Over the past month, Startin.LV turned Riga into a matchmaking hotspot for startups and VCs. Spoiler alert: it was epic. We hosted 3 separate events, bringing 5 venture capital firms face-to-face with 41 ambitious startups. Here’s how it went down:
🔹 October 10: We kicked off with Practica Capital (LT). At Startup House Riga, Donatas Keras, Arvydas Bloze, and Marija Rucevska met with 14 startups in 1-on-1 sessions. The room was buzzing with ideas, and Practica’s team walked away impressed with the Latvian ecosystem's energy and talent.
🔹 October 30: Round two was a power lineup with Vendep Capital (FI), FIRSTPICK (LT), and Superangel.io (EST). 15 startups secured meetings, leading to 21 sessions packed with pitches, insights, and genuine connections. The day wrapped up with a networking dinner at Flauta, where 20 guests—mostly founders from Swotzy, Whimsical, and TraceSpace, among others—talked shop and swapped stories.
🔹 November 6: We wrapped up with Trind Ventures (EST). Their day at RITA brought them face-to-face with 12 startups. The highlight? An exclusive fireside chat with Armands Liseks from inGain (who raised their seed round with Trind) and Trind’s own Liis Hiie and Reima Linnanvirta. They shared raw, behind-the-scenes stories of raising funds from international VCs and the Q&A was on fire 🔥
💡 Key Takeaways:
VCs agreed - it was time well spent. Far from being just speed dating for startups, these sessions gave VCs a chance to dive deep and truly gauge the depth of local talent. Latvia’s potential? Crystal clear. In fact, we hear Trind is already continuing discussions with most of the startups they met.
A huge shoutout to the Latvian startups for showing up, bringing their A-game, and proving that this ecosystem is on the rise. 🌱