1. Public & Private Connectors in
the Estonian Entrepreneurial
Ecosystem
Andrus Viirg
Enterprise Estonia Silicon Valley
andrus.viirg@eas.ee
International Workshop
“ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEMS AND GROWTH-ORIENTED ENTREPRENEURSHIP”
Nov.7, the Hague, Netherlands

2. ENTERPRISE ESTONIA
State foundation for Business Support & Development:
Investment, Trade, Innovation/Technology and Tourism
promotion + the Space Office of Estonia
implementing agency of the EU structural funds in Estonia
 budget of 1.3 billion USD (2007-2013)
 about 300 employees
 providing financing/grant products, advice, partnership opportunities and training
Investment, Trade, Tourism & Innovation Promotion
– assisting international companies to estonianize
– assisting Estonian companies to internationalize
– Foreign (promotional) Offices in
Stockholm, Helsinki , Hamburg, London,
Moscow, St. Petersburg, Oslo
Shanghai, Tokyo and
Silicon Valley

3. Estonia produces a disproportionate
number of startups per capita
slide by Robin Wauters during
Seedcamp Week in London
(sept.2011), where out of 20
companies 4 Estonian startups
presented (were the finalists)
With 0.2% of EU population
Estonia produces ca 20% of EU
(successful) startups
#estonianmafia & 500Startups

4. Behind the scenes:
e-Estonia
birthplace of Kazaa & Skype
e & m services
Estonia's capital Tallinn - (david jones)
electronic ID card from 2002
LES ECHOS/Worldcrunch
e-taxboard, e-voting,...
m-parking
98% of bank transactions electronically
NATO Cyber Defence Centre
EU IT Agency HQs

5. Doing Business
in Estonia
• simple tax system
– flat 21% income tax
– NO Corporate Income tax
(21% tax on dividends only)
• efficient company setup
and reporting based on
e-government solutions
• limited grant schemes
(subsidies) for business
support

6. The
Phenomenon
• Serial entrepreneurs
• Ambient Sound Investments (ASI)
www.asi.ee
• Estonian Startup Leaders Club
www.startupleadersclub.com
• Garage48 (a boot-camp initiative to build new web and mobile
services in just 48 hours)
www.garage48.org
• EstBAN (Estonian Business Angels Network)
• ESTVCA (Estonian Venture Capital Association)
• International Accellerators & Co-Working Spaces
– StartupWiseGuys
– GameFounders
– Technopolis Ülemiste
www.startupwiseguys.com
www.gamefounders.com
www.technopolis.ee/en

7. Public Connectors
of the Estonian entrepreneurial ecosystem
• Enterprise Estonia
o Grant schemes for starting the business, product development, expanding to foreign
markets, employee training
www.eas.ee/en
o StartSmart (EST- FIN network for startups,...) www.start-smart.me/en
o BrainHunt
www.ajujaht.ee/english/
o Network of Foreign Rep. Offices
• Estonian Development Fund & SmartCap
o Monitoring & Growth Programs
o Governmnet VC arm
www.arengufond.ee/eng
www.smartcap.ee
• Tallinn Tech University
o Mektory (Innovation & busines center)
• Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol
o Prototron, prototyping fund
www.ttu.ee/projects/mektory-eng/
www.tehnopol.ee/en

8. Mentoring
Capital
Estonian startup ecosystem
Education
and
awareness
Idea testing
Prototyping
Product
Market fit/
Entering
market
Expansion

9. networking, networking, networking...
the power of Global Networks & Social Networking
www.europeanentrepreneursatstanford.com
www.siliconvikings.com
& Nordic Bridge Organizations
www.CleantechScandinavia.com
www.Slush.org
www.Latitude59.com
ConnectEstonia; SeedForum; Seedcamp,....
European Innovation Academy
www.innovationacademy4u.com

10. Key Takeaways
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Estonia
• Feeding the Entrepreneurial Mindset
– University Entrepreneurship Programs & Study Tours/Benchmarking
– Use of Social Networking Tools
– Developing core competencies (cyber security; EV charging infra)
• Risk Capital Formation & Venture Funding
– Government Venture Fund
– Incubator/accellerator models
– PublicPrivatePartnerships
• Role of the Government (regulations)
– Starting the business made easy
– But....
• still legal & mental obstacles in business liquidation process
• confusing tax regulations on option schemes (seen as fringe benefits)

11. Serial Entrepreneurship in technology
startups with scalable business models
& products is the KEY!
BUT.....
the focus should be going to
Mars not just creating
another social network!
Combination of Entrepreneurial & Innovation Ecosystems
+ Tech Entrepreneurs, Companies and Universities
working together: Tech Transfer
+ Research with Commercialization Potential