EU-Startups Podcast

Join us for an interview with Momchil Sabev, Director of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), as we explore the critical role of public institutions in shaping Europe’s startup and innovation landscape.

With a career that bridges entrepreneurship, private sector consulting, and high-level EU leadership, Momchil shares how his diverse experiences inform his approach to supporting ambitious founders and driving systemic change across the continent.

This conversation shines a spotlight on EISMEA’s often-unsung but vital work in strengthening Europe’s innovation ecosystem. We delve into the biggest hurdles startups face when scaling internationally, the EIC’s growing impact in DeepTech, and why non-financial support - such as mentorship, strategic partnerships, and access to expertise - can be just as transformative as funding.

Momchil also explains how EISMEA and the EIC are tackling the fragmentation that still hinders startups from less-connected regions, ensuring opportunity is distributed evenly across Europe.

Looking ahead, Momchil paints a vision for the next decade of European innovation—one where EISMEA and the EIC act as catalysts for a more integrated, competitive, and founder-friendly ecosystem.

Join us for a conversation with Oana Jinga, co-founder and Chief Commercial & Product Officer at Dexory, an innovator in warehouse robotics and intelligence.

In this interview, Oana shares her journey from leading strategic partnerships at Google and Telefónica to co-founding a company that bridges the gap between cutting-edge robotics and practical, scalable solutions for the logistics industry.

Oana shares the evolution of Dexory - from its early days as BotsAndUs to its current status as a European scale-up with nearly €300 million in funding, including a $165 million raise in 2025. She discusses the challenges of transitioning from DeepTech innovation to global scalability, and how the company balances technical ambition with real-world customer needs.

With a focus on Physical AI and international expansion, including growth in the US, Oana also explores the broader landscape of warehouse robotics in Europe.

The conversation tackles critical questions about the future of work: How can robotics and AI augment human roles rather than replace them? What responsibilities should remain uniquely human, and which tasks are better suited to machines? Oana also addresses the ethical implications of AI in robotics, emphasizing the importance of building unbiased, transparent systems and the industry’s blind spots in this area.

Beyond technology and scaling, Oana advocates for making robotics a more inclusive and attractive career path. She challenges the outdated stereotype of robotics as a male-dominated field, highlighting the diverse roles - from data science to commercial strategy- that define the industry today.

Join us for a conversation with Karin Fleck, the CEO and Founder of Vienna Textile Lab, an innovator in sustainable textile dyeing through biotechnology.

With a decade of experience in the oil and energy sector, Karin transitioned her expertise to address one of the fashion industry’s most pressing challenges: the environmental and human cost of synthetic dyes.

In this interview, she shares her journey from managing large-scale industrial projects to founding a company dedicated to creating bio-based, eco-friendly dyes derived from microorganisms. Discover how Vienna Textile Lab is transforming the textile industry by offering a commercially viable, safe, and sustainable alternative to traditional synthetic dyes.

The conversation also touches on the role of Women TechEU in supporting deep-tech startups and the importance of fostering a collaborative ecosystem to drive meaningful change in the industry.

Join us for an interview with Angela Ivanova, the co-founder and CEO of LAM’ON Compostable Films, a Bulgarian company at the forefront of sustainable packaging solutions.

Angela shares her journey of addressing one of the most pressing environmental challenges: the 1.2 million metric tons of laminated paper wasted annually. LAM’ON has developed bio-based, compostable laminating films and packaging foils that seamlessly integrate with paper recycling, offering a circular economy solution without compromising quality.

In this discussion, Angela dives into the challenges of building LAM’ON from the ground up. She reflects on the gender gap in entrepreneurship, the moments that led her to focus on biodegradable materials, and the hurdles of product development, industry adoption, and scaling a startup in Bulgaria.

The conversation also explores the real-world impact of LAM’ON’s innovations. Angela discusses how companies are transitioning to their compostable films, the barriers to widespread adoption, and whether customers are driven by genuine environmental consciousness or regulatory pressures.

With a sharp focus on the future of sustainable materials, she examines the role of technology, infrastructure, and consumer behavior in making compostable packaging mainstream within the next five years.

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Nikita Miller, Chief Product Officer at Perk, formerly TravelPerk, to discuss the company’s evolution into an AI-native travel and spend management platform and its global ambitions.

Nikita joined Perk in September 2025 as the Barcelona-founded scale-up was expanding beyond travel into spend and expense management, integrating acquisitions such as Yokoy, and accelerating its growth in the US.

Central to Perk’s strategy is eliminating what Nikita calls “shadow work”: repetitive tasks such as reconciling receipts, managing invoices, booking travel and navigating company policies. By automating these processes, Perk aims to give employees more time for higher-value work.

Nikita argues that the debate around AI should go beyond whether it replaces jobs. While AI can handle repetitive tasks and improve reporting, strategic judgement, decision-making and understanding why a company should pursue a particular direction remain fundamentally human.

The conversation also explores how AI is changing hiring and company structures. Rather than simply reducing headcount, Nikita believes AI is creating demand for new skill sets, particularly systems thinking as businesses develop increasingly interconnected AI-driven products.

Perk is already moving towards a more agentic future, connecting travel, spend, invoices and events while investing in personalisation. Its years of travel and spending data allow it to improve recommendations for travellers and give CFOs and administrators greater visibility over policies, approvals and costs.

Nikita also discusses Perk’s expansion into the US, arguing that its experience operating across complex European markets has prepared it well for localisation abroad. The company’s recent €300 million credit facility is supporting investment across AI, product development, invoicing, corporate cards and new products.

Looking ahead, Nikita describes Perk’s ambition to build a “100-year company” focused on removing administrative complexity and helping people use their time more meaningfully.

Key Points

• Perk’s evolution from TravelPerk into an AI-native travel and spend management platform.
• Eliminating “shadow work” by automating repetitive travel, expense and invoicing tasks.
• Why AI should be judged by the higher-value work it enables, not only its impact on headcount.
• How AI and personalisation are improving recommendations, approvals, reporting and spend visibility.
• Perk’s US expansion and long-term ambition to build a global “100-year company”.