BIO

As a for‑profit founder, he co‑created the commercial media network Thinkdigital and launched Upgrade 100, a tech‑content and educational‑events platform that drives multiple initiatives, including IQ Digital—an event series that delivers hands‑on tech education to Romanian SMEs—Go Global, an international acceleration programme for Romanian tech start‑ups, or Digitalination, a programme of talks and events highlighting the urgency of speeding up the digitalisation of Romania’s public services.

Dragoș backs bold startups as an angel investor and partner at Underline VC and he’s had successful exits from two tech companies he co-founded: Project Agora (programmatic advertising) and Tailwind (ad tech & martech). On the social‑impact and NGO side, he founded the Ethical Media Alliance, a non‑profit that offers funding and expertise to newsroom start‑ups producing public‑interest journalism.

Stanca also sits on the board of the Edge Institute, a think tank devoted to modernising public services through digital tools, and since 2018 has served—re‑elected four times—as president of BRAT, the Romanian Bureau for Transmedia Audit, which has spent more than three decades ensuring transparent, accurate audience metrics across digital, OOH, print, influencer marketing and other media.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Dragoș was a journalist and CEO at some of Romania’s leading media groups. He played a key role in launching over 20 well-known media brands across print, digital, radio, and TV.
He occasionally hosts the podcast and radio show Upgrade 100 Live Talks, broadcasted live on Mondays at 7 p.m. on Radio Guerrilla, and writes the Upgrade in Progress newsletter on Substack.