The Scaling Game: Bogdan Axinia on Talent, Digitalization and Communicating Transparently
Bogdan Axinia has extensive experience in eCommerce, digital innovation, and product management, currently serving as Managing Director at eMAG. Over the years, he has played a key role in driving technology-centric growth within the company. In addition to his work at eMAG, Bogdan is also a Board Member at Endeavor Romania, where he supports emerging entrepreneurs in scaling their businesses through mentorship and strategic guidance.
In your experience leading digital and eCommerce ventures, how does technology serve as a catalyst for entrepreneurs looking to scale quickly and sustainably from Romania?
It’s a model I’ve seen at eMAG for nearly 15 years, since I first started working here—technology is indispensable for growth and scaling, and it’s been central to both eMAG’s expansion and that of the companies we’ve invested in.
That’s actually how I began overseeing the Venture side: for a long time, I led the product & technology department, and people would ask me how we choose which companies to invest in and how we help them grow through technology. It’s a set of strategies we constantly keep refining, but one commonality is that any platform we invest in has to have the tech and data that make it scalable.
What else do you look at when evaluating these companies?
Naturally, we consider the market fit. But above all, we look at the people and their capacity to grow quickly, their drive, resilience and overall adaptability. A strong team is absolutely essential if you want to grow a company, so people really are the main factor.
Speaking of people, how do you attract & retain top talent?
It’s important to keep the projects challenging, to offer a chance to learn and grow. I believe we’ve done that fairly well over time, and I feel lucky to be working in an environment where continuous growth and development were always prioritized, and where we’ve been treated like proper grown-ups—independent, autonomous people with decision making capabilities, and who are involved in the work we do.
Endeavor places great emphasis on community and mentorship. How have collaborative networks or ecosystems shaped your own leadership approach?
I joined Endeavor because we believe in the power of networks and knowledge sharing. I’ve seen first-hand what a huge difference it made when eMAG had an investor who assumed a long term vision for the company, providing everything from exposure to know-how, to good terms of comparison for success, especially from foreign markets. We attended countless meetings, workshops, and conferences abroad, where we sat at the table with large-scale growth phenomena—exactly what we need to replicate in Romania.
On top of capital, access to know-how and networking helps you grow your business, beyond the immediate connections you make as an entrepreneur. There are certain areas where we, as Romanians, still have some catching up to do. We’re good at tech and product development, but in sales and scaling—particularly B2B sales—there’s still a lot to learn, partly because culturally we haven’t had many companies to scale globally from Romania. It’s a gap that Endeavor is uniquely positioned to help bridge.
Speaking of more developed markets, do you see any shifts in our market now that we’ve experienced some ecosystem growth?
I think we’ve come a very long way compared to 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or even 2 years ago. But there’s still a long way before we start comparing ourselves with developed markets. We have the openness, and I hope to see more and more success stories from people who learn on the job, scale, and then give back to the ecosystem, whether as employees, investors, or entrepreneurs. I have high hopes for this type of virtuous cycle. A successful company produces skilled people, capital that’s reinvested in the market, and know-how—and we at eMAG see it as our duty to get involved.
Two follow-up questions: beyond profit, is this responsibility of contributing to the ecosystem the companies’ or is it individual?
I believe basic human nature kicks in—giving back is inherent to us, but we could benefit from cultural encouragement within the ecosystem. I believe we’re on the right path demographically: we have a generation of entrepreneurs and managers who, after 30-plus years of capitalism, have evolved, and we can see the results of their involvement.
Companies know they can only benefit from the local market’s this evolution; it’s a win-win we shouldn’t shy away from. They offer many of their resources—money, time, a testing environment—because they follow their interests, and there’s nothing wrong with this mutually beneficial relationship.
Second follow-up question: are we learning to scale, or are we still missing some key elements?
I’m an optimist by nature, my optimistic answer is that while we’ve definitely advanced, there’s still plenty of room to grow. Growing past our comfort zones is not something that comes culturally easy in this geography, and Endeavor’s network can help provide real examples and know-how to offer some benchmarks. We don’t yet have many success stories of companies that have expanded globally from Romania. Yes, we’ve seen growth inside Romania, but things are very different when it comes to global markets. And our local market is big enough that many companies manage to survive just by staying here. Still, it’s essential we learn to measure ourselves on a global level, which is a task for the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem.
You’ve watched eMAG grow into the national success it is today. How do you maintain strong leadership and good communication standards during periods of intense expansion?
Some things can never be “too good.” Communication is one of those things. I haven’t yet found a company that communicates too well. For every important business decision everyone on the team has to understand the reasoning, as well as to show accountability for the things that don’t work. We’ve hit plenty of ceilings ourselves—there’s no shame in that—but we learned to be transparent about them, because it’s the only healthy way forward. When you’ve got teams that have poured time, energy, and passion into projects that fail and get shut down, it’s vital to present the rationale behind those decisions in a way that doesn’t impact morale.
It’s not an easy thing to do; it’s a test of maturity we face daily as we grow. However, if I had to sum it up and offer advice to founders who are leading scaling companies, it would be to always communicate the reasons behind their decisions. Another thing I find important is celebrating small accomplishments, another area where things don’t come as naturally to us from a cultural perspective.
How do you balance keeping teams innovative and open to new ideas, with high operational pressures?
That’s a great question and definitely one of the hardest things to pull off in a company, but it tends to come in cycles. After a while, you learn to allocate time and resources so that after a busy stretch you can step back and make decisions that help reinvent your business.
Leadership plays a key role by making room for people to see what’s happening around them, even in a fast-paced growth environment. Simply chasing technology for technology’s sake isn’t a solution, but neither is being so blatantly set in your ways that you become irrelevant. There’s a balance there that allows your team to be proactive, and it’s a cultural responsibility to find it and to stick to it.
When a company transitions from traditional models to a more digital approach, what key challenges should founders anticipate?
It’s not really about technology or digitization itself; it’s about resistance to change, having a clear reason why, cultural alignment within the organization, and addressing the fears and concerns that arise when people see these shifts. From our experience, digitization creates far more and better-paid jobs. The fact that we digitized our warehouses ultimately helped us become more efficient, employ more people, and reduce operational costs, which translated into lower prices and quicker delivery times for our customers. We understand there are fears, but digitization is an untapped powerhouse of local business growth.
Are we growing fast enough as a country?
If we look at DESI—the EU’s indicator of a society’s level of digitalization—the optimist in me sees plenty of room to improve, given that Romania sits right at the bottom. We should each understand and communicate the value of digitization, especially since we’ve got positive examples like Greece, which created a “Bible of digitalization” and grew significantly during the past years.
Digitization fosters prosperity not only for the entities driving it but also for the beneficiaries and society at large, and success stories can go a long way in this mindset shift.
And finally, what are some tech trends that get you excited for 2025?
This may sound a bit dull, but it ties back to the previous question. I’m a strong believer in the power of digitization at every social level, which is something I hope to see more often on Romania’s public agenda.
Globally, there’s a lot of talk about AI; we’re already seeing the benefits of excellent personal assistance integrated into our everyday life. But I’m excited to see more quantifiable benefits in the business world translating into a higher standard of living for people at large.