I will be in Tirana from Dec 12th-15th.

If you are building a startup and are looking for investment, then let's meet.

Also, make sure to come to the PIRATE Meetup on December 14th.

Great people are going to be there. And Ervin from Publer is going to share his incredible story.

Ping me.🙏

So far, I haven't met anyone who has invested in Albanian ventures.

Either I just haven't met the right people yet (likely), or there aren't any investors/business angels around.

I refuse to believe the latter.

If you have invested in Albania - or know anyone - then please reach out.

To build a functioning #AlbanianStartupEcosystem we need

👉 entrepreneurs willing to take the leap,

👉 talented people who join startups early on,

👉 mentors who have built businesses, and

👉 capital.

We decided to invest directly into an Albanian entity.

Not because it was easy (it wasn't), but because we thought it was the right thing to do.

Also, to show that we are committed to the country for a longer period.

The idea was - and still is - to help build and grow a local startup ecosystem.

We actively scouted small software agencies in selected countries.

A ton of recommendations, lead to ~20 calls.

From those, we selected a few that seemed a great fit.

Then we flew out to meet founding teams.

Eventually, division5 was our favorite option.

We struck a deal and started building.

We invested because it was the right fit.

There was already a connection to Engjell as he had won the Pirates on Shore pitch event in Tirana and later pitched at PIRATE Summit. 🏴‍☠️

That connection - and many similar ones - helped in our simple investment process.

Where are the business angels in Albania? 🇦🇱🤔

That's what I have been wondering for four years now.

I have invested four years ago and am a regular visitor.

So far, I haven't met a single active(!) angel investor.

Some context 👇

But ultimately - whatever way you turn it - success in business is driven by creating customer value, being profitable (or having a path to profitability), and achieving collective goals.

Unlike in families.

🙏

A trust-based culture that balances freedom, responsibility, and performance.

A place that treats employees like the adults that they are.

Build on the belief that doing well and treating people well can go hand in hand.

It makes a lot of business sense to build a human-centered culture, though.

That's the core idea of how we work at PIRATE.global and the companies from the group.

However, companies can put humans and the company culture at the core of how they operate.

They can create a familial atmosphere.

If that is meant with family, then better say it like that or it will lead to misplaced expectations and disappointment.

Companies are not a family.

Leaders who say otherwise are either disingenuous or haven't thought it through.

Reason: In economically tough times people will get fired to save the company.

You wouldn't do that in a family.

Family is based on emotional bonds and - usually - a lifetime commitment.

What is the best way to find interesting people to follow on here?

Discovery seems kind of hard (or I don't get it).

Everybody that sees how easy it is to build with NoCode will quickly understand its potential.

Curious? A great place to start is the podcast or website of VisualMakers.

👉 www.visualmakers.de

That's why the mission of www.VisualMakers.de is to make tech accessible to everyone.

NoCode helps with that democratization of tech. 🌐

It tears down the hurdles for the 99% of non-coders to build.

They can now:

👉 Automate processes
👉 Digitalize projects
👉 Transform ideas into digital products

The power of #NoCode isn't (just) about technology.

👉 It's about accessibility. 👈

That's the shift!

An image says more than 1,000 words.

Here: Code vs. NoCode

Both have their place.

And we could argue for hours why one is better than the other.

That discussion misses the point.

👇

Moments of crisis and change are not just predictable.

From a birds-eye view, they are desirable.

These moments hold the possibility for growth, transformation and progress.

Easy to spot in hindsight.

Hard to see when they happen.

And we may just find that - with that transformation - the world changes tremendously.

At least our world.

And that makes all the difference.

Are you safe?