Unicorn companies in the Baltic States: insights that matter

Cities and startup ecosystems are competing in the number of Unicorn companies raised. Growing popularity is becoming a challenge; innovation fosters wonder how to build a community of creative minds capable to ignite a Unicorn startup. The international innovation conference “Baltic Dynamics 2019: Building Unicorn-Friendly Communities” invites to discuss and analyse these issues in business workshops with well-known investors, scientists, and entrepreneurs on June 12-14 in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Innovation experts note that communities are becoming the core ingredient to transform innovative ideas into an enterprise and attract investment. “Startups are coming to science and technology parks, business incubators, so it is important not only to spot the most promising ones, but also build tailor-made sandboxes for them. Innovation communities are the place where creative teams should find all the necessary resources and shorter, more straightforward ways to get any kind of connections,” says Tomas Černevičius, a member of the board of the organizers of the conference, the Association of Baltic Scientific/Technological Parks and Innovation Centers (BASTIC).

The number of Unicorn companies in the world is increasing. At the beginning of 2019, there were more than 300 promising startups, most of them located in the US. Unicorns are also evolving rapidly. The first boom so called the Airbnb generation have succeeded thanks to the rise of smartphones and cloud computing solutions. Such startups have accommodated existing businesses such as taxi services, food delivery and hotels sector on online platforms.

The latest Unicorns focus on software for niche businesses such as sustainable farming, fintech, life sciences. At the moment, one of the most promising companies are creating solutions for the markets of artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, beauty and health care products.

“Lithuania is gradually becoming an important spot of the startup ecosystem on the map of Europe. Startups such as Vinted or TransferGo are getting more and more investment, also we have excellent examples of Unicorns in the Baltic States. So we raise the question on how can innovation communities boost the process. What kind of growth methods should we choose, how to promote networking and provide innovation support? The process of raising a strong and promising startup is like winning the Nobel Prize”, says Paulius Nezabitauskas, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Kaunas Science and Technology Park.

International Innovation Conference “Baltic Dynamics 2019: Building Unicorn-Friendly Communities” will be held June 12-14 in Vilnius, Lithuania with Vilnius Innovation Forum Innovation Drift, organized by the Lithuanian Science, Innovation and Technology Agency in Vilnius. Registration: http://www.balticdynamics.com/

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