Estonian start-up stories by Toivo Tänavsuu
One day I started thinking: why is it that Estonia’s tech sector is teeming with start-ups? Everybody is the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, everyone travels to Silicon Valley for networking, everyone has hopes of being the second coming of Facebook or Microsoft. Where do these aspiring entrepreneurs and “smart money” get their unshakeable [...]
Estonian state-funded VC, Estonian Development Fund promises to double its investments portfolio by the end of 2010. Ten new investments into technology companies are currently in pipeline, with total amount of money to be invested reaching over 50 million EEKs (3,2 million EUR). Estonian Development Fund was established few years ago. Benchmarking the Finnish SITRA model [...]
Last year Estonian venture capital firms joined forces by founding the Estonian Ventur Capital Association (EstVCA). Who are the players on the market today? Here’s a short overview which shows that: the Estonian venture capital market is expanding, VC culture is developing there are several new investors who have transferred from the field of real estate [...]
Heikki Haldre, Founder of Massi Miliano, that received in total 4,85 million EEK from the fund for its virtual fitting-room project Fits.me: “Thanks to Estonian Development Fund we have received an advantage considering our further development. Preferably the investor needs to provide more than just money, he needs to support defining strategy and he also needs [...]