{"id":487605,"date":"2025-10-10T06:12:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T06:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/487605\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T06:12:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T06:12:20","slug":"most-relocated-founders-say-europes-ecosystems-in-a-bubble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/487605\/","title":{"rendered":"Most relocated founders say Europe\u2019s ecosystems \u2018in a bubble\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new survey by Zubr Capital<\/strong> has revealed that the majority of relocated tech founders in Europe feel shut out of local startup ecosystems, describing them as \u201cin a bubble\u201d<\/strong> and often lacking meaningful access to capital and quality support<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The findings, published in September 2025<\/strong>, stem from the Relocated Tech Survey<\/a><\/strong>, which collected insights from over 100 participants<\/strong>, primarily startup founders, along with investors and senior executives.<\/p>\n

Respondents were drawn from major relocation hubs across Europe, with Poland and Cyprus<\/strong> among the most represented, offering what Zubr Capital described as a rare dual founder\u2013investor perspective<\/strong> on how well Europe integrates incoming entrepreneurial talent.<\/p>\n

According to the survey, 82 per cent of relocated founders<\/strong> said that local ecosystems are \u201cin a bubble\u201d, while 51 per cent<\/strong> considered this situation critical<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Only 34 per cent<\/strong> of respondents viewed their local venture capital market<\/strong> as developed, while 55 per cent<\/strong> reported that raising funds was difficult<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Although 70 per cent<\/strong> of founders found accelerators accessible, only 20 per cent<\/strong> rated them as truly valuable<\/strong>, underscoring a perceived gap in quality rather than availability.<\/p>\n

Mentorship and community support also appeared weak, with just 40 per cent<\/strong> reporting good access to mentors and 37 per cent<\/strong> noting a developed culture of give-back within their ecosystems.<\/p>\n

The survey further revealed a strong appetite for networking<\/strong>, with 68 per cent<\/strong> of respondents expressing interest in more events and 66 per cent<\/strong> finding them valuable. However, only 31 per cent<\/strong> were satisfied with the current frequency of such gatherings.<\/p>\n

From the investors\u2019 perspective, the primary challenge was not late-stage capital but talent shortage<\/strong>. Only 22 per cent<\/strong> reported strong deal flow, and 67 per cent<\/strong> identified the main bottleneck as a lack of business talent<\/strong>, compared with just 33 per cent<\/strong> who blamed capital constraints.<\/p>\n

Konstantin Zapolianski<\/strong>, Senior Investment Director at Zubr Capital<\/strong>, said that relocated founders could play a crucial role in shaping the continent\u2019s innovation landscape.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelocated founders may become a strong driver of innovation and growth for the European tech ecosystem,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, our survey shows how easily this talent can be overlooked,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

He also warned that \u201cEurope risks underutilising the very people who have the hunger<\/strong>, resilience and ingenuity to build the next generation of startups<\/strong>.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFor investors, that gap is a signal that by backing relocated entrepreneurs, they can tap into some of the most promising deal flow on the continent<\/strong>,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

The report highlighted a paradox at the heart of Europe\u2019s startup scene<\/strong>. While the continent successfully attracts ambitious founders from abroad, it often fails to convert this inflow into investable growth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For policymakers, the results expose structural weaknesses<\/strong> in local ecosystems, while for venture capitalists, they signal underexplored opportunities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As global competition for tech talent and innovation intensifies, Zubr Capital warned that Europe\u2019s ability to integrate relocated entrepreneurs<\/strong> will be key to its future standing in the global innovation economy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It should be mentioned that Zubr Capital is a Cyprus and Poland-based growth equity firm<\/strong> focused on technology investments, managing more than $250 million<\/strong> and holding stakes in over 20 portfolio companies<\/strong>, including two unicorns<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Its investors include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development<\/strong>, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank<\/strong>, and Wargaming<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new survey by Zubr Capital has revealed that the majority of relocated tech founders in Europe feel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187],"class_list":{"0":"post-487605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115348396186306137","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}