What backgrounds do founders raising in CEE have?
Mostly from other startups. Of the CEE founding teams who applied to BADideas in 2026 so far and described where they had worked, 63% had been at an earlier startup, and 52% included a founder who had started a company before. 13% had a founder with an exit.
The figures
| Where CEE founding teams worked before | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| An earlier startup | 64% | 63% |
| A corporate | 43% | 37% |
| Their own business | 30% | 31% |
| Big tech | 20% | 21% |
| A scaleup | 21% | 22% |
| Consulting | 9% | 10% |
| Banking or finance | 8% | 6% |
| Academia | 8% | 5% |
| CEE founding teams | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| With a repeat founder | 50% | 52% |
| With a founder who had an exit | 14% | 13% |
In BADideas application data, big tech and consulting are minority routes: most founders come from startups, corporates or their own businesses.
What is changing
| Quarter | CEE applicants with a repeat founder |
|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 50% |
| Q3 2025 | 43% |
| Q4 2025 | 60% |
| Q1 2026 | 54% |
| Q2 2026 | 53% |
| Q3 2026 | 49% |
Across CEE
CEE founders who applied in 2025 and 2026 so far, and each country with enough applicants to show. Countries with fewer applicants are still counted in the CEE row.
| Where the founder is based | Repeat founder on the team | Founder with an exit |
|---|---|---|
| All of CEE | 51% | 13% |
| Baltics | 51% | 12% |
| Latvia | 37% | 12% |
| Estonia | 68% | 11% |
| Lithuania | 48% | 15% |
| Poland | 59% | 17% |
| Ukraine | 40% | 10% |
| Romania | 53% | 25% |
| Czechia | 54% | 16% |
| Bulgaria | 76% | 20% |
Repeat founder on the team: highest in Bulgaria (76%), lowest in Latvia (37%).
What it means for you
- No single background is expected. Investors look for founders who know the problem; say how you came to know it.
- A first-time founder is normal. About half the teams have no one who founded before.
- Name the relevant experience, not the logo. What you did there matters more than where.
- Show how long the team has worked together. Founders who have built something together before answer the first question investors ask about a team.
Also answers
How many founders raising in CEE are repeat founders?
52% of CEE founding teams in 2026 so far included someone who had founded before.
How we measured it
- Source: applications founders sent to BADideas, enriched with publicly available information where applicable.
- Limits: these are CEE only and early-stage companies.
- On this page: Backgrounds are what the founders state about themselves; a team counts once for each kind of background any founder has. Founders describe themselves differently; a background not mentioned is not counted.
- Updated: 27 September 2026.
BADideas.fund, "What backgrounds do founders raising in CEE have?", updated 27 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/founder-backgrounds-cee
Read next
- How many founding teams raising in CEE have a technical founder?
- How common are solo founders raising in CEE, and how do they pitch?
- Do startups in CEE raise from angels before their pre-seed round?
Who we are
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