Ignat Bobrovich

I previously wrote that in addition to funding Ruta.vc , we opened the door for MVP projects to cooperate with biggest fitness operator - Sport Life. And since I have been on both sides, a startup and an investor, I have a few theses for startups after scouting. The problem of the first customers of a startup is quite voluminous. And it's great when quick integration and fly away. And sometimes not, so if there is a client, grab him and hold him. So if you have the first ʼyesʼ, and you are asked to provide information: 1. speed of response or calculations. It should be pretty quick. And not illusory. You know how much to count. the best answer: the request is accepted, the calculation will be for you in 5 days. 2. personalization. Look for the values ​​that you will provide to the client. Not from the presentation, where in general for everyone. And for exactly this, what will increase, where it will grow and other things. Easy? Not hard. You just have to do it. And let me remind you that in addition to sports projects, I am looking for energy efficiency projects, because there is a demand.

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The pulse is already palpable. Grateful to moderate a panel discussion at the key startup event of the year in Central EU, hosted by Startup Lithuania . Here's some context and hope you will join the 2k visitors and 420 investors from 68 countries on October 3rd: 🚀 "Oh Crap, I Just Got a Load of Money! Now What?" 💸 You’ve hustled your way to Series A and now; you’re sitting on a pile of investor cash. 🎉 Suddenly, it’s not just about building cool features. The board expects you to scale, organize, and lead! 📊 This panel digs into that weird trip from startup survival mode to long-term success. How do you become a leader when you’ve been the hustler-in-chief? 🤔 An insightful conversation about growing pains, cultural challenges, and leadership lessons. 💡 Move your startup beyond Series A to build something that lasts! 🌱 See you at www.startupfair.lt #FounderLife,#StartupCulture, #SeriesA,#ScalingUp, #startupfair

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❌ Fundraising Evolution: (Critical) Trends in Startup Fundraising in 2024 ❌ As the month comes to an end, so does the first fundraising period of the year. After weeks of intensive effort, many players are heading into their summer break. We, too, can look back on a successful first half of the year, noting not only quantitative but also qualitative improvements in our deal flow. Here are three (critical) trends that have caught my attention: 🚩 Notion Instead of Pitch Deck Some founders choose to skip a traditional pitch deck entirely when pre-seed fundraising, opting instead for a notion page that combines a data room with a pitch deck. While the benefits of flexible updates over a static document are obvious, I think it lacks personalization and impact. Much of the valuable information in a pitch deck is conveyed between the lines. 💡 My Tip: Create a small Notion data room together with a short teaser deck for the perfect information basis. 🚩 Variable Round Setup More frequently, fundraising starts without a clear target. Instead, all options are considered throughout the round, adapting based on circumstances and feedback before settling on the most suitable setup. While this flexibility has advantages, I believe every team needs clear goals within a well-defined framework to attract the right partners. 💡 My Tip: Establish a clear framework with a structured timeline to target investors effectively. 🚩 Fundraising as a Team Effort At most of my meetings in recent months, I have always met the entire founding team. From a resource allocation perspective, this is disastrous. It is important to get to know all the key players in a start-up, but all it takes is one in-depth conversation. Otherwise, valuable resources are wasted in the large number of fundraising meetings with various investors. 💡 My Tip: The CEO should centrally manage fundraising. This includes initial meetings, email communications, reference calls and closing. Involve your co-founders only in a detailed deep dive and use their resources more strategically. What experiences have you had with fundraising in 2024? How do you consider these developments? Do you have a different opinion? Let's discuss! #fundraising #startups #investment #venturecapital #datadrivenvc __ ROI VENTURES

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Best Thing About the Job? 🗣️ Speaking to great founders. 🌟 Meet Paulius Taraškevičius, Justin B., Irmantas Motiejūnas and Tomas Martunas. And of course also the fact I'm working with Mauro 😉😉. 🤝 Tomas and I, from completely different backgrounds and countries, clicked instantly. It’s amazing how much we had in common right from the start! 🛠️ They’ve crafted an incredible product – even simple souls like me get it (and use it daily now)! 📈 Our Passion: Helping founders gain access to growth, revenue, key contacts, and capital. These guys are a perfect match... 🔗 Open conversations about challenges and opportunities, plus a good laugh? It’s simply the best way to wrap up the week. 👉 Want to learn what they're doing so great? WhiteBridge.ai Happy Friday, enjoy your weekends. #founders #changethewaywework #thefutureofworkisnow #firstdegree

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Record Funding for Baltic Deep Tech Startups: The Baltic region has seen a remarkable surge in venture capital funding for deep tech startups, securing €160 million in the first half of 2024 alone. This amount exceeds the total investments in previous years, emphasizing the region's growing prominence in the deep tech and AI sectors https://lnkd.in/dfmA5Xsz.

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MOMENTUM X seeks an inspired, visionary entrepreneur to build its latest new startup company, REGIMO. The company is currently in development and has secured startup capital. REGIMO is a groundbreaking service-as-software platform designed to revolutionize the public procurement landscape for the 33.2 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), disadvantaged, and minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses in the United States. By automating the cumbersome registration process across thousands of federal, state, regional, and local government agencies, Regimo transforms this daunting task into a streamlined, user-friendly experience. This democratizes access to lucrative public contracts, enabling SMEs to compete more effectively for these opportunities. As imagined, REGIMO leverages agentic AI, automating the registration process, ensuring that businesses can efficiently navigate and complete necessary registrations without the typical administrative burden. The platform features an intuitive, step-by-step interface that simplifies document submission, tracks application statuses in real-time, and provides powerful backend analytics. Its customizable platform might include actionable insights and notifications, keeping businesses informed and compliant with all regulatory requirements. Regimo also develops executable AI-enabled government procurement strategies tailored to the unique needs of its clients, ensuring that SMEs can effectively manage both the required registration and ongoing compliance. Initially, our beachhead market will serve SMEs seeking to execute successful government procurement strategies in clean technology, advanced transportation, renewable energy, and grid and utility modernization—all well-positioned to capitalize on massive new government procurement spending in these areas. Why Join Us? - Get paid to be a cleantech founder. Guaranteed income and startup capital. - Supportive Ecosystem: Leverage Momentum X's deep bench of seasoned climate and cleantech finance professionals. - Resource-Rich Environment: Access to industry and investor relationships, top-tier developers, and comprehensive back-office support (marketing, accounting, HR, sales). - Impactful Work: Help democratize access to public contracts, empowering SMEs to thrive. About Momentum X: Momentum X (www.momentumx.ventures) is a venture studio dedicated to accelerating the global adoption of clean technology. We focus on scalable platforms that merge clean technology and financial technology (Climate Fintech), driving the transition to zero-emission and carbon-friendly solutions. Since 2005, we've deployed over $20 billion in advanced technologies, and we're just getting started. Ready to take on this challenge and build something transformative? Join us and be part of a mission-driven team making a significant impact! **Apply Now!** #entrepreneur #jobopportunity #venturestudio #publicprocurement #AI #cleantech #innovation #joinourteam

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We partnered with two legends from Central and Eastern Europe—serial entrepreneurs who know how to build companies and excel at angel investing. Bartek Pucek & Zbigniew Sobiecki, Founders, CEO & CTO at Proofs. I had many questions. We did our due diligence and went through the process. Bartek, like no other, optimized for the perfect value-added cap table. When we finally agreed, I asked him, "Will you do this full-time?" He said, "Yes." The rest is history. I couldn’t be prouder to partner with them. Bartek invested in companies like ElevenLabs, Ramp, Kick, Zeta, Wordware, and more. I introduced them to our Venture Partner, Jerome Ternynck, and now Smartrecruiters is a Design Partner. There is much more to come. I am thankful to have been a tiny part of the journey! Read the interview yourself. We hope you like it. We also love great co-investors! Here are some of the standout names we're proud to collaborate with: Jens Lapinski, AngelInvest; Mehmet Selcuk Atici, Earlybird Venture Capital East (Lead Investor); William Lehmann, StepFunction; Gareth Jefferies, RTP Global, whom we introduced to Bartek; Stanisław Kastory; Nick Davidov; Patrick Friday; Filip Rakowski. Their expertise and support are invaluable to our journey.

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I’m excited to announce that Sera has raised the pre-seed round led by Specialist VC, with vital support from our angel investors, including Markus Villig and Kaspar Tiri. Together with my co-founder Karl Maaroos, our mission is to remove the greatest blocker for fast-expanding companies: finding the right customers. We're committed to building the best AI lead generation tool in the world that automates the manual repetitive work of sales research, saving you hours each day. We launched our MVP a few months ago, and have received invaluable feedback from our first users. The first signs point to us being on the right path: Sera is already delivering leads with superior relevance and match rates. This is what you achieve when you focus on a single product category—you become the best at it. I’d like to thank our early customers and investors who’ve believed in Sera’s vision and team. We couldn’t be doing it without you. 🙇‍♂️ What’s next? We continue to optimise our product to deliver lead lists with even higher accuracy, even faster. And we’re open to demo calls! If you’d like to get on the AI train before your competitors do, hit me up in the DMs or leave a comment.

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Kudos to ECO2GROW founders Paul, Niklas, and Konrad for raising their €4 million seed round! We have been on board since the pre-seed stage and couldn't be happier with their progress. Welcome to the new investors, neoteq ventures and NRW.BANK! Other notable co-investors include Axel Thiemann (Sonnedix), Stefan Mueller (enerparc), and Techstars. ECO2GROW's solution reduces energy costs for SMEs, provides reliable long-term planning, ensures an authentic, fully traceable supply of green energy, and removes legal and transactional barriers. With its model, ECO2GROW revolutionizes the way SMEs procure green energy and opens up Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to SMEs for the first time. Using an innovative credit risk portfolio approach, the platform aims to democratize access to PPAs by welcoming smaller market players. It is designed to fully integrate with existing energy contracts, ensuring a seamless transition and uninterrupted operations for companies. #EnergyTransition #GreenEnergy #SMEs #Sustainability #PPA #EnergyTech

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🎯 We just Reached our Goal with our Fundraising Campaign on Dealflow–with still one day left to the close- 🎉 ⌛ Now, the Real Work Begins 🚀🛠️ It's been a tough few weeks. Running a startup is no easy task, and let me tell you, fundraising is even tougher. But, despite the ups and downs, our belief in what we're building at Tørn makes all the hard work worth it. Yes, the world is unpredictable, and yes, it can be scary sometimes. But we've got a team here that meets every challenge head-on. We put our hearts and minds together to find ways through any hurdle. I’m proud of how far we've come. Over the past four years, we've done a lot right at Tørn, and we've made our share of mistakes too. But we talk about these openly, learn from them, and use them to get better at what we do. We would keep setting big goals, trying out new ideas quickly, and learning fast from both successes and failures. We will hold each other accountable, but most importantly, we will continue to learn from every experience. Our fundraising campaign closes tomorrow. If you are interested, then there is still some space left for new investors. It’s been hard, but the real work starts now. We're excited about what’s next and we'd love for you to be a part of this journey. https://lnkd.in/di2gy4AS Thanks for all the support. We're ready to keep pushing forward, no matter what comes our way. #StartupLife #Fundraising #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #TechStartup #BusinessGrowth #StartupChallenges

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My startup died for a minute and a half due to unexpected copyright issues. But we're back—with a moonshot plan to revive it and 10x the scope at the same time! 👀 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁, Omnai is a news platform for internationals, distributing summaries of current news in many different languages. A year in, we found ourselves in a legal grey area due to EU copyright laws, and decided to pause all operations rather than risk non-compliance. To continue—without any doubt about compliance now and in the future—we need partnerships with the media outlets whose content we want to distribute. But here’s the question: Are they interested in collaborating? 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻. He saw opportunity in our struggle. He’s spent a lot of time researching and connecting with media leaders, exploring how to solve the financial challenges facing many outlets today (at least in Denmark). The reality is that 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗱. This isn’t great for the media, nor is it good for consumers. We believe in the potential of a truly independent, responsible, and sustainable media that serves everyone—except bad actors. But to get there, we need new ways to 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀. Relying on social media and search engines for distribution and advertising for revenue creates toxic incentives that corrupt most things. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: Most media outlets are stretched thin. They can't afford to invest millions in new tech, and any risk to their existing business is an existential threat. But there’s a unique opportunity here: The international audience we serve is not part of their core customer base. So we’re in a position to propose a risk-free win-win-win partnership: 📰 Media outlets provide us with content rights. 🛠️ We build the tech to distribute it. 💡 Internationals stay informed and engaged in society. If we can do this in Denmark, we can expand across the EU and significantly grow the market for national news—while keeping risk minimal for media outlets. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘁: A 1-2 year pilot project to solve two critical questions: 1️⃣ What centralized business models best support selling news? Subscriptions, usage-based pricing, micro-payments—or something new? 2️⃣ How do we fairly share value with the media outlets and journalists to create a viable revenue stream? We’re looking for a commercial partner to help us scale—ideally, one with development resources and access to a large number of non-Danish-speaking employees. Novo Nordisk, A.P. Moller - Maersk, and the LEGO Group are top of our list. Know anyone at these companies? An introduction could help us make Denmark the model for independent, fair media distribution across Europe. 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰. ✨ 🙏

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📢 HealthTech of the Week 2.0 - start now! 🚀 This second edition is not just a platform to showcase exceptional Polish projects combining technology with medicine and mental health. This year, we're going a step further: we want to not only inspire but also support emerging startups on their path to success. The series will feature both Polish and international companies, and offer a different perspective from funds and investors as well. 💡 "The days of Leonardo da Vinci are over" is not only a quote from one of our experts but also a phrase that perfectly captures the realities of the Med and Health Tech industry. Success in this field requires not just innovative ideas but, above all, teamwork and specialization. In the modern world of health technologies, individual skills are not enough – it's all about the team and collective effort towards a common goal. 🎯 The mission for the 2024/2025 project? To showcase the best success stories, share knowledge, experience, and perspectives from both startups and investors and above all, to support communication and the building of recognizable brands. Why are medical and health startups different from other projects? Check out the opening article of the new series. 👇👇 👉EN: https://lnkd.in/dk8WqX9A 👉PL: https://lnkd.in/dWE8fh6m 🔔 Are you interested in innovative medical technologies? Follow our new articles "HealthTech of the Week" series, every Wednesday! #HealthTechofTheWeek #Startups #Innovation #Medicine #Health #NewTechnologies

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Latvia's historically largest delegation in the USA, San Francisco. Several important conclusions: 📍we need to strengthen excellence and drive in the international market 📍support for the growth of startups transforms and gives the market a different VC dynamic 📍we need to become faster and with a greater appetite for risk 📍things need to be completed, outside the framework of the project 📍everything we do must be implemented in the system through innovation, knowledge, talents 📍 at the center - talent development at all levels We are looking forward for further collaboration with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Microsoft Google Meta OpenAI Plug and Play Tech Center Stanford University and many more. Thanks to Latvijas Investīciju un attīstības aģentūra - LIAA specifically Toms Zvidrins Ekonomikas ministrija/ Ministry of Economics and President of Latvia Mr. E. Rinkevics.

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🚖 The Forus journey in the Baltics 🇪🇪🇱🇹🇱🇻 Forus International started in Estonia with a team of experienced entrepreneurs and has expanded rapidly across the Baltics. Since entering Latvia in the summer of 2022, they’ve achieved impressive milestones: ✅ 1,000,000+ rides in Latvia within the first year ✅ 2,500 drivers connected in Latvia ✅ 200,000+ app downloads across three countries ❗ Only 3.2/5 app rating 🧑 Team size: 35+ 💸 Their core market remains Estonia, where Forus (Forus Takso Eesti AS) expects 4.7M EUR in revenue with a 50%/30% split between taxi services and vehicle rentals to drivers. Forus continues to rely on a strong user base from previous years and minimal marketing spending (75,000 EUR/year). 💡 Interestingly, the b2b contract with "Tallinn's social transport for disabled people" brings in around 850,000 EUR or 35% of taxi-related revenue. 🌏 On international markets (Latvia and Lithuania), Forus (Forus International OÜ) expects 669,000 EUR turnover this year. They are still heavily investing in marketing, spending 1.1M EUR in 2022 and 460,000 EUR in 2023. 👉 Cool fact: Forus has a unique offering—the US Token, allowing customers and drivers to earn and trade tokens based on their usage and activity in the app.🚖 This adds a community-driven layer to the service, providing stakeholders the option to "own" part of the company. Have you used Forus in the Baltics? What’s your experience? We’d love to hear your feedback! 👇 https://forus.eu/en/ https://lnkd.in/dDkM9_xC #ForusTaxi #Sharedmobility #Baltics #ATOMMobility

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I am delighted to have contributed to Unmanned Defense Systems complex and highly significant EUR 3.2 million investment deal. Together with my colleague, Justinas Pasys, we assembled an investment syndicate of 41 business angels, most Lithuanian Business Angel Network LitBAN members. Each of us recognizes the critical importance of this startup in defending and protecting both us and our allies. More details in the article. #Defence #Startups #Miltech #Dualuse #Innovation #AngelInvesting #VC

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In August of 2023 David Brown, Tariq Trotter, and I at Impellent Ventures decided to expand our horizons and explore some of the Baltics startup scene - beginning with the breathtakingly beautiful country of Lithuania. We had no shortage of companies to concentrate on in our native US, as we were and still remain a growing venture firm and brand. However, we felt that our thesis of finding hidden gems in emerging ecosystems lended itself to seeking alpha in any place that presented once-in-a-lifetime founders and power law opportunities. We revel in being truffle pigs, after all. :) We still do most of our deals in Boston, New York, and the less-written-about ecosystems along and between the coasts. We thrive by connecting our portfolio founders with prime-time mentorship and downstream capital from the traditional venture hubs. There’s something special about being the first financiers to speak to entrepreneurs building the next great things outside of the echo chambers. We derive all of our energy from unearthing that alpha. It doesn’t matter where we discover them, so long as we can lend a hand and play a small part in helping folks along their way to greatness. In short, regardless of how long the flights are or how much jet lag is involved - we wake up every day energized to go to work. Overlooked founders, underserved ecosystems. All day, everyday, and twice on sundays. We’re excited to continue to “seek alpha” by doing only what we know - plying our trade and pounding the pavement. Were a small firm and acknowledge that we can’t be everywhere at once - but we do strike repeatedly when we find veins of mithril. Reach out if you’re building something, wherever you are. We don’t need to be able to “ride our bike to your office.” We’ll leave that to our friends in their ivory towers. It’s never too early to start the conversation. We’re excited to speak with you. That includes you, Europe. Slush was fun and inspiring. We’re looking forward to returning next year. Until then, ad astra. See you all soon.

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Dear Community, if you like to read what are the trends of 2025+, below a good summary article. Two of the trends, are below. At the InnoQube Batch 1, we had a startup from of each. If you are an investor or company, these are two technologies you can't escape. Trend #5 is like in the past mobile Apps. Every company will have one! Check this company www.grizoon.com (Swiss) , which can make AI Avatars with your own face! or this company https://workkiai.com/ (Finland) that has amazing technology. So, my dear European friends, take your Checkbook out and Invest! you want to get in early. Companies: embrace these technologies and don't wait to be the last. DM if you like their contacts Trend #5 AI Avatars: Simulate human interaction across channels Trend #6 Deepfake Defense: Counter AI-powered attacks https://lnkd.in/gsMdRsjt InnoQube Switzerland Bündner Stiftung INNOZET Canton of Graubünden

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I want to talk about the business model approach. Specifically, regarding the FINNX case, let me unfold how we approached it. First, I want to provide some background before I start. I worked in SaaS startups more than I am willing to admit. In the past 10 years, I have worked in various C-Level roles, so business models and GTM are no strangers to me. That's it, that's the background...if you want more, go to my LinkedIn profile...;) Back to the story. When we started thinking about our business model, we played with many ideas: freemium, credits, trials, you name it! But then it hit us... 💡 If we claim to have built an AI finance employee who acts like a human, why are we approaching it as software? This was when we started thinking about the buyer journey, or in our case, the relationship between an employer and a future employee. The "decision stage" in this buyer journey is not about subscribing to software but rather hiring an employee. Once we understood that part, we started thinking about the buyer journey in an entirely different way. YOU, the finance person reading this post right now, have the power to decide if our employee Edith is a good fit for your team. You do it by interviewing her and, ultimately, making an executive decision if you'd like to hire her. You can make an offer just like with an actual human being. 💡 In this paradigm shift with AI, not only has technology evolved, but also the way we approach software from a business perspective. My call to action to you in the post is to go to our website and sign up to interview Edith. Join the other 400+ companies from the United States, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, Germany, Indonesia, the UK, and India looking to try something new. PS: we won't spam you, and there is no need to log in to anything for the interview. It will be open to all. The signup is for Edith to contact you when she's ready. 🤞 #FINNX #AI #Finance #Accounting #HR Link in comment 👇

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