.
Whether it was over coffee, during a pitch, or in a hallway chat, one thing was undeniable: entrepreneurship doesn’t pause. The founders, investors, and innovators we met here are building the future, no matter the challenges ahead. Sofia welcomed us with open arms, and now, we’re more excited than ever to return.
