The Pursuit of Scrappiness

Artur Schaback is the co-founder of Paxful, a peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace and one of the most well-known brands in the crypto industry. Having built Paxful into a major force in the crypto industry, Artur has witnessed the ups and downs of the Bitcoin ecosystem firsthand. He recently left his full-time role at Paxful and is now working on Clip Finance, a DeFi yield optimization protocol, wher...

Welcome to a new type of episode of the Pursuit of Scrappiness podcast. A monthly discussion format on topics we find relevant to highlight, discuss and share with you to help you become a scrappier and better version of yourself. We will be looking at events and developments in business, politics and technology from a European and particularly Baltic perspective.  On this episode we talk about: T...

Agris Kipurs is the Co-Founder and CEO of Origin Robotics, a pioneering defense tech startup specializing in autonomous drone systems for precision strikes in challenging environments. The company recently raised a 4mEUR pre-seed round led by Change Ventures and featuring support from the EU and the Latvian Ministry of Defense. Agris was also a co-founder of Airdog, the first commercial applicatio...

Avery Schrader is the founder and CEO of Modash, a leading influencer marketing platform that helps brands scale partnerships with content creators. With a background in building relationships and driving results for companies like Bolt and Verif, Avery’s journey to creating Modash stems from firsthand experience in the creator economy. Modash now serves over 1,500 customers globally, including br...

Vlad Zhovtenko is the founder and CEO of RedTrack, a leading ad tracking platform used by over 800 businesses to measure and optimize ad performance across 60,000 ad accounts worldwide. With deep experience in marketing technology, Vlad has built a solution that simplifies complex ad attribution, helping companies better understand their campaign ROI and maximize advertising budgets. The company r...

Ragnar Sass is a serial entrepreneur, co-founder of the unicorn Pipedrive, and an active investor in the Baltic and Ukrainian tech scenes. Beyond his entrepreneurial success, Ragnar has emerged as a leading advocate for Ukraine during its time of crisis, founding the Help99 Convoy initiative, which has delivered over €10 million in aid and critical supplies. With deep ties to Ukraine through busin...

Martin Sokk is the Founder and CEO of Lightyear - the greatest investing app for stocks, bonds, ETFs, you name it. The company raised 25mUSD back in 2022 from such big name investors as Lightspeed venture partners, Virgin Group, Taavet+Sten, Metaplanet and others and has been building relentlessly since. Martin was on our show before on episode 81 shortly after their Series A round, so you are wel...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on making your visual presentations more powerful: Breaking down complex concepts into essential elements to make them easier to understand Avoiding clutter in visual presentations, highlighting that simplicity and minimalism A method for testing visuals you can apply today Janis Ozolins is an illustrator known for his compelling visual content on...

Anna-Liisa Palatu is the co-founder and CEO of Woola, an Estonian startup transforming waste wool into sustainable packaging to replace plastic. Under her leadership, Woola has gained recognition across Europe, securing high-profile clients like LVMH and raising €2.5 million to scale operations. On this episode we talk about: Why plastic is harmful, from fossil fuel origins to its lack of recyclab...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on product-market fit: What is product-market fit and how do you know you have it? Measuring product-market fit Methodology for continuous work with product-market fit Rahul Vohra, the CEO and founder of Superhuman, has revolutionized the email experience by creating the world's fastest email service. A seasoned entrepreneur, Vohra previously...

Kieran Donovan is the Founder and CEO of k-ID, a company dedicated to protecting children and teens online. Earlier this year the company raised a 45mUSD Series A round led by A16Z and Lightspeed Venture Partners. With a background in privacy law, Kieran combines his expertise with a commitment to creating age-appropriate online experiences. On this episode we talk about: Challenges of trust and s...

Mathias Eklof is a Swedish impact entrepreneur and investor with Hype Ventures. He has remained steadfast in supporting Ukrainian founders as war continues raging on in Ukraine. Since his last appearance on the show in 2022, he has been spending considerable time in Kyiv and with his military background being able to offer unique insights into Ukraine’s tech and investment scene during this critic...

Mathias Eklof is a Swedish impact entrepreneur and investor with Hype Ventures. He has remained steadfast in supporting Ukrainian founders as war continues raging on in Ukraine. Since his last appearance on the show in 2022, he has been spending considerable time in Kyiv being able to offer unique insights into Ukraine’s tech and investment scene during this critical period. More recently Mathias...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on dealing with self-delusion and self-awareness: Defense mechanisms like denial keep people from recognizing uncomfortable truths about themselves The importance of self-awareness in understanding personal thoughts, emotions, and behaviors Journaling of thoughts and feelings and regular self-talk can help with self-awareness Kristina Mänd-Lakhiani...

Uve Poom is the Head of Operations at Tenity Tallinn - one of the 6 hubs in Tenity's international ecosystem. Tenity is a global fintech accelerator and VC. In addition to advising startups in Tenity's portfolio, he also works with financial and state institutions to drive their innovation agendas. Uve firmly believes in building ecosystems and leveraging the strength of weak ties. Befor...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on focusing on what differentiates successful content creators: Focusing on quality/engagement of the audience not the size Finding your X-factor and the true authentic self Avoiding mimicking other creators Elvis Kruze is the founder of Eksplodemedia - a content creation strategy and execution agency. Elvis has helped his clients get over 1Bn view...

Andreas Helbig is a partner at Atomico, one of Europe’s leading venture capital firms, focusing on B2B SaaS, vertical SaaS, and B2B marketplaces. With extensive experience in the tech and investment space, Andreas leads Atomico’s coverage in the Nordic and Baltic regions, helping to drive innovation and scale in some of Europe’s most promising startups. One of Europe's Venture capital juggern...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on focusing on the key principles of successful B2B sales: How to Apply "Sell, Demo, Build" philosophy Increase FOMO, reduce FOMU (Fear of Messing Up) Decide if you are selling reduced costs or increased revenue Kalev Kaarna is a Mentor at Creative Destruction Lab and recently became ex-VC at Superangel where for the past 5 years Kalev op...

Ervins Grinfelds is the Co-founder of TestDevLab, a leading quality assurance and software testing service provider that works with global tech giants such as Microsoft, Zoom, and Twilio. TestDevLab has grown from a small startup to a company with more than 500 employees, all without external funding. Ervins is passionate about ensuring that software products meet the highest quality standards, an...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on focusing on the US market for B2B startups: US companies are more innovative and have larger budgets Silicon Valley still beats all other hubs How good investors can push founders to take bold bets Kaan Eren is a Principal at 500 Emerging Europe, the Istanbul-based arm of the 500 Global organization. The team in Europe has recently raised its se...

Rokas Peciulaitis is the Founder and Managing partner of Contrarian Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in climate tech investments across Europe and Israel. With a background in trading and finance, Rokas brings a unique perspective to venture investing. His firm focuses on backing ambitious founders tackling climate change with innovative business models and sustainable solutions. On t...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on the frugal culture that has helped the company grow into a unicorn. This was recorded during the fundraising craze when profitability was not a VC expectation across the board, but now it is: How to remain frugal after raising hundreds of millions Practical tips for measuring ROI of different activities Martin Villig is a Co-Founder of Bolt, one...

The support for this episode comes from Leadfeeder - turn anonymous pageviews into concrete sales pipeline. Imagine knowing which companies are checking out your site, tracking their behavior on your site, and integrating all this into your CRM. That’s exactly what Leadfeeder does for you. Head to https://bit.ly/4dQVsWe for a FREE demo and get a FREE EXTENDED premium trial by mentioning the Pursui...

This is an insight from our previous conversation on combining entrepreneurship with investing as well as investment principles: Be mindful of not working on problems in stagnant markets There needs to be good chemistry between founder and investor Allan Martinson is a legendary Estonian entrepreneur and investor with a rich history in technology and media. Starting his entrepreneurial journey in...

The support for this episode comes from Leadfeeder - turn anonymous pageviews into concrete sales pipeline. Imagine knowing which companies are checking out your site, tracking their behavior on your site, and integrating all this into your CRM. That’s exactly what Leadfeeder does for you. Head to https://bit.ly/4dQVsWe for a FREE demo and get a FREE EXTENDED premium trial by mentioning the Pursui...