Paul Zoicas

Cluj-Napoca, Romania, (-,-, https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulzoicas/ Curriculum Vitae Paul Zoicas Profile: An internationally-minded person who has lived in Romania, Denmark and Belgium. Active in the VC & Startup ecosystem as a Scout and Mentor with an extensive focus on cleantech, fintech, payments, and B2B SaaS. Enthusiastic and committed graduate from Aarhus University, Denmark, currently working as Business Development Manager & Strategic Partnerships at a scaleup payments fintech. Work Experience STARTUP MENTOR 08..2022-present Alchemist Accelerator, San Francisco ● VC Funding Guidance: Offering actionable advice to startups on navigating the complex landscape of VC funding, tailored to their industry and growth stage ● Pitch Deck Wizardry: Crafting compelling pitch decks that resonate with investors, highlighting a startup's vision, value proposition, and growth potential ● Investor Relations: Sharing proven tactics for establishing meaningful connections with VCs, and fostering relationships built on trust and mutual value STARTUP MENTOR Startupbootcamp, Amsterdam ● Mentor for the Fintech, Mobility & Transportation and Sustainability programs ● Focusing on helping startups with biz dev, fundraising and deck creation 08..2022-present BDR & PARTNERSHIPS 07..2022-present Macropay, Cluj-Napoca ● Successfully negotiated and closed high-value deals with partners, optimizing terms and ensuring mutually beneficial agreements ● Scout and source digital companies to partner with or acquire. Went through the full M&A process of three micro-acquisitions (research, deal sourcing, due diligence, closing, integration) ● Utilized data analytics and market insights to make informed decisions, optimizing the product portfolio and improving overall business performance ● Managed and cultivated strong relationships with clients, ensuring high levels of satisfaction and repeat business. Implemented customer feedback to enhance product offerings. ● Established and nurtured strategic partnerships with key players in the online payments ecosystem, partnerships with licensed Financial Institutions ● Contributing to the company's successful integration of technology talent as it scaled up ● Product Owner/Scrum Master on the company’s new Back Office for the payment gateway STARTUP SCOUT 10.2021-present Flashpoint VC, London, remote ● Scout promising B2B SaaS startups in the CEE, Baltics, Finland and Israel and recommend them to Investment Directors for possible investment if they fit Flashpoint’s investment criteria ● Scout growth startups in Europe looking for Venture Debt and scout tech talent for the fund’s startups ● Scout early-stage investors, employees and founders looking to sell their shares to Flashpoint Secondary fund BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER- The Private Investment Group & The Bridge app, Dubai, remote ● Develop partnerships with incubators, accelerators and VCs for The Bridge - Innovation Funding Platform to fuel strategic growth. Managed to grow the platform to over 30 partnerships, 230 startups, and 250 investors( around 25% of them from GCC/Dubai) ● Organised Investor Networking events in Dubai, Monaco where VCs and tech startups from the local and international ecosystems have participated ● Directed meetings and produced presentations for Series A startups, VC funds ● Suggest improvements in business strategies based on customer feedback mechanisms ● Developing initiatives for new projects with the product development team ● Co-lead with CMO the Marketing and Social media activities, created a weekly video show in which I interview some of our VC partners for tech and investing insights ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE- Red Flag Consulting, Brussels, Belgium ● Worked in the early stages of a global campaign for one of Red Flag’s clients ● Regularly monitoring, analyzing and reporting on both traditional and new media coverage across Europe. Additionally, following regulatory and political developments around topics of interest for Red Flag clients, with a focus on EU’s health, digital, environmental policies 1 Cluj-Napoca, Romania, (-,-, https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulzoicas/ ● Drafting strategic communication documents, and research reports and coordinating the social media accounts for various Red Flag clients INNOVATION LEAD & EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS- Digital Transformers, Cluj-Napoca, Romania ● Generated an increase in the number of applicants to the PowerUp! competition by 80%, YoY ● Designed a strategic approach on prospecting for startups with high growth potential for InnoEnergy ● Facilitate connections with government departments and agencies, industry advocacy groups & community stakeholders in Romania ● Implementing Danube Energy+, a European pre-acceleration funded project to help Young Entrepreneurs transform their ideas into disruptive ventures ● Oversaw and implemented Primer, a pre-accelerator program that helps young entrepreneurs with their Business Development, Marketing & Sales and Pitching skills ● Attracted top talent Keynote Speakers for Techfest conference within a short deadline INNOVATION ANALYST & STARTUP SCOUT ● Collaborating with Digital Transformers on international growth consultancy for SMEs ● Startup scouting for Digital Transformers and assist with organizing Tech events - MACROECONOMY & MACRO TRENDS ANALYST- Schloer Consulting Group, Bucharest, Romania ● Hypothesized and provided extensive research on global current events in real-time ● Examined emerging socio-economic & geopolitical trends and advised on possible investment risks OPERATIONS MANAGER & Co-founder Scandinavian Beards, Aarhus, Denmark- ● Responsible for overseeing and directing sales and marketing in Denmark ● Oversaw aspects of new product introduction including conceptual design, product development, pricing and digital marketing. Managed to get our Facebook page to 1k likes in less than a month AMBASSADOR Venture Cup, Aarhus, Denmark- ● Promoted Venture Cup at Aarhus University & presented Venture Cap in university classes ● Cooperated with innovation and entrepreneurial organizations at the University INTERN (Parliamentary assistant) 09.2012 – 09.2013 European Parliament, Belgium ● Conducted research on different policy areas (internal market, consumer protection and public health) ● Co-organizing, coordinating and arranging events in the European Parliament and the MEP’s constituency ● Managing the office’s e-mail account and phone, and facilitated meetings, appointments and travel arrangements for the Parliament sessions held in Strasbourg ● Recorded minutes, voting explanations and informative articles on EU topics for a regional Romanian newspaper ● Participated and represented the MEP in trialogue meetings, and meetings with representatives of different lobby groups Education M.A. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 2011 – 2014 Aarhus University, Denmark ● Interdisciplinary study programme including social sciences and humanistic research methods ● Main focus on issues related to European affairs, EU’s institutions and policies ● Main courses: International Project Management, International Political Economy, International Law, Global Society, Global Law & Justice, International Relations & Organizations, Modern Global History B.A. POLITICAL SCIENCE- Babes Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania ● Main courses: Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, European Union law, Institutions & Policy, Quantitative & Qualitative research methods, Multiculturalism & Intercultural communication, International Relations, Public Policy, Political Ethics, Political Behavior, Comparative Politics IT Skills ● ● Excellent Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) & SPSS, Canva, Hubspot, Zoho CRM Certifications in Swift 4, Python for Finance (Quantopian), Python for Data Science, Language Skills Romanian English Danish Mother tongue Proficient user (European Level C2) Basic User (European Level A2), Module 4 at Lærdansk(DU3) 2