At the age of 12, I sold a used bike for more than it was worth new… and that’s where it all started!

Or it might have been reading my first science magazine. What’s certain is that:

I have been a future geek and an entrepreneur my whole life.

I was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. As a child, I loved trying new things and was relentlessly figuring out my next big move. After failing to become a professional basketball player at the age of 10 and a famous guitarist at the age of 14, I found a passion for acting. For 6 years I have performed across the country and received several awards. During all this time, I was managing a national arts festival and was organizing projects and events around the city. Hustle was a lifestyle. What stuck with me through my whole childhood and teenage years was business making and my favorite magazine, Science & Technology. That fueled my fascination with the future.

At the age of 18, I moved from Eastern Europe to the United States. I came to study at the University of Rochester where I majored in Accounting, Entrepreneurship, and Social Psychology. There I realized that my passion for business and technology combined with my fascination about the future could all be developed in the venture space. Since then, I have dedicated my time to helping people build incredible products and services. Afterward, I pursued my Masters of Professional Accounting at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, the number one graduate accounting program in the nation.

I have worked at leading companies:

Companies where Vlad Cazacu worked (Deloitte, Starbucks, University of Rochester, iZone, UT McCombs))

See what my managers had to say:

“Vlad is the youngest and at the same time the most mature intern that I have worked with in Deloitte. He is focused, organised and fast. Vlad has initiative and he is autonomous and responsible. He delivers the requested input and more. I recommend Vlad for his current capabilities and for the future outstanding professional that he will become. And, above all, I highly recommend him for the great person that he already is!”

— Irina Popovici, Senior Manager at OTP Bank and former Senior Manager at Deloitte

“When I first hired Vlad, we got lunch so we could get to know each other better. By the time we were done with our meal, I knew that he was someone who I would want to work with for the rest of my life.”

— Grant Dever, Author of Lead The Future and former Community Manager at iZone

I have started 3 businesses:

Startups Vlad Cazacu founded (BarterOut, North of the Soul)

My entrepreneurial journey was full of experiments, prototypes, failures, and occasional wins. From organizing events to later projects and even national festivals, I have learned what it takes to build a great team, be goal-oriented and measure success. In 2016 I took the leap and founded a small consulting practice with my good friend Pavel Stan. After a productive journey, we closed shop and started our next venture, an ed-tech platform to solve student needs. In 2019 I stepped down from my executive role to focus on publishing my first book. On July 27th, 2019 When They Win, You Win was published by New Degree Press. Two years ago, I started working on my third startup, Flowlie Technologies, a comprehensive data infrastructure and operating system for the venture capital space.

I have invested at 4 different funds and syndicates:

Funds where Vlad Cazacu worked (ffVC, VU Venture Partners, Assure Syndicates, Fuel Venture Capital)

Having experienced the deal life cycle from Pre-Seed to Pre-IPO at 3 different funds an 1 syndicate, having worked with over 800 angel investors and family offices along the way, and having co-invested with 50+ funds in 40+ companies, I have started to leave my mark on the venture capital space in the United States, Europe, and LATAM. I take every transaction as a long-term partnership and I love working with determined founders, business leaders, and dreamers who are ready to change the world.