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There are many reasons why Vilnius, Lithuania's capital, has an increasingly visible startup sector. The country's startup-friendly regulatory environment, a beautiful medieval city center, over 20 business hubs and accelerators, and strong rankings in intellectual property production are most evident at a high level. But what is it that inspires the locals on site?
Our survey participants said the city is strong in a variety of technology industries, particularly those with practical applications: cybersecurity, energy and sustainability, fintech, healthcare and medical technology, edtech and silver technology, among others.
Respondents said the impact of the pandemic on labor practices would mean many expats were moving back to the city, which is affordable, and more foreign companies were moving there due to favorable government policies, even though "rental rates are flying away". the roof. "
In addition, the repressive regime in nearby Belarus has ensured an influx of major technology companies such as Wargaming and the talent associated with them.
In five years time, respondents said that town and country will continue to produce and attract great tech startups, but also tech talent and entrepreneurs. However, one said, "The ecosystem still lacks local funding for the late rounds of Serie A and beyond."
We asked:
• Gerda Sakalauskaitė, Managing Director, Lithuanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association
• Lukas Inokaitis, Business Development, NFQ Technologies
• Andrius Milinavicius, founder, Baltic Sandbox
• Gytenis Galkis, partner, 70V
• Gabriele Poteliunaite, employee, Change Ventures
• Rokas Tamošiūnas, Partner, Open Circle Capital
• Donatas Keras, founding partner, Practica Capital
• Tomas Martunas, founding partner, Iron Wolf Capital
• Alex Gibb, Partner, Katalista Ventures
• Jone Vaituleviciute, Partner, Startup Wise Guys
• Lukas Kaminskis, CEO, Turing College
Gerda Sakalauskaitė, Managing Director, The Lithuanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? What is it weak in?
The Vilnius startup ecosystem is mainly dominated by startups developing business management systems (B2B, SaaS) and financial technologies. Vilnius is developing into a permanent hotspot for fintech companies in Europe with more than 200 fintech companies based here. Other growing industries would be deep tech, life sciences, mobility and the games industry.
What are the most interesting startups in your city?
Vinted (first Lithuanian unicorn, second-hand fashion online marketplace to win 128M billion in equity financing in 2019).
Other notable startups: NordVPN, CGTrader, TransferGo, Trafi, Kilo Health, CityBee, Brolis Semiconductors, PIXEVIA, Oxipit.
Up-and-coming stars to watch too: PVcase, Droplet Genomics, ZITICITY.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What are they focusing on?
I think local tech investors are taking more risks and becoming global players in the scene. Investors had 10 years of market experience and are now ready to invest in ideas and companies that would change the global scene or even tackle such complex problems – environmental, biotechnology or deep-tech industries. In addition, the local investor community is very dynamic. We strive to make our investor landscape as diverse as possible, so we are working towards gender equality in VC and other major reasons for diversity to achieve this.
With the shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay, move out, or others move in?
I think COVID-19 has more options for. created Vilnius as risks in this regard. The coronavirus crisis has generally not affected the Vilnius startup ecosystem as much as the rest of Europe. In addition, Vilnius has made headlines around the world with its creative solutions to address the pandemic challenges. Vilnius, for example, became a large open-air café. This shows that Vilnius is a quirky, hip and interesting city to live in, so we expect more expats to turn their eyes to Vilnius. In particular expats from our eastern neighbors who are negatively affected by an ongoing political crisis (Belarus).
Who are the most important startup people in your city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers, etc.)?
Founders:
Justas Janauskas, Milda Mitkutė, Mantas Mikuckas (Vinted)
Henrikas Urbonas, Simona Andrijauskaitė (Interactio)
Dalia Lašaite (CGTrader)
Tomas Okmanas, Eimantas Sabaliauskas (Tesascio Health)
Dvilinskas (TransferGo; Forbes 30 under 30)
Martynas Gudonavičius (Trafi)
VC investors:
Rokas Peciulaitis (Contrarian Ventures)
Donatas Keras (Practica Capital), Arvydas Bložė (Practica Capital)
Jone Vaituleviciute, Dmitrij Susunov (Startup Wise Guys)
Kasparas Jurgelionis (Iron Wolf Capital)
Gytenis Galkis (70Ventures)
Viktorija Vaitkevi]
Rechtsex
Rūta Armone (Ellex)
Akvilė Bosaite (COBALT Leg al)
Eva Suduiko (COBALT Legal)
Mantas Petkevičius (Sorainen)
Laimonas Skibarka (Sorainen)
Linas Sabaliauskas (TRINITI JUREX)
Andrius Ivanauskas (GLIMSTEDT)
Where do you see your city's tech scene in five years?
Vilnius will definitely gain momentum as the region's tech startup city. The number of startup people they employ will grow exponentially. We'll have given birth to an extra unicorn or two here. And of course more foreign talents come to Vilnius to work in startups!
Lukas Inokaitis, Business Development, NFQ Technologies
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? Where is it weak?
Mobility, fintech, energy, cybersecurity, healthcare. Weak in AI, data science.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Vinted, Tesonet, Kilo Health, Pored Banda, Hostinger.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What is your focus?
Locally and with small resources, mostly subsidized by the state and the EU. Need large private and more angel investors.
With the move to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay, move out, or others move in?
The city [has been] has been growing every year for a decade . No reason to slow down, as more and more international talent from other EU and Asian countries is moving to Vilnius.
Where do you see your city's tech scene in five years?
One or two unicorns annually and leading EU in fintech, mobility and energy.
Andrius Milinavicius, founder, Baltic Sandbox
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? What is it weak in?
Sustainability, silver technology, women in technology.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Tesonet (NordVPN), Vinted, Traffi, Kilo Health.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What is your focus?
Deep Tech, SaaS, sustainability.
With the switch to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay in your city, move out or do others move in?
Everyone stays. Vilnius is a very green and vibrant ecosystem with multiple collaborations [locations] and easy access to forests, parks and nearby lakes.
Who are the most important startup people in your city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers, etc.)?
Many of them, starting with Contrarian Ventures – Rokas Peciulaitis, Practica Capital – Arvydas Bloze, on to Tesonet co-founders – Tomas Okmanas, Eimantas Sabaliauskas, followed by Kilo Health – Tadas Burgaila and more.
Where do you see the tech scene in your city in five years?
at least 4x. Very rapid growth
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Gytenis Galkis, partner, 70V
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? In what is it weak? [1945906] 1. Lithuania is now in fourth place in the global fintech ranking after the USA, Great Britain and Singapore.
2. Lithuania's life sciences sector is gaining in importance. [1945906] 3. Life science companies in Lithuania are among the most profitable in the country, 90% of their production is exported worldwide, but the market remains unsaturated. Lithuania ranks 16th in the Global Innovation in Biotechnology ranking according to the 2019 international biotechnology ranking by Scientific American WORLDVIEW.
According to McKinsey study of B2B startups, Lithuania's B2B startups generate more value per funding than the US and other European counterparts, resulting in the highest capital efficiency in the region!
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Bigger ones would be: Vinted, Tesonet, Kilo Health, Bored Panda, Brolis Semiconductors, Cujo. Interactio recently raised a $ 31 million Series A round – the largest Series A round ever for a Baltic-headquartered company. Upcoming stars: Whatagraph, Ondato, ZITICITY, Eneba, Robolabs, CAST AI, Foros, Billo, Biomatter Designs, # walk15, Boommio.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What is your focus?
The tech investment ecosystem has developed very rapidly over the past five years. The early stage companies can be funded through the Lithuanian Business Angel Network (LitBAN), which unites over 150 active private investors. Coinvest Capital invests together with angel investors and offers them a lucrative leverage. This is how the Lithuanian government supports the fishing ecosystem. Then there are two active accelerators – 70V (Revenue Accelerator) and Startup Wise Guys, who provide funding in the pre-seed / seed phases. Other local funds – Practica Capital, Iron Wolf Capital, Verslo Angelu Fondas, and Open Circle Capital provide seed and Series A funding. The ecosystem still lacks local funding for the late rounds of Serie A and beyond. Most of this is covered by foreign funds. The local ecosystem is too small to have any particular focus. However, I would say that there is a large focus on B2B / enterprise software.
With the switch to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay in your city, move out or will others move in?
Since 2012, the population of Vilnius has been growing steadily 0.3% per year. I believe that while COVID and events related to Belarus have fueled Vilnius's growth even further, particularly in terms of its technology ecosystem. There had been major moves from Minsk to Vilnius. For example, Wargaming has relocated a significant proportion of its employees with families to Vilnius and even bought 76 luxury apartments in downtown Vilnius. Other Belarusian companies follow. In addition, Vilnius is one of the greenest capitals in Europe with a unique medieval old town that makes it one of the coziest places to live. It is estimated that Lithuania is still lacking over 10,000 tech talent, which could be a great opportunity for savvy explorers to join the fast growing tech scene!
Who are the main startup people in your city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers, etc.)?
Vilnius is a small city and many people are well connected made this ecosystem bloom. To name just a few: Jean-Baptiste Daguenè, Donatas Keras, Mantas Mikuckas, Tomas Okmanas, Rita Sakus, Vladas Lašas, Viktorija Vaitkevičienė, Tomas Martunas, Dmitrij Sosunov, Evaldas Remeikis, Evaldas Petraitis and many more that I should mention.
Where do you see your city's tech scene in five years?
I firmly believe that Vilnius will continue to develop its unique perspective on tech entrepreneurship. I have a strong opinion of the further growth in the areas of fintech, life sciences and the B2B ecosystem. In my vision, I believe that the exports driven by Lithuanian startups will at least double within the next five years and at the same time produce some new unicorns.
Gabriele Poteliunaite, Associate, Change Ventures
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? What is it weak in?
Well, probably most people will give the same answer, but Vilnius is huge on fintech. However, I would like to highlight other prospering sectors as well, such as edtech, AI-driven companies, medical technology, energy technology – whatever … There are numerous sectors in which we are pretty much excited about committed and passionate founders. This brings me to another point where I would say that the weakest link in the ecosystem is a lack of entrepreneurship training and educational initiatives that inspire (and not only) young people to start their own business and take risks. Risk aversion is the main weakness here. We are still missing great success stories, but that is slowly changing (Vinted, Tesonet).
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Interactio, Vinted, Memby and so many others – you could list them for days.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What is your focus?
Since it is a very close-knit community, local technology investors are very cooperative and helpful with each other and with entrepreneurs. However, I would say that the main areas where local investors still need improvement are to internationalize and diversify their investment teams (it's already 2021) and discourage founders from aggressively expanding into overseas markets and, very early on, global to think. Most of the investors are generalists who focus on all three Baltic countries and mainly make seed investments in software (some hardware) B2B companies.
With the switch to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay, move out, or others move in?
STAY and MOVE IN – no question! I think the COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge incentive for most expats – including myself – to return to Vilnius and band together in building this thriving ecosystem. As far as I can tell, most people will stay (rental prices are going up) and more foreign companies are moving here because of very favorable policies.
Who are the most important startup people in your city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers, etc.)? that Vilnius simply has an overwhelming number of absolute stars! (Obviously not a biased opinion.)
Where do you see your city's tech scene in five years?
I dare say that Vilnius is becoming a world leader, not only creating and attracting world-class technology startups, but also but also tech talents and outstanding entrepreneurs. I may be a little too excited, but I see so much authenticity in this region – and if we manage to appreciate it, we can really go a long way!
Rokas Tamošiūnas, Partner, Open Circle Capital
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? Where is it weak?
Strong: marketplaces, fintech, life sciences, tech diversity (prop, fin, gov, mobility, AI). Weak: internationalization, sales, marketing.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Vinted, Tesonet, Traffi, Omnisend, Billo, Whatagraph.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What is your focus?
We have some generalists (Practica Capital), Deep Tech (Open Circle Capital and Iron Wolf Capital), Green / Energy (Contrarian Ventures) and Accelerators (70ventures and Startup Wise Guys).
Investors are still in the early stages . Seeds / seeds, but gradually ripen. ICT (especially AI) still dominates, but other areas such as photonics (lasers), new space travel and others.
With the move to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay, move out, or will others move in? Community. Now people are back in the offices (and they mostly enjoy it), but I think most companies will use a mixed model from now on. Remote working has done a lot to identify virtual teams and especially teams with members in different countries.
Who are the most important startup people in your city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers, etc.)?
Top are startup founders like J. Janauskas von Vinted, T. Okman von Tesonet, R. Lauris von Omnisend.
Where do you see the tech scene in your city in five years?
We're going for a bit of diversity – dozens of micro-ecosystems with different technologies. I think we'll have a very colorful scene in a few years.
Donatas Keras, founding partner, Practica Capital
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? What is it weak in?
As our young tech ecosystem matures, we see more and more startups from various industrial sectors, established and based in Vilnius, become world leaders in their categories. If we take a closer look at certain industries, I would like to highlight:
marketplaces (Vinted, CGTrader, Ovoko); Cybersecurity (NordVPN); Fintech (TransferGo, Ondato, Revolut EU headquarters); Games (Nordcurrent, Game Insight, Wargaming); Mobility (traffic, ZITICITY); Biotechnology (biomaterial designs, droplet genomics); Space (nano avionics); Health Tech (Kilo Health, Oxipit).
The strengths of our tech ecosystem are the rapid growth of startups, the global first-mindset, the pursuit of innovation and the resilience of the founders. And these are some of the things that excite me as an investor. Of course, with this rapid growth, we are already seeing increasing competition for local talent. This can be viewed as a weakness that should now be addressed at the state level.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
The most notable startups are – Vinted (The first Lithuanian unicorn), NordVPN, CGTrader, Interactio, TransferGo, Trafi, Kilo Health, CarVertical, Omnisend and many more. But I would also like to mention some of the rising stars that we shouldn't overlook: Ondato, Ovoko, Biomatter Designs, Droplet Genomics, ZITICITY.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What is your focus?
The investment scene shows the same signs of maturity as the entire ecosystem. And that is noticeable in all investment phases. It seems we are now starting to reap the benefits of 10 years of hard work – businesses are becoming much more affordable and investors are more likely to and more willing to take risks. Business angels are becoming more active than ever, with over 100 deals per year. A few years ago it was mostly experienced entrepreneurs from the so-called "old economy", today more and more tech entrepreneurs are taking advantage of them and investing in new startups very early on. Business accelerators and pre-seed funds also play an important role in the development of the ecosystem. They are mostly supported by the government and have become very active over the past 3-4 years. Most notable: 70ventures, Startup Wise Guys, Baltic Sandbox. Venture capital has a history of over 10 years in Vilnius and Lithuania. Initially stimulated by the EIF and government funds, it is now growing rapidly and playing a critical role in the development of startups at an early stage.
Notable VCs:
Practica Capital is one of the most experienced and active VCs in Vilnius and the whole region. With over 10 years of history, it has grown along with the ecosystem, startups and founders from the start. The most notable offers are – Interactio, TransferGo, CGTrader, Trafi, Eneba, PVcase. The team has a high level of know-how and proven success in the areas of fintech, mobility, SaaS and marketplaces.
Open Circle Capital and Iron Wolf Capital are active funds for the first time and are doing a good job.
Contrarian Ventures is a small but active “green” technology-oriented VC that also leaves noticeable traces in the development of the ecosystem, Trind VC, Change Ventures, Tera VC, ZGI and global powerhouses such as Intel, Accel, Creandum, Insight Venture Partners, Inreach). , with few exceptions. Of course, some of the investors have better proven records in some categories than others.
With the switch to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay, move out, or others move in?
Lithuania is a small country and Vilnius is the capital is still the center of attraction for everything in the country, and talent is no exception. As the tech ecosystem evolves and grows, even more talent will be drawn to Vilnius. It's a great city to live, work, and build global technology companies.
Where do you see the tech scene in your city in five years? invest. The tech ecosystem will grow at least three times. Vilnius is becoming a magnet for talent from across the region, the CIS and other parts of Europe.
Tomas Martunas, founding partner, Iron Wolf Capital
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? Where is it weak?
Lithuania and especially Vilnius have achieved a very strong position in the fintech sector as No. 4 in the global fintech ranking. Vilnius has created a favorable environment for the creation and development of fintech startups and has managed to attract one of the largest fintech players, Revolut. Vilnius is also particularly progressive in the laser industry. Although lasers make up only a small part of Lithuania's exports, their quality makes the country known around the world. It's very exciting as the demand for lasers is only expected to increase. We believe that the Lithuanian laser industry has very positive prospects and that is why we have invested in the laser manufacturer Litilit. Vilnius also has many strong SaaS startups, such as Interactio, which recently raised $ 30 million after seeing 12x growth between 2019 and 2020. I believe that there is still a lot of untapped potential in deep tech and edtech in the Vilnius ecosystem, and that's also starting to uncover. With the opening of the Wargaming office, also together with the Unity branch, the Game Insights office and independent game studios, the gaming cluster has good foundations to flourish.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Vinted, Tesonet, Turing College, Omnisend, Millo Appliances, NanoAvionics, Pixevia, Monimoto, Redtrack.io, Interactio, Litilit, Foros.
How are the tech investors? What is the investment scene like in your city? What is your focus?
First, significant amounts of EU funding are available for early-stage startups, especially those with a strong technical base and innovative solutions. Overall, the Vilnius ecosystem has grown significantly over the past five years, with many more VCs created, a strong business angel network (LitBAN), accelerators introduced, and a greater focus on early and bolder investment ideas.
Many Investors remain focused in the Baltic States and CEE and still have some work to do to establish more global mindsets that are more prevalent in Scandinavia and Western Europe. But the Vilnius ecosystem is still growing and more foreign investors entering are showing the attractiveness of the ecosystem in this way, which also gives founders more opportunities.
With the move to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay, move out, or others move in?
Vilnius is a very attractive travel destination. It offers affordable housing (which many European capitals cannot offer), and if COVID-19 transforms our lives so that teleworking becomes the norm, many people will move from expensive cities to cheaper cities like Vilnius. It is also an innovative city that can easily compare (and overtake) other European capitals in terms of standard of living and career opportunities.
Who are the most important startup people in your city (e.g. investors, founders, lawyers, designers, etc.)?
Mantas Mikuckas, Tomas Okmanas, Eimantas Sabaliauskas, Toma Sabaliauskiene, Rytis Lauris, Vladas Lašas, Rita Sakus, Tadas Burgaila, Inga Langaitė, Roberta Rudokiene and of course the founders of Iron Wolf Capital;)
Where do you see the tech scene in your city in five years?
I believe that Vilnius will continue to grow and become one of the most important European startup hubs. With favorable business conditions and a good standard of living, it is expected that more talent will be attracted to help promote the ecosystem. However, Lithuania is already experiencing a brain drain and should make special efforts to regain and retain talent.
Alex Gibb, Partner, Katalista Ventures
In which industries is your tech ecosystem strong? What are you looking forward to the most? What is it weak in?
We have seen an explosion of Scandinavian companies in LT over the past 10+ years resulting in the growth of competence centers and specialized R&D facilities for intangible services. I am excited about the growth of the technology sector, which primarily includes software, development and engineering. We're too small to really have specific sectors, but lasers have a trusted pedigree in the LT.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Cogastro serves insect farms with CRM systems – that's pretty original and niche! Bored Panda was number 1 in the App Store last year and continues to boom, Tinggly (Disclosure – I am co-founder) is growing again quickly after COVID and mainly serves the US market. Vinted steht den anderen natürlich um Längen voraus – sowohl in Bezug auf die Bewertung, als auch auf die positiven Auswirkungen auf Recycling und Wiederverwendung.
Wie sind die Tech-Investoren? Wie sieht die Investmentszene in Ihrer Stadt aus? Was ist ihr Fokus?
Wir haben ein wachsendes Angel-Netzwerk mit LitBAN, das durch den Co-Invest-Fonds der Regierung gefördert wird – der kürzlich eine 34-fache Rendite für frühe Investoren in Interactio ermöglicht hat. Es gibt eine gute Auswahl an VCs in der Frühphase in der Stadt, die Lücke liegt im Bereich von über 2 Millionen, in dem Startups ins Ausland gehen müssen, um tiefere Taschen zu finden. Der Fokus liegt tendenziell auf B2B, aber da wir eine kleine Region sind, gibt es nur sehr wenige Investoren mit einem engen Branchenfokus.
Werden die Menschen mit der Umstellung auf Fernarbeit während der COVID-19-Pandemie in Ihrer Stadt bleiben, ausziehen oder werden andere einziehen?
Einziehen! Vilnius ist eine kompakte und coole Stadt [with a] hohe Lebensqualität hier und [it’s] leicht zu den Seen und Wäldern zum Entspannen zu gelangen. Ich denke immer noch, dass wir von nun an die hybride Natur der Arbeit herausfinden, damit die Leute sich an das anpassen, was zu ihrem Lebensstil passt. Die positive Verschiebung gibt Arbeitnehmern und Arbeitgebern mehr Macht unter Berücksichtigung dessen, was Arbeitnehmer für eine positive psychische Gesundheit benötigen.
Wer sind die wichtigsten Startup-Leute in Ihrer Stadt (z. B. Investoren, Gründer, Anwälte, Designer usw.)?
Greta Monstavice, CEO bei Katalista Ventures – sie steht an der Spitze des Baumes alles, was mit Nachhaltigkeit zu tun hat und leidenschaftlich daran interessiert ist, Startups zu stärken. JB Daguené bei 70V unterstützt B2B-Startups mit explosiven Wachstumstools. Sarune Smalakyte, Chef von Rockit, fördert Fintech-Unternehmen in ihrem Co-Working-Space und veranstaltet viele tolle (kostenlose) Events für die Community.
Where do you see your city’s tech scene in five years?
I’m excited about the city’s prospects. We have a lot ahead of us with many new startups coming through. The key challenge will be to get the next generation of tech talent trained properly and ready for the demands of an already squeezed workforce.
Jone Vaituleviciute, partner, Startup Wise Guys
What industry sectors is your tech ecosystem strong in? What are you most excited by? What is it weak in?
Vilnius is of course known on a global scale for its fintech ecosystem — though the majority of fintech “perks” come on a governmental/country level, Vilnius boasts a high number of banking, insurance and other financial services professionals, as well as fintech-focused startup hubs and a number of events. I am particularly excited to see a number of big foreign names (e.g., Revolut, SumUp and many other) moving their operations here; this way building up the ecosystem and level of fintech professionals. Gaming, edtech are also a few other up-and-coming areas, which signals that B2C is becoming more usual than not. On the improvement side, we still have not figured out how to include deep tech/R&D startups into the ecosystem and funding mechanisms. This is a challenge many cities have, but we hope Vilnius will move to the right direction, thanks to collaborations among universities and venture capital funds.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Well-known names: Vinted, Trafi, TransferGo and several not backed by venture capital — Bored Panda, Kilo Health.
Up-and-coming: ZITICITY (mobility), kevin. (fintech), Ondato (fintech), Turing College (edtech).
What are the tech investors like? What is the investment scene like in your city? What’s their focus?
Vilnius is a good representation of all Baltic venture capital ecosystems. We have several pre-seed/seed stage venture capital funds that are coming in with experience and good understanding of various verticals. However, for a long time we lacked a proper early-stage funding ecosystem. This is changing right now with accelerators supporting idea-stage startups and a number of business angels appearing from successful startups who are ready to invest decent tickets resembling more Western Europe rather than Baltic funding trends.
With the shift to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay in your city, move out, or will others move in?
I believe the pandemic has been rather favorable for small ecosystems like Vilnius. Mainly because remote investing/pitching/selling became an absolute norm and founders do not have to fly hundreds of miles for an event or a meeting to close a deal. Thus, I see many entrepreneurs sticking to Vilnius due to its great life quality and well-knitted ecosystem.
Where do you see your city’s tech scene in five years?
We should be talking pre-seed/seed on the same level as West Europe or even the U.S. We are catching up with the standard, but with the maturity of the venture capital ecosystem, Vilnius should be a perfect city to kick-start your startup and take it to Series A with the same funding available. We should see more areas like fintech emerging with strong value proposition for foreign companies as well as initiatives for local ones to stay. Talent will be expensive, but this is how it should be. Second- and third-time founders will be creating more and more startups that will attract a number of foreign funds too.
Lukas Kaminskis, CEO, Turing College
What industry sectors is your tech ecosystem strong in? What are you most excited by? What is it weak in?
Vilnius is well known for its fintech and blockchain ecosystems — companies such as Revolut have banking licenses registered here in Vilnius. We have several strong players in medtech and cybersecurity — Kilo Health and Nord Security — which are growing super fast. Nevertheless, we’re lacking behind with education. Explicitly speaking, most IT programs in Lithuanian universities aren’t focused on preparing students for international competition. This is why a lot of companies are establishing their internal academies to upskill students from universities.
Which are the most interesting startups in your city?
Omnisend, Nord Security, Attention Insight, Turing College.
What are the tech investors like? What is the investment scene like in your city? What’s their focus?
Lithuania has quite a good pre-seed/seed investment scene with investors like Iron Wolf Capital, Startup Wise Guys, Practica Capital, etc. Moreover, there is a VC fund — Co-invest Fund, which invests the sum equivalent to the multiplier of any accredited angel investor’s investment sum by 3x-5x. Investors in Lithuania are mostly industry agnostic.
With the shift to remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, will people stay in your city, move out, or will others move in?
Tendencies in Lithuania are quite similar to the ones we see in the global scene. Companies plan to adapt hybrid type of work post-COVID, while maintaining remote type of work as primary while the pandemic is happening.
Who are the key startup people in your city (e.g., investors, founders, lawyers, designers, etc.)?
Giedrius Kolesnikovas is the guy to know from the legal industry — he is the partner of Motieka & Audzevicius legal firm. From the investor’s perspective, there are several of them — Jone Vaituleviciute, Rytis Vitkauskas, Kasparas Jurgelionis and Arvydas Bložė. These guys can open doors to most of European/U.S. capitals.
Where do you see your city’s tech scene in five years?
I see that Vilnius will become a tech talent center of Northern Europe. Edtech startups and private training initiatives are emerging in our market to solve educational problems that we face because of the poor performance of public education policies in the last 20 years. As well, I see that the current government is making a huge effort to attract international tech companies to establish their branches here in Lithuania. Great examples are Wargaming, Moody’s, which established huge centers here in Lithuania.
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