Estonian Founders Society

Estonian Founders Society

Non-profit Organizations

We are the people behind startups in the Land of the Unicorns.

About us

Estonian Founders Society was formed in January 2009. The main goal was to share experiences — intimate details of failures and success — and therefore the form of a pretty intimate club seemed most suitable. Today our 190 founders are already quite experienced startup leaders. We still share information and experience on daily basis. Close relations also lead to founding new startups together or joining each other’s startups — and the majority of awesome startups have been founded by people who know each other and have done something together well before starting the company.

Website
http://asutajad.ee
Industry
Non-profit Organizations
Company size
51-200 employees
Type
Nonprofit
Founded
2009

Employees at Estonian Founders Society

Updates

  • Congrats to Jaanus Tamm & DefSecIntel Solutions for scoring the Innovator of the Year award at the Best Estonian Companies 2024 contest 🏆💪

    View organization page for DefSecIntel Solutions, graphic

    1,977 followers

    DefSecIntel Solutions received TOP1 Innovator in the Estonian Entrepreneurship 2024 Awards. In his speech, our CEO, Jaanus Tamm, thanked our devoted and innovation-oriented team and assured that we are dedicated to our mission to make the world more secure. We were also listed as TOP3 Exporter and TOP3 most competitive Estonian industrial and energy-sector company. Photos by Ilmar Saabas/Delfi Meedia and Rene Riisalu #DefSecIntel #innovation

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  • Two weeks ago, we co-hosted the Tech Tour in Tallinn together with Startup Estonia and Invest in Estonia. The event focused on deeptech and defencetech, bringing together more than 120 investors and entrepreneurs from these fields. 43 startups from 14 countries pitched, and we are especially proud of our seven members who made it to the top: Go-go Salv, Lendurai, Timbeter, Vidar Systems, KWOTA, KrattWorks, and GScan 🙌 A big thanks for the support to Plural, Sorainen, Iron Wolf Capital, Zaz Ventures, and Sheffield Haworth 🙏

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      +6
  • View organization page for Estonian Founders Society, graphic

    1,949 followers

    🚀 Saving Europe's Competitiveness through Innovation🇪🇺 Europe is facing a serious challenge. The Mario Draghi report highlights that our economic foundations are weakening. Our common market is stagnating, and European startups are finding it increasingly difficult to compete and access new markets. 👉 In response, European startup organisations have formed a coalition – the S9+ coalition – and drafted a declaration as a clear call to action, directed at Europe's digitalisation ministers. Strong political leadership and visionary solutions are essential to closing the innovation gap that separates Europe from global competitors like the US and China. This Friday, digitalisation ministers from the most digitalised EU countries will meet in Copenhagen, where Denmark holds the presidency of D9+. In this context, Danish Entrepreneurs, in collaboration with the Confederation of Danish Industry, the Ministry of Digitalisation, and Think Tank Europe, are hosting the official pre-event and we are glad to be part of this! Thanks Hedi Mardisoo for representing Estonian Founders Society 🙌 Allied For Startups, Danske Iværksættere - Danish Entrepreneurs, Dutch Startup Association, Adigital, Startup Portugal, Startup Poland, SISP - Swedish Incubators & Science Parks, Estonian Founders Society, Scale-Ups.eu, ESTECH LLC, Simone Skovshoved, Peter Kofler, Miguel Ferrer Jiménez, João Silva, Leen Anthuenis, Hedi Mardisoo, Tomek Snazyk, Lucien Burm, Hendrik-Jan Overmeer, Maxime Ricard

    🚀 Vi skal redde Europas konkurrenceevne gennem innovation 🇪🇺 Europa står over for en alvorlig udfordring. Mario Draghi-rapporten understreger, at vores økonomiske fundament er ved at skride. Vores fælles marked stagnerer, og europæiske startups har sværere ved at konkurrere og få adgang til nye markeder. 👉 De europæiske startuporganisationer har derfor dannet en koalition – S9+-koalitionen – og udarbejdet en deklaration, der fungerer som en klar opfordring til handling rettet mod Europas digitaliseringsministre Der er behov for stærkt politisk lederskab og visionære løsninger for at lukke den innovationskløft, der adskiller Europa fra globale konkurrenter som USA og Kina. På fredag mødes digitaliseringsministrene fra de mest digitaliserede EU-lande i København, hvor Danmark har formandskabet i D9+. I den forbindelse er Danske Iværksættere, i samarbejde med Dansk Industri, Digitaliseringsministeriet og Tænketanken Europa, værter for det officielle for-event. Her vil startups fra hele Europa fremlægge deklarationens nøglebudskaber for D9+ gruppen med håb om, at deres bekymringer vil blive taget til efterretning. 🔦 Hovedpunkter fra deklarationen 📉 Alarmerende tendenser: Engang stod Europa for en fjerdedel af verdens BNP, men nu halter vi bagefter, med et BNP pr. indbygger, der kun er halvt så stort som i USA. Fraværet af europæiske virksomheder blandt verdens top 10 og manglen på tech-unicorns, understreger det presserende behov for reformer. 🔍 Behov for et reguleringsmæssigt eftersyn: For at transformere Europa til et epicenter for innovation, skal vi tage en "think small first"-tilgang, der sikrer, at reguleringer fremmer innovation frem for at hæmme den. ⚖️ Balancen mellem regulering og innovation: Når vi håndterer nye reguleringer, især inden for AI, skal vi give startups fleksibilitet til at innovere, samtidig med at vi beskytter forbrugerne. En afbalanceret tilgang er afgørende for at skabe en konkurrencedygtig digital økonomi. 🔗 Ét digitalt indre marked: Udviklingen af en digital wallet vil mindske fragmenteringen mellem de 27 markeder, mængden af compliance og smidiggøre transaktioner, der vil styrke startups’ evne at innovere i ét sammenhængende marked. 🗣A Call to Action: For at genvinde vores position i den globale, digitale økonomi, skal vi prioritere reformer af reguleringer, internationalt samarbejde og AI-drevet innovation. Det kræver modige løsninger fra D9+-landene - både så vores startups trives, men også så vi sikrer Europas økonomiske fremtid. Vi har et ansvar for at drive Europa mod en mere konkurrencedygtig, bæredygtig og innovativ fremtid! 🤝🌿💡 #RevitalizeEU #S9+ Scale-Ups.eu Adigital Estonian Founders Society Startup Poland Startup Portugal SISP - Swedish Incubators & Science Parks Dutch Startup Association Allied For Startups #EsTech Miguel Ferrer Jiménez João Silva Leen Anthuenis Ellinor Bokedal Hedi Mardisoo Tomek Snazyk Lucien Burm Hendrik-Jan Overmeer Simone Skovshoved Maxime Ricard Peter Kofler

  • View organization page for Estonian Founders Society, graphic

    1,949 followers

    📣 Calling for innovative minds to help Ukraine recover 📣 We're excited to announce that from September 6 to 8, innovation will spark simultaneously in Kyiv and Tallinn in the AI for Ukraine Recovery Hackathon! 🚀 🏆 The Prize Fund is $15,000 🏆 We have joined forces to boost Ukraine in the AI front and Recovery! The hackathon will be made possible by powerhouses like the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Startup Fund, the BRAVE1, Estonian e-Residency, UNICEF, Estonian Founders Society, Latitude59, sTARTUp Day, Civitta, Radar Tech and our🦄Unicorn Partner — the global AI company Helsing! You will have 48 hours to develop innovative solutions addressing the following challenges: ▪️ Damage Assessment ▪️ Cybersecurity ▪️ Effectiveness and Impact of Support ▪️ Mental Health ▪ Fight Against Disinformation The best AI solution will win a 2500€ cash price from the  global AI company Helsing. The partners of the "Mental Health" challenge are UNICEF Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian mental health program “How are U?” and the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukrainе. UNICEF Ukraine provides a $10,000 prize fund for the teams participating in this challenge. 🏆 Top teams will share the $15,000 prize fund and secure spots in our pre-acceleration program. ⏳ Time's ticking, spots are vanishing! 🔗 Be part of the change: https://lnkd.in/dEWxVbmg AI for Ukraine Recovery Hackathon is organized by Civitta and Radar Tech, financed by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from development cooperation and humanitarian aid funds. #AIforUkraine #TechForImpact #GlobalInnovation #Hackathon #UkraineRecovery

    AI for Ukraine Recovery Hackathon - Challenger

    AI for Ukraine Recovery Hackathon - Challenger

    uarecoveryhackathon.com

  • View organization page for Estonian Founders Society, graphic

    1,949 followers

    Work hard, play harder! 🤸♀️

    View profile for Kelly Lilles, graphic

    language geek / e-learning & positive media aficionado / co-founder & CEO at ALPA Kids / Female Edtech Fellow (FEF3)

    Well, me and Maarja don't try to hide our true nature - we are who we are - and as Mark Manson said "You can't be an important and life changing presence for some people without also being a joke and embarrassment to others". Thank you so much for opening your home to us and hosting the most awesome Pool Party, Triin Hertmann! What a fun evening full of sauna, karaoke, break dancing, mosh pit, and ....a whole lot of craziness. A shout-out to the Estonian Founders Society and Enel Teinemaa for bringing the community together. 💖 #community #efs #crazy #fun

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  • Estonian Founders Society reposted this

    View organization page for Startup Estonia, graphic

    16,422 followers

    🚨 Last chance to apply! This is your final opportunity to join the Tech Tour Deeptech & Defence 2024 event! Hosted by Startup Estonia and Invest in Estonia, with the Estonian Founders Society as a partner, the event offers startups an unmatched chance to connect with series A and later stage investors, engage in roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings, keynote speeches, and more. Not convinced yet? Meet our incredible panel of experts who will select the top 40+ startups to take the stage at the exclusive event on October 3-4 in Tallinn. 👇 🚀 Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to network with leading investors and industry experts. 🗓️ Applications close July 29th! Apply now 👉 https://lnkd.in/gt42uuzf

    View organization page for Tech Tour, graphic

    11,888 followers

    📢🌟 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 & 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰! 🛡️We're excited to unveil the list of Selection Panel Members who will be handpicking the top 40+ most innovative and impactful deeptech and defence companies for our flagship programme. These seasoned investors offer extensive expertise and insight to the selection process, and their involvement guarantees that only the most promising companies will take the stage at our invite-only live event on 𝟯-𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗻, 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮. 🚀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 / 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿? Don't miss your chance to join this flagship programme, meet the Selection Panel in person, and network with #investors, industry leaders, and other visionary entrepreneurs! ➡ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟵𝘁𝗵 >>> https://lnkd.in/dbmxhfdN #Deeptech #Defence #TechTour #InvestmentEvent #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TTDD24 CC: Axel Ahlström, Heitor Benfeito, Keith Bonnici, Nuno Carvalho, Kevin Chen, PhD, Klaas de Boer, Gianmarco De Pascalis, Gabriele Dini, Alberto Emprin, Alexander "Sasha" Galitsky, Ph.D., Paul Gillespie, Guillaume Girard, Alisha Golden, Danielle Gubbay, Jesper Hart-Hansen, Olaf Joeressen, Mark Johnson, Semih Kaçan, Kristjan Laanemaa, Chiara Lettieri, Willi Mannheims, Allan Martinson, Novica Mrdovic Vianello, Andrus Oks, Sille Pettai, Fabian Probst, Pekka Samuelsson, Steven Schlenker, Kart Siilats, Farid Singh, Wojtek Smolinski, Victor Szabo, Florian Theyermann, Lennart Velten, Taavi Veskimägi

  • View organization page for Estonian Founders Society, graphic

    1,949 followers

    We have hosted three defense tech meetups since February and are already planning the next one, all with the aim of boosting defense technology! And we are not alone! Cheers to our friends in Portugal and good luck organising the first deftech meetup in Lisbon! 💪🇵🇹

    View profile for Andre Marquet, graphic

    Innovator and product discovery leader at Productized. • Lecturer Product, Católica & Técnico+ • Podcast Author • Founder • Startup 💛 (1 crash, 1 exit)

    🇵🇹 DefenceTech Meetup #1 I’ve joined forces with João Montenegro and in partnership with the Estonian Founders Society to organize the first DefenceTech Portugal meetup #1. On June 25, we will be bringing together entrepreneurs, defence officials, investors, and talent. Rallying around NATO’s Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDTs), this first event will revolve around drones and anti-drone warfare (autonomy), but not only. Join us for a day filled with discussions, networking opportunities, and insights into the latest trends in defence technology. Apply for an invite:

    🇵🇹 Defence Tech Meetup #1 · Luma

    🇵🇹 Defence Tech Meetup #1 · Luma

    lu.ma

  • Estonian Founders Society reposted this

    View profile for Hedi Mardisoo, graphic

    CEO & Co-Founder @ Cachet | Insurtech | Techstars Portfolio Company | Developing Human-Centric Servies | Public Speaker

    Even though Cachet will make some big announcements next week, today's post is about something else that team Cachet can be very proud to be part of. #Estonia, a country of 1.4M people, has been ranked the 12th startup country globally. 🇪🇪 There aren't many countries where a founder can say, "I personally know a very large percentage of the people who contribute to this amazing achievement" 😁. Estonia has a very strong community of founders grouped to the Estonian Founders Society. Happy Friday! Link to the report: https://lnkd.in/dBNCCTK2

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  • View organization page for Estonian Founders Society, graphic

    1,949 followers

    Last week, we held a meetup focused on founder resilience. Luckily, our member Eero Veider made a nice summary of it 💪 Thank you Liis Narusk and Eva-Maria Kangro for sharing your wise words and thoughts, and thank you Progmatic for hosting us at your cozy office! 🙏

    View profile for Eero Veider, graphic

    Founder & CEO at Relancer | Find talent for any role in 150 countries with recommended recruitment partners 🌍

    Most of us take care of our bodies. We try to eat healthy. We try to move enough and have moderate exercise regularly. When we feel pain, we go to the doctor. But do we take care of our mental health as much as we take care of our physical health? For me, the answer is NO. I used to only focus on my mental health when things started to get bad. I have more experience and self-awareness now so I hope I will get better at this. Last week I took part in the Estonian Founders Society meetup called Founder Resilience. Eva-Maria Kangro shared how our brains work and Liis Narusk was sharing how she manages her operating system. Here are my key takeaways from the meetup along with my own tips 👇 👉 Body and mind are deeply interconnected. Having issues with one will start to affect the other and often move in sync. 👉 Stress is not always bad. Short-term mid-level stress inspires and motivates you, focuses your energy and enhances performance. High stress in the long term wears you out and can lead to anxiety, poor concentration, and decreased performance. 👉 Our brain chemistry can be improved proactively via physical activity, sunlight, nature, laughing, music, compliments, etc. 👉 Understanding how your mind works and getting along with yourself can be the best thing you do for your mental health. 👉 Both positive and negative feelings are okay. They just show us if our needs are filled or unfulfilled. 👉 Creating regular routines to improve your mental fitness will improve your mental health and build resilience. 👉 It's advisable to make a mental health checkup regularly like you do with your body. The most important part is that every body and mind are different. This means you need to experiment and find out what works for you. I'd love to learn which routines work for you. ⬇️

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