Entrepreneur Liviu Tănase moved to the U.S. in 2014, encouraged by friends and business partners to settle there. A year later, he started developing the email validation company ZeroBounce, which became fully operational in 2017.

The company, which introduced eight more email optimization services in time, rose to no. 40 on the Inc. 5000 list three years after launching. Liviu Tănase, who has been based in Southern California for the past ten years, told Romania Insider more about why he chose the path of entrepreneurship, why he is a fan of the concept of failing fast, the importance of a strong team, and his focus on long-term returns. More in the interview below.

You describe yourself as a serial entrepreneur – having founded five companies. Could you tell us more about how, when, and why you decided to take this path?

I was a teenager in the nineties, and the social and political environment in Romania was changing so much. All of a sudden, there was a world of possibilities opening up to us. It felt like you could do anything and be whatever you wanted. 

I'm also a huge movie buff, so I would see these business people in movies who seemed to be living such a fulfilling life, doing things that had an impact on the world. I started to wonder if that life was possible for me. And because I'm a man of action, I also began to take the first steps in that direction. 

Being passionate about computers and the internet, I naturally gravitated towards this industry. Although it was in its early stages, it felt so promising. My first business venture was building and selling computers. Those first few years were difficult, but affirmed by belief: I could use my skills and energy to create something that makes an impact. 

That's what continues to keep me engaged and driven as an entrepreneur. Regardless of the scale, you can make someone's life better – and that's priceless to me.

What were the first lessons learned in the ventures you developed in Romania? Was there anything particularly challenging or propitious at the time? Is there something you would do differently in hindsight?

The most challenging part was that I had no funds. I was very young and starting from scratch. It's really difficult to get a business off the ground with your own money when you don't have a lot of it. Today, things are a lot different, especially for U.S. startups that get funding and can grow much more easily. In Romania, at the time, there weren't such opportunities. 

However, what worked in my favor was that the social and business climate was evolving so much, although things were still rather chaotic. It felt like a breeze of fresh air was sweeping through all industries, and that was encouraging. I managed to grow that first business by reinvesting most of what I was making and thinking about long-term returns instead of quick wins. That's something that stayed with me through the years – a lesson I probably learned from having a rocky start. 

From there, I went on to reinvest and build other businesses, hire teams, and build better products. I wouldn't do anything differently, but it was particularly hard to find the right people. Recruiting great talent is still a challenge for me.

How have you approached this challenge?

I learned that good people bring other good people with them. So, if an employee I've trusted over the years has a suggestion for a role I'm trying to fill, I pay attention. It's not a bulletproof approach, but it has helped.  

How did you fund your first business? What have you learned in this respect since?

What funded my first business was customer demand. The service I was providing began generating interest, and I used that opportunity to start an actual business – by myself. Today that would be much more difficult to do. Developing a product involves having a team, and having people on your payroll is a great responsibility. It's much harder to implement an idea. Plus, there's a risk you need to be aware of: your business idea may not work. 

That's why I'm such a fan of the concept of failing fast. You need to test your product as soon as you can so you can figure out if you are on the right track. 

How did the move to the U.S. come about? How did the experience of starting your first business there go? What had prepared you for it?

One of my business partners had moved from Romania to the U.S. the year before, so my wife and I came to visit. We enjoyed it a lot and even saw a house that we liked, and that was affordable back then. Now, real estate prices are through the roof. 

My business partner kept telling me I should join him and expand a company he'd already started in the U.S., named BenGen. So we did. ZeroBounce wasn't even an idea. When I got the idea, inspired by another email marketing business I had back home, everyone discouraged me. My business partners told me it was a waste of time to start an email validation company. 

It took some convincing, but eventually, I got everyone on board and took full responsibility for the ZeroBounce project. That meant I had to build and grow it the way I envisioned it - for it to be a leader in its space. 

While I was doing further research on the tech behind email validation, I met the person who helped me build the platform. As I told you earlier, finding the right people is key - you can't do much without a strong team. Pretty quickly, we gathered a small group of experts who helped us build a product we could test. We did a soft launch and gathered market feedback, then became fully operational in early 2017. 

What prepared me for it? Probably my ambition to make it happen, no matter what. And everything I'd learned during my years as an entrepreneur in Romania: do things fast and in a cost-effective way.

As for the cultural shock, it was a positive one. Everyone wanted to help and didn't expect anything in return. The U.S. business environment is very encouraging. From this standpoint, it was smooth sailing.

How would you compare the entrepreneurial ecosystems in Romania and the U.S.?

The two ecosystems are vastly different, and that has a lot to do with people's mindsets. In the U.S., entrepreneurs take bigger risks and invest a lot in ideas that may not seem too promising at first. Sometimes, they invest in multiple ideas at once. But it's the kind of place where you could create something simple and build a million-dollar business. The ability to expand is tremendous.

In Romania, entrepreneurs are more cautious. There's a bigger fear of failure, which is understandable, but it can make you anxious. That stress will reflect in your business. Americans are calm and confident in the future. They make big bets and do it with faith. 

In terms of work culture, our Romanian employees are top-notch at executing but could improve their management skills. Management is something Americans excel at. In my company, we have a blend of Romanian and American employees, so they're all learning from each other every day. We get the best of both worlds! 

What advice would you give to anyone looking to start their own venture?

The best advice is to get up and running with a minimum viable product as soon as you can. Don't worry if it's not perfect. ZeroBounce has been around for more than seven years, and we're far from perfect. You'll have time to adjust and iterate variations of your original concept, but first, get out there and test it. Test it so that if it fails, you fail fast and don't end up losing a lot of money.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you have to be really passionate about your idea. You have to believe in it, even when others don't. Any business can be great, no matter the industry. You can build software, open a clothing store, or bake pastries. Whatever business you start, it can be a success when you dedicate yourself to making it the best there is.

Put yourself in your customers' minds - if you were them, what would you want from your product? How would you like to be treated? Then, do everything you can to create that experience for your customers and consistently provide it. 

What is your favorite part of the entrepreneurial experience and in developing a company?

I love that moment when a product is finally out there and the customers are using it. There's a combination of nervousness and excitement that makes all the efforts worthwhile. 

My next favorite part is seeing that something we do is creating a trend in the market. ZeroBounce improved things in our industry- like offering 24/7 live customer support and a money-back guarantee - that some of our competitors are now trying to adopt. 

I knew we had to stand out in our space, so we tailored the whole experience to serve our customers as best we could. It's great to see that those efforts are also reflecting on the industry and raising standards. We'll continue to do that so we can all improve.

Would you return to start another business in Romania? How do you see the local market's potential?

I still have a business in Romania - a digital publishing company called Evowise - and I've invested a lot of heart into it. Even though I moved to the U.S. ten years ago, I always wanted to keep my connection to home. Evowise is just one way I do that. 

However, starting a whole new business in Romania would require me to return for at least a year or so. It would be difficult, especially since my wife and I just had a baby. Also, Romania's appetite for email marketing is still modest, so I'm not sure there would be a market for another email software. That's what I'm most passionate about.

Romania's strength lies in its people. I work closely with my employees back home, and we continue to hire there - for ZeroBounce and Evowise. I never cease to be impressed with the level of expertise Romania has to offer. The people propel the country forward, and they are some of the best people you'll ever find.

You have founded businesses in telecom and digital marketing. Are there other industries you would be interested in?

Yes, I'm very interested in cybersecurity and plan to start a cybersecurity company within the next two years. It seems like I can't sit still and give myself a break. My brain is always brewing some new idea. 

As a serial entrepreneur, Liviu Tănase has founded five companies. He is a contributor to Inc., Entrepreneur, and other publications. Forbes magazine included him on the 2021 Forbes Next 1000 list of "upstart entrepreneurs redefining the American dream."

(Photo: ZeroBounce)

simona@romania-insider.com