2. Estonia in early 1990s
- The smallest and a poorest
- Agricultural society
- No modern industry
- No natural resources
+ Well-educated
+ Ambitious(?)
What do you do if you want to grow quickly,
but have very limited resource?
3. So what DO YOU DO?
… create and attract things that scale:
• (Government catalyzed) IT – digitize everything
• High tech industries
• Venture capital
4. Estonia today
• Top scores in global competitiveness rankings, incl #1
in internet freedom
• Boast impressive presence of global tech
multinationals, incl. Xilinx, Ericsson, ABB, Microsoft,
Symantec
• Close to catching up with Scandinavia (in terms of living
standard)
• #1 in money raised by early stage digital startups
• #2 in number of startups
7. The impor-
tance of
Skype can
be put in two
words:
“Skype me!”
Founded
2003
Developers
Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu,
Jaan Tallinn
Users
50 000 000 concurrent
as of 2014
Reach
Worldwide, used in more
countries than there are
United Nations members
“to skype”
Has become a verb
Impact
Skype forever changed the way
we communicate, becoming the
new way to telephone
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
8. The impor-
tance of
Skype can
be put in two
words:
“Skype me!”
Founded
2003
Developers
Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu,
Jaan Tallinn
Users
50 000 000 concurrent
as of 2014
Reach
Worldwide, used in more
countries than there are
United Nations members
“to skype”
Has become a verb
Impact
Skype forever changed the way
we communicate, becoming the
new way to telephone
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
Thanks to
TransferWise
you no lon-
ger give away
50¢ to get $1
abroad.
Launched
2011
Founders
Kristo Käärmann,
Taavet Hinrikus
Transactions
10 000 000 Euros worth in
first year only
Impact
Saved people tons of money
while undermining huge
banking institutions
Employees
From 2 to more than 200 in
three years
Honoured backing
Sir Richard Branson invested a
lot (or a lot lot) in Transferwise
in 2014
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
With Grab-
CAD thou-
sands of new
marvels are
engineered
every year.
Founded
2009
Founders
Hardi Meybaum,
Indrek Narusk
Users
A community of more than
1 600 000 as of 2013
Impact
Used by major engineering
corporations around the globe
including ones like GE
A 3D-future
GrabCAD was acquired by 3D
printing behemoth Stratasys in
2014
Challenges
Public design challenges allow
anyone to desing something for,
say, a jet engine or the ISS.
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
The most pro-
ductive teams
around the
globe Fleep
with each oth-
er constantly.
Founded
2012
Founders
Henn Ruukel, Erik Laansoo,
Asko Oja, Marko Kreen,
Andres Järviste, Liis
Peetermann
What’s it about
An email-compatible
messaging platform for
teams
Users
3 600 monthly active as of
2015
Goal
To replace a decades-old
technology (called email) at
the workplace
Fun fact
Backed by the largest number
of ex-Skype investors there ever
have been
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
Thanks to
TransferWise
you no lon-
ger give away
50¢ to get $1
abroad.
Launched
2011
Founders
Kristo Käärmann,
Taavet Hinrikus
Transactions
10 000 000 Euros worth in
first year only
Impact
Saved people tons of money
while undermining huge
banking institutions
Employees
From 2 to more than 200 in
three years
Honoured backing
Sir Richard Branson invested a
lot (or a lot lot) in Transferwise
in 2014
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
9. The impor-
tance of
Skype can
be put in two
words:
“Skype me!”
Founded
2003
Developers
Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu,
Jaan Tallinn
Users
50 000 000 concurrent
as of 2014
Reach
Worldwide, used in more
countries than there are
United Nations members
“to skype”
Has become a verb
Impact
Skype forever changed the way
we communicate, becoming the
new way to telephone
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
Thanks to
TransferWise
you no lon-
ger give away
50¢ to get $1
abroad.
Launched
2011
Founders
Kristo Käärmann,
Taavet Hinrikus
Transactions
10 000 000 Euros worth in
first year only
Impact
Saved people tons of money
while undermining huge
banking institutions
Employees
From 2 to more than 200 in
three years
Honoured backing
Sir Richard Branson invested a
lot (or a lot lot) in Transferwise
in 2014
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
With Grab-
CAD thou-
sands of new
marvels are
engineered
every year.
Founded
2009
Founders
Hardi Meybaum,
Indrek Narusk
Users
A community of more than
1 600 000 as of 2013
Impact
Used by major engineering
corporations around the globe
including ones like GE
A 3D-future
GrabCAD was acquired by 3D
printing behemoth Stratasys in
2014
Challenges
Public design challenges allow
anyone to desing something for,
say, a jet engine or the ISS.
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
10. The impor-
tance of
Skype can
be put in two
words:
“Skype me!”
Founded
2003
Developers
Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu,
Jaan Tallinn
Users
50 000 000 concurrent
as of 2014
Reach
Worldwide, used in more
countries than there are
United Nations members
“to skype”
Has become a verb
Impact
Skype forever changed the way
we communicate, becoming the
new way to telephone
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
Thanks to
TransferWise
you no lon-
ger give away
50¢ to get $1
abroad.
Launched
2011
Founders
Kristo Käärmann,
Taavet Hinrikus
Transactions
10 000 000 Euros worth in
first year only
Impact
Saved people tons of money
while undermining huge
banking institutions
Employees
From 2 to more than 200 in
three years
Honoured backing
Sir Richard Branson invested a
lot (or a lot lot) in Transferwise
in 2014
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
With Grab-
CAD thou-
sands of new
marvels are
engineered
every year.
Founded
2009
Founders
Hardi Meybaum,
Indrek Narusk
Users
A community of more than
1 600 000 as of 2013
Impact
Used by major engineering
corporations around the globe
including ones like GE
A 3D-future
GrabCAD was acquired by 3D
printing behemoth Stratasys in
2014
Challenges
Public design challenges allow
anyone to desing something for,
say, a jet engine or the ISS.
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
The most pro-
ductive teams
around the
globe Fleep
with each oth-
er constantly.
Founded
2012
Founders
Henn Ruukel, Erik Laansoo,
Asko Oja, Marko Kreen,
Andres Järviste, Liis
Peetermann
What’s it about
An email-compatible
messaging platform for
teams
Users
3 600 monthly active as of
2015
Goal
To replace a decades-old
technology (called email) at
the workplace
Fun fact
Backed by the largest number
of ex-Skype investors there ever
have been
STARTUPESTONIA.EE
11. Grounds of the success
• Skype legacy, heritage dream, role-model
• Small market – think BIG from the start
• Other alternatives becoming a millionaire are
limited
• Starting up has proven and made easy
• Political leadership – e-services, tax regime,
public focus
12. Developing EST startup ecosystem
• 2007 Estonian Development Fund (EDF) starts operating
• 2008 EDF’s first investments with private co-investors
• 2008 Brain Hunt Business Plan competition starts
• 2009 EDF supports Garage48 first hackathons
• 2009 EDF opens SeedBooster and accepts GrabCAD
• 2009 EDF initiates to establish Estonian BAN / VCA
• 2010 First concept paper on Startup Estonia program
• 2012 EDF invests as a lead investor into Startup Wise Guys
• 2012 SmartCap is established to prepare for a new VC model
• 2012 EDF co-investors initiate EstBAN (12 out of 25)
• 2014 Startup Estonia program launched
• 2015 New public Fund of Funds established, SmartCap privatized
13.
14. Lessons learnt developing the
ecosystem
• Early supply of capital has to be supported
• Public sector to initiate/support activities for the
ecosystem
• LISTEN to startups/founders and private investors
• Connect the local players with international scene
• Be flexible to change, if the milestones not reached, but
give time for results
