3x 3x 2x 2x

work in progress

• Triple triple double double. Looking at these tweets and thinking locally:

In LT, our scale-up heroes have been optimizing for the combination of two – cashflow + still aggressive growth, such as 50% annual. Hostinger just revealed EUR 110m revenue 2023, and has been growing impressing 50-60% lately. They are not alone – some other startups have been expanding at similar rate, and we are talking from tens of millions revenue basis: Vinted, Nord Security, Surfshark, Oxylabs, Nordcurrent (50% YoY), TransferGo (50% YoY), PVcase, Omnisend... Who else? Kilo Health grew massively until Y22, but slowed down in 2023 (EUR 234m revenue). The bar for fresh Baltic founders is pretty high!

• Defence. I do revisit NfX's piece Find The Fast Moving Water. It talks of importance of identifying rapidly shifting market / technology. Many VCs have learned that while top founders would walk through walls in any industry, you don't need to be the greatest when your market suddenly turns hot - the tide lifts them all.

When you get in the fast moving water, you know it. Everything lights up at once. Everyone wants you. Customers, teammates, investors, press.

I genuinely see opportunity in defence, it's moving fast now. Doubling down on defence is totally justifiable given Baltics need to ramp up military capabilities anyways (awesome to see quick action by CoInvest Capital, ScaleWolf, NGL, angels and others). Further, it can be a breakthrough moment for accumulated R&D competencies in lasers, sensors, materials – and drone tech, of course. Should we continue debating why we are spending EUR 35M on Palantir, or perhaps instead let's focus on building at least one Palantir in the Baltics? Ragnar (Pipedrive founder) is launching Darkstar coalition, get involved. Edvinas Kerza (ScaleWolf) expects fund to grow, more capital – and rightly so, talks about attracting founders from elsewhere to build in the Baltics. The European Defense Tech Hackathon end of June in Munich.

• Consumer. Building a consumer app is huge undertaking, and Triin is closing Soilie (learnings). Joiner App is pushing for virality, including protests against loneliness (and just raised EUR 0.5m). No good advice, perhaps only follow what Nikita has to say. Alternatively, try building a mega-successful game that goes beyond viral. For inspiration, Human Fall Flat has 50m copies shipped, now launched in China at Nintendo Switch - and goes #1 right away.
• People. Unicorns Lithuania has a new Board and actively recruiting new CEO. Board to be led by Arnas Stuopelis (Hostinger), with Toma Sabaliauskiene (Nord Security), Mantas Katinas (Wargaming), Mantas Mikuckas (Vinted), Rytis Laurinavicius (Omnisend), Gabriele Montvile (Oxylabs), and Agne Selemonaite (ex-ConnectPay).
• Looks like the Dream Team keeps inspiring – signals both from Thomas Plantenga and JB Daguene. Can you find these shirts on Vinted?

• Web3. Super How? launches new platform – BeMy.Digital. Designed to facilitate the creation, trade, and curation of digital and phygital (physical + digital) collectables, enabling creators to transform their assets into NFTs. Humbility, large-scale crypto trading firm, is off to a humbling start in terms of profitable growth, and bonuses, too. Also, Erikas has put a thread on crypto industry from insider perspective (on crypto projects raising money) – some harsh truths there.
• Move it, fun to see how technology is changing sports. FPRO Soccer Mastery Mat - cool idea, from Siauliai is it? Kilo Health added Tuby to its portfolio. Propusher is for coaches to create digital workouts. Hardy.app for weight lifting, Estonian product. So few to add to this Baltic sports tech map

• Bloomberg features Willgrow, Family Office started by Mindaugas Raila, known for Girteka empire. Willgrow has EUR 500m under management and some allocations with great VCs - Khosla Ventures, Seedcamp, and others.

rounds and capital

• Zabolis Partners completed acquisition of EKSMA Optics (EUR 16.5m revenue in 2022). They see opportunities in fragmented world, when supply chains are being brought back home.
• Goindex raised another EUR 1.4M from angels and private investors.
• Joiner App raised EUR 0.5m for further growth – they already have 12k users, looking at expanding into Warsaw next. Investors not disclosed.
• Deep Scientific secured some funding (no more details yet). They develop molecular sensors for water pollution assessment.
• Estonia founder Kart Tomberg raises $13M in seed funding for ExpressionEdits, on a mission of creating groundbreaking protein therapeutics. Part of Cambridge ecosystem.
• Mari transitions from Icebreaker to identity.vc - they had first close of EUR 50m fund, dedicated to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs in the region.

sponsors

Privileged to receive support from a group of core sponsors, who decided to get onboard. They have some newsletter invites, too!

Cloudvisor [AWS partner dedicated to startups]
PayPal [Global integrated payments solution]
Vinted [largest C2C European marketplace, always hiring]
Tech Zity [tech hubs - they've got last office with amazing terrace available]
Presto Ventures [investing in early-stage B2B startups and marketplaces],
15MIN Group [all the news you need to know]
Wargaming [award-winning game developer, careers]

resources

• Startup lists for the Baltics - Drone startups, Marketplaces, Sportstech
• Repeat Lithuanian founders
• Ex-founders and operators, exploring something new

Have you been enjoying TP newsletters? There is away to contribute, too:

founder's guide

• with AI, it might be that Interface > Data > Models

While the media (and VC capital) still focuses on the “next best model” rat race, increasingly believe that the “interface” and “data” layers will further distinguish market leaders while the “models” layer becomes increasingly commoditized (interchangeable, negotiable, routable) and pushed to the edge - Scott Belsky

• If you are a new founder / CEO – please spend time learning the art of investor updates, commit to regular cadence, and never stop. Even if startup fails, you'll be much better off.

further insights

• How China uses foreign firms to turbocharge its industry
• If you are in your 20s, here's what to do (no need to learn coding)
• ‘Sleeping on it’ really does help
• AI vibes:

ecosystem

• Many great finding at Baltic Deep Tech Report (thanks Iron Wolf Capital, dealroom.co, Startup Estonia, Commercialization Reactor, and WALLESS).
  
  Particularly intrigued why graduation levels drop so much at Series A (12% VS 21% in Europe) – do we have capital supply issue there? Martin Villig (Bolt) believes there is a gap.

• Talent in Estonia – notes from Jevgeni Kabanov, President at Bolt. Similar challenges in LT/LV? Will change with scale-up recycling, I believe.

In terms of talent - Estonia’s biggest shortfall is not in technical talent but business and creative roles (e.g. legal, marketing, design). It’s precisely for these roles that Bolt has to recruit from abroad.

• Stockholm takes on Copenhagen on how to create a vibrant city (more nuanced in the link)

The Stockholm chamber of commerce recently raised the question: how can Stockholm become a more vibrant city? After spending two days in Copenhagen, it’s clear that we have a lot to learn. Outdoor pools, sauna rafts, buildings with ski slopes in winter and artificial grass in summer right in the city, and containers near the quayside filled with dance, dining, music, and life along the quays. All of these create a sense of a pulsating, safe, and creative city.

roleplay

How to secure an internship at 100% success rate.

three questions

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