The Investor Backing CEE Founders To Go Global

CEE has no shortage of technical talent. But what does it actually take to turn that talent into global, category-defining companies? In this episode of The Emergents Podcast, hosts Mary Alcantara and Csongor Biás sit down with László Czirják, Managing Partner at Interactive Venture Partners. László has spent decades investing across Central and Eastern Europe, from the early post-Berlin Wall years to today’s startup ecosystem. In this conversation, he shares a long-term investor’s perspective on what has changed, what still holds the region back, and why ambition alone is not enough. We cover why founders need to research the market before they start coding, how founder vesting protects alignment, why trust matters so much between investors and entrepreneurs, and why selling into the US market is harder than many technical teams expect. The conversation also explores the founding vision behind Interactive Venture Partners, the importance of serial entrepreneurs, the cultural legacy of fear of failure, and why the region needs more large outcomes to create a stronger ecosystem flywheel. Guest: László Czirják - Managing Partner, Interactive Venture Partners Hosts: Mary Alcantara - Partner, Interactive Venture Partners Csongor Bias - Managing Director, Startup Hungary Powered by: Startup Hungary / Interactive Venture Partners ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:39 From New York banking to post-wall Hungary 05:21 From investment banking to long-term investing 10:14 PE vs VC: the four ways investors make money 13:13 Building iEurope and backing early regional winners 15:51 Finding technical talent in Central and Eastern Europe 21:16 How Interactive Venture Partners started 24:38 Changing the culture around failure and ambition 26:30 How IVP invests and supports founders 31:30 Why serial entrepreneurs matter 35:19 How the new generation of founders is changing 40:30 Founder mistakes: market research, vesting, and “build it and they will come” 45:57 How AI is reshaping SaaS and venture expectations 51:00 Do the best founders need investor help? 54:12 Hiring, US go-to-market, and cultural misreads 55:59 Should CEE founders move to the US? 01:03:46 Fear of…