Innovating Disruption at the 59th Parallel

On April 3rd, 2019 “Innovating Disruption at the 59thParallel”, New York City's Largest Estonian Startup Ecosystem Showcase, was kicked off at SAP, 10 Hudson Yards in New York City as a start of this year’s annual Estonian Cultural Days Celebration. The Consul General of Estonia in New York, Ms. Kairi Künka, delivered the opening remark. 

“Innovating Disruption at the 59thParallel” is a special Estonian Startup Showcase, shining a spotlight on the inner workings of the ecosystem behind one of Silicon Valley's best-kept secrets: "unicorn hatcheries." The event included several panels covering a wide range of topics, such as “Investment Opportunities in Estonia;” “Challenges and Assumptions When Expanding Business Into the U.S.; and “Ecosystem and Innovation Disruption In Estonia.” 

More than twenty Estonian startups and scale-ups joined the event and shared their valuable experiences, from those already operating natively in both markets to those just getting started and wishing to expand to the U.S., including Transferwise, Scoro, Wolf3D, Veriff, Consoroto, and Taddy. Several American investors such as SeedInvest, Starta Ventures and United Angles VC attended the event and conducted panel discussions. 

This event also introduced startup visa in Estonia. Kaarel Kotkas, CEO & Founder of Estonia’s next “unicorn apparent,” Veriff, made the closing remarks. The event concluded with an open networking event.

The Baltic American Chamber of Commerce (BACC) provides Baltic companies access to and supports growth in the U.S.  BACC Members, Bill Mortimer, Robert Seigel, and Inga Klimasauskiene met with Estonian business and State representatives to solidify relationships to increase the Estonian business community overseas.