sTARTUp Day

Our co-organizer Sparkup Tartu Teaduspark, in collaboration with Estonia’s leading innovation centers, shares some exciting news: applications for the DeepTech Accelerator are now open 🚀

If you’re building something science-based (AI, biotech, materials, etc.), this is a chance to get up to €120K in support + hands-on mentorship to take it to market.

The accelerator runs in both Tartu and Tallinn. Learn more & apply by May 11 👇

Estonian DeepTech Startups Can Apply for a €120,000 Development Grant — sTARTUp Day - Most Startup-Minded Business Festival Our co-organizer Sparkup Tartu Science Park shares some exciting news: applications for the DeepTech Accelerator are now open. It will run in parallel in both Tallinn and Tartu, and both programs offer science-intensive startups up to €120,000 in business development support, along with top-level ...

Applications for Tehnopol's ScaleUP Program are now open!

Join if you have a tech-based idea in film and multimedia and are ready to expand to international markets 🌍

More info: https://www.startupincubator.ee/en/film-multimedia-scale-up/

🎬 Kandideerimine Filmi- ja multimeediakiirendi ScaleUP programmi on avatud!

Liitu, kui sul on tehnoloogiapõhine idee filmi ja multimeedia valdkonnas ja oled valmis laienema välisturgudele.

🚀 6- kuulise programmi jooksul saad:

• tuge investeeringute kaasamisel ja välisturgudele laienemisel
• põhjalikud teadmisi investorvalmidusest, due diligence’i protsessist, investorite valikust ja läbirääkimistest
• abi rahvusvahelise sihtturu valikul ja analüüsil
• teadmised turule sisenemise strateegia loomisel ja praktiliste tegevusplaanide koostamisel
• kuni 30 tundi personaalset mentorite nõustamist iga meeskonna kohta
• kasutada Tehnopoli avatud kontorit Tallinnas

Parimad tiimid saavad võimaluse pitchida Cannes Nextil, mis toob kokku tehnoloogia ja meelelahutustööstuse võtmetegijad. 💫

📌 Kandideerimine on avatud kuni 26. aprillini. Link kommentaarides!

Tehnopol Startup Inkubaatori filmi- ja multimeediakiirendi tegevusi rahastab Euroopa Liit.

Why is it still so hard to speak up for yourself at work?

At sTARTUp Day, three women from Bolt shared honest stories about confidence, career growth, and the realities many professionals face in tech.

“We’re not here to talk about titles. We want to talk about the things people think about but rarely say out loud.”

The conversation touched on invisible work, asking for promotions instead of waiting for them, and how confidence is often built through repeated exposure rather than natural talent 🧠

Another insight from the session was simple but powerful: “Nine out of ten women told me the same thing. They didn’t get promoted because it was offered. They asked for it.”

The discussion also explored career timing, parenthood, and why being open about real life outside work can actually strengthen professional performance 🌱

Read the full story on the sTARTUp Day blog 💬

Ask for What You’re Worth: real stories behind confidence, careers, and growth in tech — sTARTUp Day - Most Startup-Minded Business Festival The seminar tackled a question many professionals quietly struggle with: why is it still so hard to speak up for yourself at work?

🎮 Most startup stories sound simple once they succeed. Raise funding, scale fast, exit. In reality, it often takes years of pivots, near shutdowns, and figuring things out the hard way.

At sTARTUp Day, Ready Player Me co-founder Kaspar Tiri shared how a team from Estonia spent nearly a decade experimenting, failing, rebuilding, and learning before finally finding real product-market fit

"Ready Player Me wasn’t an overnight success. It was eight years of pivots, mistakes, and learning combined into one product."

The journey included building 3D body scanners that customers didn’t want, running out of money, moving to Los Angeles with almost no resources, and slowly discovering the opportunity that would eventually turn into a global avatar platform 🧩

Years later, that persistence led to raising over $72M and eventually selling the company to Netflix 🏁

Read the full story on the sTARTUp Day blog:

How We Raised $72M and Sold to Netflix: A Decade of Building Ready Player Me — sTARTUp Day - Most Startup-Minded Business Festival Kaspar traced the journey from a 19-year-old founder in Pärnu with no startup background to raising over $72 million.

⚡ What does it really take to walk away from a stable academic career and start building deep tech in the real world?

At sTARTUp Day, Glen Kelp, CEO and co-founder of GaltTec, spoke openly about leaving academia to build next-generation energy solutions for drones and stepping straight into the so-called Valley of Death.

"I literally took a match, lit my academic career on fire, and walked into the Valley of Death."

The story dives into the harsh reality of hardware startups, the complexity of defence tech, and the pressure of turning research into products customers will actually pay for. 🧪

🌍 It is also a reminder that Europe needs more scientist-founders willing to take that uncomfortable step from lab to company.

Read the full story on the sTARTUp Day blog:

Burning My Academic Career to Build Deep Tech in the Valley of Death — sTARTUp Day - Most Startup-Minded Business Festival A physicist by training, Glen left his academic position at the University of Tartu to build next-generation energy solutions for drones