Catalin Chis

Background

About Catalin Chis

An entrepreneur from Cluj with 21 years of experience in business building, Cătălin Chiș has a strong technological background and is one of the most active investors in the Romanian IT industry. His career started in when he founded Active Power Solutions (APS). After 20 years of continuous performance in the field, APS became one of the growth engines of LIFE IS HARD/Work Soft (LIH), which took over his expertise and goodwill, thus becoming a player with increased relevance in technology. His entrepreneurial journey has always had the needs of SMEs in Romania at its core, and the group of companies he leads today offers business development strategies through digital experiences and future-driven (tech) solutions. The business principles Cătălin builds on are based on the philosophy of a positive-sum game, where partners collaborate and grow together, with relevance to the industries they operate in. Having faith in the power of marketing to grow organizations, Catalin became a majority shareholder of Graffiti PR (from 2022, GRF+) in 2016. In doing so, the entrepreneur added new synergies for growth to his firms. His portfolio has accelerated over the past 7 years and has materialized into complex business ecosystems with owned and affiliated organizations. Thus, LIFE IS HARD has holdings in several companies with complementary competencies: e-commerce (Innobyte Solutions), financial services (Performia Finance), respectively an innovation arm in insurance and related fields (LIH Ventures), to strengthen regional relevance in this industry. Also, around GRF+ the management team has built a whole ecosystem of affiliates with dedicated skills: digital marketing (New Moon), influencer marketing platform (MOCAPP), corporate and investor relations (Syzygy), expo, and event organization (Kamrad). Since 2024, they have been operating within the Positive Sum group. This umbrella brand marks the philosophy behind all its entrepreneurial endeavors and the ability to create models of best practices (telecom and marketing) and positive impact. Cătălin is also one of the Romanian entrepreneurs with the most relevant involvement in the community, founder, and president of the PEDITEL Foundation. Cătălin Chiș continues to make his mark in the Romanian business environment, constantly participating as a speaker at events dedicated to entrepreneurship, offering the power of his example and inspiring the organizations he leads.