Is there a community for bootstrapped founders in the Balkans?
Yes. Bootstrapped Makers is a community for bootstrapped founders, started by Panche Isajeski (Skopje roots, now in Tallinn) to help the Balkan ecosystem. SaaStanak, Starter, Startit and Startup Macedonia are good regional communities too.
By Panche Isajeski · Tallinn · Checked 22 October 2026
- Bootstrapped Makers is for founders with no investors, from no idea or $0 to the first paying customers.
- Started for the Balkans. Online, in English, open to anyone.
- Many members spent years in outsourcing.
- I run it, so I am marked. The other four are real and worth joining too.
Who started Bootstrapped Makers, and why?
I did. Im from Skopje. I built Kromatika from there with $2M in grants and no investors, and exited in 2023. Now I live in Tallinn.
This year my product AgentaOS sat at $0 for four months. Then ~$10k MRR in 60 days.
Back home there are so many good developers. Years of building for clients abroad. Then they make their own product, and it stalls on the price and the first customer. I was in outsourcing too.
I started Bootstrapped Makers to help people here. The Balkan ecosystem needs more makers.
Who is it for?
Many members are developers who spent years in outsourcing. What they miss is rarely the code. It is four things:
- Pricing. Years of hourly rates, and no idea what a product or a fixed package should cost.
- Positioning. Who is it for, and why would they pay instead of doing nothing.
- A first community. Nobody around who has sold their own thing.
- The indie mindset. Ship small, ask for money early, talk to buyers yourself.
SaaS founders, agencies, freelancers and people selling a course or a digital product all fit. It runs online and in English, so you do not have to be in the Balkans.
What other founder communities are there in the Balkans?
Good ones. Most are for startups in general, not only bootstrapped ones. Each was checked on its own site on 22 October 2026.
| Community | Where | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bootstrapped Makers Note: I run this one | Online, in English. Started for the Balkans | Founders' chat, playbooks, live workshops and an open-source AI team | Bootstrapped founders from no idea or $0 to the first paying customers |
| SaaStanak | Started in Zagreb in 2021. Meetups in cities across the region, a yearly conference in Croatia | A community and conference for SaaS founders and operators in Southeast Europe | SaaS founders who want to meet others in person |
| Starter | Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina | A founder community: meetups, workshops, mentoring and a yearly conference | Founders and would-be founders in BiH |
| Startit | Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia | Tech media and community run by the nonprofit SEE ICT: news, events, education | Staying close to the Serbian tech scene |
| Startup Macedonia | North Macedonia | A grassroots association for the startup ecosystem since 2016, with reports and the MKstartups Space community center | Founders in North Macedonia who want the local ecosystem |
Tell me if I missed yours, or got it wrong, and I will fix it. The more the better. This region needs all of them.
How is Bootstrapped Makers different?
The others are wider: startups, tech, funding, events. Good for meeting people.
Bootstrapped Makers is narrow on purpose. No investors. One goal: from $0 to your first paying customers, then toward $10k MRR. I show the steps I ran, with real numbers, and the founders check each other's work.
Members also get my AI team, Bootstrapped OS, with what I learned plugged in. The team itself is free and open source. Other tools I use: the best Claude Code plugins for founders.
Going global too? See communities for bootstrapped makers, compared.
Questions founders ask
Do I have to live in the Balkans to join Bootstrapped Makers?
No. It started for the Balkans, but it runs online and in English, and founders from anywhere join.
Is Bootstrapped Makers only for SaaS founders?
No. Agencies, freelancers and people selling a service, a course or a digital product fit too. Many members came from outsourcing.
Are there in-person founder events in the Balkans?
Yes. SaaStanak runs meetups across the region and a yearly conference in Croatia. Starter runs meetups and a conference in Banja Luka. Startit lists events in Serbia.
Can I join more than one community?
Yes, and I would. Meet people at the regional events. Use Bootstrapped Makers for the steps to your first paying customers.
Bootstrapped Makers, for solo founders working toward their first paying customer. Panche Isajeski, creator of bootstrappedmakers.com