Co-Founder of Bolt, mobility super-app of Europe & Africa (hiring!) / Enthusiast of Education, Startups, Better Cities & Doing Good
I got a question: What contributed most to Estonian #StartupEcosystem? I think its a combination of multiple aspects: 1) 2003-2009 #Skype as inspiration & SkypeMafia funding to new founders 2) 2008-2014 #Funding from Government VC Arengufond, start of #AngelInvestors association, #Seedcamp & global VCs investing to Estonian startups 3) 2010-... #Garage48 #hackathons + strong founders #GivingBack and driving our #ecosystem, supporting each other via #EstonianFounders Society. Startup conferences #Latitude59 & #StartupDay 4) 2012-... #President promoting & dialogue with #Government for legislation #StockOptions, #StartupVisa etc) 5) Growing number of strong founders & new #unicorns of #Transferwise, #Bolt and #Pipedrive 6) Dark nights and cold winters, so nothing else todo :P ... the cycle starts to repeat itself. How is #startup ecosystem in your home city & country? What's working or missing?
Jaak Vilo
3y
Education is clearly missing. Success is not built upon "nothing". And secondly, the open economy and society; free movement of people and ideas, ease of establishing companies.
Amazing, well done to all who contributed!
Sara Usinger
3y
This is super interesting as I keep asking myself what are the events or factors that allow ecosystems to grow and become successful enablers for startups, especially in places where people wouldn’t automatically expect them.
Yurii Bilich
3y
I am sure that this is the national atmosphere and the pleasure of life in Estonia. I have been to Tallinn twice and have been inspired by new ideas twice, when was visiting you..))
Martin Cass
3y
Great list, super comprehensive! Thank you for sharing Martin. I was singing the praises of the Estonian startup ecosystem earlier this week, highlighting what I (as an outsider) saw as the three key factors. Is it fair to say that it all began with the e-government initiatives in the mid-1990’s, which embedded the infrastructure and imbued a digital culture in the generation growing up then and all who followed? https://www.linkedin.com/posts/martin-cass-69344013_estotech-activity-6772182978002079744-rgaO
Wille Eerola
3y
Pakistan? Misbah Naqvi Kalsoom Lakhani Faraz Khan Jehan Ara Sri Lanka? Jeevan Gnanam Dulith Herath Nathan Sivagananathan Obviously 😁 not #6 but otherwise?
Mika H.
3y
It's great to see how Estonia is one of the European forerunners in #software engineering and business innovation education! Estonia has really taken leap from Finland in #software product based business innovations.
I believe that growth mindset and inspiration go a long way, been experiencing this firsthand ever since joining MeetFrank. Latvia, Riga is growing for sure, so something is working!
Nik Seth
3y
What often surprises me is how often Estonians forget what role 'the national character' plays. Here are some things I grew to appreciate about startup life in Tallinn in addition to your thoughts Martin Villig 🇪🇪 1. Openness - coming from the UK, I found it so refreshing being able to mix with successful founders such as yourself and others. 2. Smallness - there are advantages to being a small community / country. Firstly, it means that it's often easy to find someone who can help. If you don't know something/ someone, you could virtually guarantee one of your friends can connect you. Secondly, it encourages people not to be dicks. Word would quickly get around. 3. Directness - Estonians at their best know and hate BS. There's no messing about. 4. Resourcefulness - There's still less money around than many countries and that leads to a 'hack' mentality, trying to achieve more with less. Perfect for startups. 5. Smallness - Again! Having 1,3 million people means that you're going to have to target international markets quickly if you want to 'make it big'. Estonians have to look over the horizon from early on. Many great things in human history have been created from that need.
Engineering Consultant | Co-Founder @ No Kase | Revolutionizing travel experience
3yThank you for sharing Martin! Coming from Libya, due to a dictatorship for 42 years followed by a 10 year covil war, it only allowed us to start having startups just some years ago. We are all the way at the start line. But we are building fast and these kind of insights are great to help us learn from your mistakes! I have always been fascinated by estonia and their people. Have a good sunday :)