The Estonian Association of Business Angels (EstBAN), which unites Estonian investors, and Prototron have created a syndicate that will open up new opportunities for early-stage start-ups working on technological and hardware inventions.
Lauri Antalainen, Vice President and Member of the Management Board of EstBAN said that this is a very logical step in the Estonian startup scene. “Prototron is a well-known and recognized brand. It’s no secret that our business angels closely monitor the Prototron teams and their progress. The newly created syndicate is the best opportunity for those teams that are, perhaps, too advanced for Prototron but still need a money injection to give their venture a boost, ”said Antalainen and added that Estonian business angels have very good times and opportunities to fund new cool ideas.
Over the past year, the number of business angels in Estonia has grown by almost 100, to 230 bold and innovative investors.
According to Jana Budkovskaja, CEO of Prototron, the syndicate will significantly increase the teams’ ability to implement their ideas, while new investors also want a reward worth their money and risk. “If Prototron’s money is still equity-free, meaning the teams do not have to share any percent of their company with us in order to receive funding, then the ideas received by the syndicate will be supplemented by investors’ expectations and promises. Of course, every investor wants to see that their investment is another success story, and this is definitely an important motivator for the teams to implement their idea, “said Budkovskaja.
In the autumn round, Prototron has over 60,000 euros for the teams. According to Antalainen, the contribution of investors in the newly created syndicate will be between 50,000 and 100,000 euros per team. The timetable for selecting the start-up company to receive the EstBAN syndicate investment follows Prototron’s general timetable. EstBAN will start communicating more closely with start-ups after TOP50 teams are chosen.
