16.03.2021 •
Will Cachet be the Estonia’s next unicorn?
Despite having a population of just 1.3m, Estonia has given birth to five unicorns — startups valued at over $1bn. This makes the tiny Baltic state the best performing nation in the world in terms of unicorns per capita.
In many cases alumni of those earlier successes — Skype, TransferWise (or Wise, as it’s now called), Pipedrive, Bolt and Playtech — have become drivers of the ecosystem, founding new companies or becoming angel investors in the ambitious ideas of others.
Partly as a result, the ecosystem is booming. It now holds over a thousand startups operating in the country with a visa system in place to entice digital nomads and tech talent from other countries.
Sifted asked five top investors: who’s likely to be the next Estonian unicorn? Which earlier stage startups could join their ranks within the next decade? There was just one rule: the investors could not choose their own portfolio companies.
Yrjö Ojasaar — Investment Manager, Change Ventures
Change Ventures invests in ambitious Baltic founders and startups, and includes among its portfolio companies Veriff, which Ojasaar describes as the most likely next Estonian unicorn. But what are the ones to watch outside his portfolio?
Cachet
An insurance app for the gig economy, Cachet closed a €1.1m seed round last September. With the continued growth in gig work, especially related to Uber, Bolt and other driving apps, demand could be high for a provably simple, cost-saving solution.
“As work becomes more flexible and dynamic so should insurance,” says Ojasaar. “Cache allows workers to instantly get custom-tailored coverage for the specific job they are doing, and for the exact time they need, with adjustable pricing. Cache has recently partnered with Uber to contribute to the vision of ‘A Better Deal’ for platform work in the EU.”
