Startup Adventures

04/07/2025

Let's give it up for Techstars Startup Weekend Tallinn one last time 👏

Thanks to Techstars who shared all about our legendary event on their blog and told their audience all about our hackathon success.

See you at the next one – stay tuned! 👀

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Ucha Vekua, Lead Organizer of Techstars Startup Weekend Tallinn, details the event and its turnout.

02/07/2025

Whenever we want to find information about the most vibrant startup communities around Europe, Estonia always seems to appear on the top of the list.

Yes, this tiny country of 1.3 million people has magically managed to build a vibrant startup scene, attract international VC attention, and lead Europe in startups, unicorns, and investments per capita.

The “Land of Unicorns,” as they call it, must have a secret sauce to being such an attractive and charming place for entrepreneurs to test their ideas, and eventually build companies that transform the industry they are in.

So, what's the role of startup hubs in uplifting the overall culture in Estonia?

👉 Have a look at our new article to find out:

Just a little observation of mine

09/06/2025

We had a special, special purpose at this year's Iceland Innovation Week startup festival.

Yes! The goal of that trip was to interview international experts and investigate the current state of the whole "AI taking over the world" promise.

Well, here we are with the results. We've put together an article describing our investigation and showing the thought process behind these experts.

🎙️ Audio recordings of this project will be featured on the Startup Blender podcast and added in this article as well. Stay tuned...

👉 Have a look at the article here:

To properly determine the current state of AI in “taking over the world.”

02/06/2025

Let's reminisce on those legendary Techstars Startup Weekend Tallinn days once again!

Together with our partners, we've managed to brings students and startup enthusiasts together to build the solutions of tomorrow. Massive shout out to everyone who helped us organize this event!

Inspiring the next generation on entrepreneurs in Estonia has never been more enjoyable 💫

To tell you more about the process and outcomes of this iconic hackathon event, we've put together an article on our blog.

👉 Check it out here:

The very first hackathon of its kind was a massive success.

21/05/2025

We had a fabulous time at Iceland Innovation Week 2025!! ✨

Together with this Reykjavik-based startup festival, we got a chance to "investigate" the current state of the AI hype and understand the real value behind this technology.

Lots of exciting podcast episodes, conversations, and catch-ups were involved in the overall experience, and we can't wait to share all about them in the upcoming weeks.

Stay tuned 👀

13/05/2025

It was a true honour for us to put together the very first Techstars Startup Weekend Tallinn hackathon in the Estonian Business School last week.

Thank you everyone for joining the event.

We hope you all enjoyed the experience as much as we did 🙌

Here are some stats from this wonderful hackathon:
🚀 57 participants showed up on Friday
🚀 19 ideas were pitched on the stage on Day 1
🚀 10 teams were formed out of top ideas
🚀 All of the 10 teams managed to present their demo on Sunday
🚀 We gave out 6 prizes in different categories ..all 57 participants claimed that they had THE MOST FUN on this hackathon.

Stats never lie 🔥

We already can't wait to organize the next one.

Thank you all again for joining the event – YOU ALL ROCK!!!

📸 Pics by Capture With Carolina

22/04/2025

Exciting times! 🚀

ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION!!

Our official Startup Weekend Tallinn agenda is outttt now🔥

This weekend will surely be full of interesting sessions and engaging activities to make sure that our participants make the most out of their experience at the hackathon.

We honestly can't wait to get started ✊

🎟️ Haven't registered yet? Secure your spot now: https://lu.ma/aizax9el

See you soon!

29/01/2025

Let’s talk about the power of marketing, shall we?! 📈

What do you think are the key differences between working with massive, worldwide brands versus helping early stage startups get their first publicity?

Let us introduce you to Simon Vincent – a creative and curious marketer with more than 15 years of experience working with big brands on ideating and executing their marketing strategies.

Driven by a vision of using his experience differently, Simon became interested in applying his big brand marketing expertise to the exciting new world of startups and scaleup companies.

In the last two years, he also co-founded KAIAKO AI – a software that applies the principles of human psychology to AI prompt engineering to empower small companies to create charismatic marketing content swiftly and efficiently.

🎙️ We have a very interesting char in this episode – we spoke about all things marketing and, of course, we had to ask him all about his startup life and adventures.

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6D74wzxuz0gFXFfTkIW9SI?si=OlYZCEHGTuSlAdO1AVGLzg

Enjoy!

02/12/2024

Here we go – the very first session of Copywriters Unite event in Tallinn is happening already tomorrow! 🗞️

What is this event all about, you ask?

Well, it’s nothing more than a hangout session with other copywriters (or people who want to be copywriters) for drinks in a bar. No tickets, no speakers, no agenda – just hanging out, getting to know each other, and having a good time.

How does this sound?

Let’s meet at Noku Bar in the Old Town Tallinn on the 3rd of December at 19:00, and kick off this tradition of Tallinn-based copywriters finally getting to know each other.

👉 More info about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1150192653131962

Can’t wait to see what this initiative will bring:)

See you there!

28/11/2024

Can you imagine building an app that makes it easier to meditate? 🧘‍♂️

Meet Markus Pesonen – the founder and CEO at Olo, which is a science-backed audio journey application designed for instant relief from stress, anxiety, and mental fatigue.

Markus has 20+ years of experience as a music artist, composer, and producer. He has always enjoyed bringing people together and organizing events in a cozy and welcoming environments.

Being a creator and entrepreneur at heart has pushed him to step into the startup world and solve the problem that he himself was bothered by – that's how the Olo App was born.

🎙️ In this episode we talked about his startup journey, challenges along the way of sustainable growth, and connecting the dots between his music and startup careers.

🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Q5x3KCQpIlYpcEYSdIftR?si=1jCljhU1QU-3rff9WonRtw

✒️ About Startup Blender: https://medium.com/startup-adventures-international/interesting-stories-to-hear-introducing-the-startup-blender-podcast-f1bbb2e15b00

25/11/2024

What happens at Slush, definitely doesn't stay at Slush 🚀

Last week, we had a fabulous trip to Helsinki to attend the most founder-focused tech event on the planet, Slush 2024.

Imagine over 13,000 attendees, including 3,300 VCs and 5,500 startup minds wandering around this massive venue to find their next golden collaboration opportunities.

A lot happened throughout those 3 days, and we can't wait to share these exciting news and stories with you on our publication in the upcoming days ⭐️

Thanks to the organizing team for this wonderful experience!

See you next year 🫶

04/11/2024

Aaaand here they are – Europe's Top 100 hottest startups from WIRED Magazine 🔥

Which one of these companies would you say have the biggest potential for becoming a unicorn & why?

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From AI in Amsterdam to brain-zapping in Zurich, these are the European innovators set to have an outsize impact across the globe.