study trip: global founders explore the estonian startup ecosystem

During our annual study trip in Tallinn, 60 foreign founders met inspiring speakers and dove into Estonia’s startup scene. They also learned from the best accelerators and the success stories of other e-⁠resident founders.

In 2023, during the Latitude59 conference, e-Residency introduced a new study trip format to promote the Estonian startup ecosystem and entrepreneurship programs to current and prospective e-⁠residents.

During this year's full-day program, participants gained new knowledge, expanded their networks, and generated new business development ideas. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with e-residents stating that the study day was "insightful", “engaging” and "inspiring".

“My expectations were definitely met! We got a great insight into the Estonian ecosystem and different players and pathways. Plus, we met lots of fascinating people from all around the world,” said one of the participants. “I was super impressed with the variety of sessions and the quality of speakers,” added another. “I learned about how other companies have utilized the program and got connected with e-⁠residency staff and other founders in a natural way,” said a third.

For those who weren’t able to attend the study day, we put together a brief overview of what took place.

There was a lot of time for networking © Photo: Meeli Küttim

Estonia’s digital possibilities are next level

“Estonia is the Delaware of the EU,” noted Ukrainian e-⁠resident Julia Bialetska, the CEO & Co-founder of S.Lab – a company that offers sustainable and biodegradable packaging solutions. She started the company back in Ukraine in 2021 and soon found her way to her first accelerator, Startup Wise Guys, and international investors. In her experience, running a company in Estonia has been a smooth process as everything is completely digital. 

“Running a company in Estonia is entirely digital, and I mean entirely. You can operate remotely, handle all documentation in English and access ready-to-use legal templates. The legal system is tailored for startups too. There’s no corporate tax on retained or reinvested profits, only a flat 22%,” Julia said. 

What is more, she believes that beyond infrastructure, it’s the ecosystem and culture that really make Estonia stand out. “You’re not just registering a legal entity, but stepping into a whole ecosystem. You get access to founders who built global companies and became investors. Also, Enterprise Estonia, together with accelerators, provide access to valuable resources like consultations, mentorship and grant programs,” she noted.

Julia calls Estonia the Delaware of the EU © Photo: Meeli Küttim

A smarter place to start

Latvian e-resident Frank Sondors, the CEO & Co-founder of Salesforge, also weighed in on the topic, sharing his experience with starting a company in Estonia. He said he considered starting a company in Delaware or the UK as well. In the end, there were a few reasons why Frank chose to start his business in Estonia. One was the language factor. He knew that he wanted to do everything in English and online. This is where Estonia shines. Frank also liked Estonia's tax policies, which he considers to be among the most startupfriendly in the world. "The system is built in a way that gives you the greatest chance to succeed," he said.

His startup Salesforge offers a platform that helps companies reach out to potential clients with the help of AI agents, one of whom is modeled after Frank and is called Agent Frank. "Companies usually try to grow their sales pipelines by hiring many people, assuming that more employees will result in more sales. However, this idea is flawed and not a good approach. In today's world, more headcount doesn't mean more revenue. Companies can become leaner and meaner,” said Frank.

Frank enjoys that everything can be done both online and in English in Estonia © Photo: Meeli Küttim

Next to Julia and Frank, there have been many other successful e-resident stories as well. One of the most well-known is Glia – a unicorn with Estonian roots. Their unified interaction platform transforms how financial institutions connect with their customers using messaging, video, voice, co-browsing, and AI. Glia largely attributes its success to Estonia and the country's entrepreneur-friendly environment. Glia co-founder and CTO Carlos Paniagua had some advice for those at the beginning of their startup journey: ''Start with people you trust — those whose values and work ethic resonate with your own. Building a strong team will increase the chances of succeeding in building your company.''

Pitching to the right investors is the key

To build a company, getting funding is also an important aspect. During the day, participants had small group sessions with Tenity, Startup Estonia, and Tehnopol Startup Incubator to learn about different possibilities. “With investor expectations on the rise, strong execution is becoming more central even at the pre-seed stage. My advice to founders: validate the problem deeply but quickly and showcase your traction as clearly as possible. And don’t underestimate the value the right angel investors can bring to your journey. Estonia has a vibrant angel community to back you and get you VC-ready,” said Liisa Jõerüüt, Investment Associate at Tenity.

Erik Bhullar, General Partner at BSV Ventures, shared insights on how investors evaluate venture‑grade startups, and how teams can turn their projects into fundable companies. He emphasized that knowing which investors to pitch to is crucial. “If somebody tells me that they’ve been unsuccessfully looking for investors for a year, I tell them that they are doing it wrong. If you were doing digital marketing and didn’t get the results you want, you would reexamine your approach. The same goes for finding investors,” he said. He also noted that each founder is their own biggest investor and needs to have faith in the company.

The participants had a chance to learn from many different speakers © Photo: Meeli Küttim

If you missed this year's event, mark your calendars for the next study day in May 2025! Next year's trip promises to be even more ambitious. Look out for new, exciting founder stories, visits to innovative incubator programs, and much more.

The study trip was organized together with Akkadian.