IN THE LIGHT OF THE BIGGEST STARTUP COMPETITION AND ACCELERATOR IN ESTONIA - “AJUJAHT” COMING TO AN END: HERE'S THE STORY OF MARKUS MERESMA, THE CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF MENTORNAUT AND WINNER OF THE ESTBAN BUSINESS ANGELS AWARD FOR 100K AT “AJUJAHT”.
Humans of LIFT99: Helen Piirsalu, Snackable
HUMANS OF LIFT99 IS A SERIES OF STORIES FROM LIFT99 MEMBERS, HIGHLIGHTING THE INSPIRING PEOPLE WE SEE AROUND US EVERY DAY. NOT ALL OF US ARE FOUNDERS (YET), OR EVEN STARTUPPERS, BUT WE ALL HAVE A STORY TO TELL OR A SKILL TO SHARE - IT’S WHAT MAKES OUR COMMUNITY AS AMAZING AS IT IS.
HERE IS THE STORY OF HELEN PIIRSALU - TALENT MANAGER AT SNACKABLE AND A MEMBER AT LIFT99
Founder Stories: Yuriy Zaremba, AXDRAFT
Yuriy believes that if you don't have any high level professional experience, you can’t build a great company – unless you are a true prodigy. The idea for AXDRAFT is based on some real struggles he was facing as one of the top lawyers in Ukraine, the same unnecessary hassle that all lawyers experience daily. His idea took off and today he’s a YC graduate, sharing his story and practical tips with others founders, in person, via our Salto network, and in Ukraine in general.
LIFT99 Kyiv Hub TAKEOFF
The morning after the LIFT99 Kyiv Hub TAKEOFF – the grand opening party of our Kyiv hub – a message popped up on our team’s Slack channel: “Guys, did anyone go on the roof last night?”. After long silence another message popped up: “Well, there might have been around 20 people on the roof... including some famous journalist, some hot shot investors, and startup founders. Oopsy daisy!”
Yes, Houston, we had a party!
Founder Stories: Kirill Bigai, Preply
Kirill Bigai, the founder and CEO of Preply – one of the most outstanding startups in Ukraine - is on a mission to bring the efficiency of learning to a new level. Preply’s team has been growing fast in the last years and they just opened a new office in Barcelona, with plans to grow the team there to a 100 people over the next year and a half.
Founder Stories: Avery Schrader, Modash
Avery Schrader is the founder and CEO of Modash. He’s also known for being the goofy host of an event series called LIFTOFF, interviewing some of the most outstanding entrepreneurs. Couple of years ago he left his hometown in Canada to travel, chop vegetables on the way and climb. That eventually led him to move to Estonia and start his own company.
5 things you want to know about the LIFT99 Kyiv Hub
One of the exciting things that new year brought is the fact that we can finally say “We’re opening the Kyiv Hub this year! ” The construction works are planned to be finished in March and the official opening date will be announced in the next few weeks. To feed your curiosity, here’s some information you’ve been asking for.
Founder Stories: Anton Mishchenko, YouTeam
Anton Mishchenko, the founder of YouTeam, and his team bootstrapped YouTeam to over €1M in annual gross revenue without any external investment. This year they were the 4th Ukrainian startup ever to be accepted into Y Combinator. It’s a big year for the team and for Anton – he also just recently moved back to his hometown Kyiv to set up an office there after living in London for almost 15 years.
