Arrived

work in progress

• Arriving. LT technology players are after new markets, and flexing some strategic moves. Altechna expands locally, doubled revenue, and eyeing US acquisition. SoliTek is pushing into Italy, with a manufacturing facility in the works. Northway Biotech opens cGMP facility in Waltham, Massachusetts. jobRely has relocated to the Startup Lisboa building.
• Departing. Arrival did not last - the company is teetering on the edge of survival, despite the SPAC listing at a record $13bn valuation in 2021. Unfortunately, their LT motor production hub has been shut down.
• Proptech Lithuania has grown to 38 members and recently added major RE industry players to the community and the new board - Eika, Civinity and Eastnine. Citynow stumbled into a big data solution, that might become product/venture on its own. Rugile launches a fintech solution for short-term rentals - Nidô (team is based where vacation rentals are a thing, Spain).
• Revenue. #Walk15 grows revenue, AeroTime reaches 3.6 million unique readers per month. Only love from investors.
• M&A. More follows the PVcase acquisition reported last week: Latvian unicorn Printful acquires Snow Commerce, Inc in the US (a team of 100+ people). Hiring platform MeetFrank acquired compensation.app.
• Paysera is in a league of its own:

Rounds and capital

• Lietuvos Junior Achievement has launched an endowment fund Jaunaragiai. Exciting initiative - it will be used to finance continuous activities of the organization, but also invest in startups started by graduates. The first ticket went to BBright - a personalized learning platform Elicejus.

• Danish startup comundo (real-time carbon emissions and energy data) also has a Vilnius-based team and just landed pre-seed round at EUR 2.26m.
• Another scale-up with Lithuanian touch, Velocity Black, got acquired by Capital One. Small LT team is being disassembled, hope they were equipped with stock options!
• As pricing correction spreads, and startups accept the new reality, great time again for secondary funds. Siena closes a round with Booksy.

roleplay

founder's guide

• Pricing insights from studying the top 100 grossing apps
• How to find product market fit: the counterintuitive secrets
• Tips for Talking to Your Investors about Bridges and Extensions
• High-quality audio makes you sound smarter
• Common mistakes HNWIs and Family Offices stumble into when investing in venture

4) Market Timing: The average VC fund deploys capital over 3-6 years, yet some investors attempt to time the market, waiting for valuations to decrease. In a long-dated asset category like VC, where funds have built-in time diversification, market timing is ineffective. The focus should be on deal quality and manager expertise.

further insight

• "The closer a German lives to Poland, the more he dislikes the Poles. The closer a Pole lives to Germany, the more he likes the Germans" - map.
• "So, the problem is that the countries making the tech rules aren’t the nations leading on tech"- EU misses so much when Nordic+CEE lack voice and leadership.
• Data in the Age of AI. And, more importantly - Existential AI risk 101
• Venture capital is shifting focus to new emerging segments.

three questions, previously

• Domas Janickas, Co-founder at edON
• Milda Jasaite, Senior Director of Corporate Development, Vinted
• Darius Zakaitis, Founder & CEO, Tech Zity
• Roman Novacek, Partner, Presto Ventures
• Lina Zakarauskaite, Principal, Stride.VC
• Justinas Pasys, Managing Director, LitBAN
• Magnus Hambleton, Investor, byFounders
• Povilas Poderskis, Development Director, Darnu Group, ex-COO Nord Security
• Gytenis Galkis, Venture Partner, Superhero Capital
• Daniel Kratkovski and Dominykas Milašius, co-founders, Delta Biosciences
• Kasparas Aleknavicius - Co-Founder and CPO, Loctax
• Andrius Milinavičius, General Partner, Baltic Sandbox Ventures
• Laura Korsakova, Founder and CEO, Psylink
• Paulius Uziela, Investment Manager, Coinvest Capital