In the heart of Estonia, a nation internationally celebrated for its digital prowess and high concentration of billion-dollar startups, a new force is emerging to ensure the longevity of this entrepreneurial legacy. Gen Z Founders is an active community and mentorship network dedicated to connecting and empowering the country’s most promising young innovators. This collective, known officially as GenZ Asutajad MTÜ, is committed to one clear mission: cultivating the next generation of exceptional founders who possess the ambition and drive to reshape industries.
Gen Z Founders operates on the fundamental belief that to build truly excellent startups, exceptional people must be surrounded by similar individuals. It serves as the critical bridge for young entrepreneurs, offering not just inspiration but tangible access to knowledge, peer support, and the real-world experience often missing in the earliest stages of venture creation. The organization’s elevator pitch is straightforward: it is building a tight-knit community for the future unicorn founders in Estonia, uniting those determined to make a significant change in the world through their ventures.
Bridging the Experience Gap
The journey of Gen Z Founders began with the recognition of a unique challenge facing the newest cohort of entrepreneurs. While GenZ possesses native fluency in digital technology and a fierce determination for purpose-driven business, they often lack the established networks and institutional mentorship available to older, more experienced founders. The organization developed a solution to create a structured, supportive, and active environment.
This support manifests through monthly events, specialized workshops, and, perhaps most critically, a culture of mutual aid where members openly share the hardships and successes of their entrepreneurial paths. The community becomes a proving ground, allowing young founders to road-test ideas, seek critical feedback, and overcome the early isolation often associated with starting a company.
A pivotal moment for the organization came with its formal alliance with the Estonian Founders Society. This partnership granted the young members invaluable access to the knowledge and direct experience of some of Estonia’s most successful founders, the architects of the nation’s thriving startup scene. This formalized mentorship serves as a critical accelerator, transforming high potential into high performance by enabling members to learn directly from those who have built and scaled multi-million- and multi-billion-dollar companies.
Innovation as Ecosystem Development
For Gen Z Founders, innovation extends beyond product development; it is deeply rooted in organizational and ecosystem development. The organization’s most innovative contribution is its model for centralized, curated talent development. Instead of passively waiting for talent to emerge, Gen Z Founders actively identifies and brings together the brightest young minds, providing a pre-accelerated community that drastically reduces the learning curve.
The organization’s membership is diverse, reflecting the broad range of problems Gen Z is motivated to solve. These founders are building ventures across technology, sustainability, marketing, and finance. The roster includes talents such as Carmen Tiffany Tuisk of WAVE VENTURES, who is focused on providing crucial venture capital funding for outstanding young founders, thereby closing the funding loop for her own peer group. Similarly, Kevin Akkermann of KOIDUFY OÜ is impacting the education sector by educating the next generation of programmers and empowering teachers. This variety underscores the group’s mandate to support founders across all sectors capable of driving significant societal or market change.
“It is building a tight-knit community for the future unicorn founders in Estonia, uniting those determined to make a significant change in the world through their ventures.”
Other notable members include Eliise Lehtsaar of OÜ BYMOSSY, who focuses on sustainability startups while actively working to enhance the studies of entrepreneurship itself, and Bruno Järvik of SENILI OÜ, who is dedicated to building the future of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands. The array of member companies, from Uku Joost Annus’s INVESTONIAN SYSTEMS OÜ, which aims to improve retail investor knowledge, to Helena Villand’s HEVI MARKETING OÜ, which focuses on driving growth for emerging brands, demonstrates a strong, commercially focused drive within the community.
Ensuring a Digital Future
Gen Z Founders significantly contributes to the broader Estonian innovation ecosystem by serving as a robust pipeline for future leadership. By cultivating a cohort of founders who embark on their journeys earlier and with better guidance, the organization effectively secures the next generation of successful ventures, ensuring the country remains a global leader in high-growth technology.
The members are enthusiastic about the future, driven by the prospect of not only growing their individual companies but also of amplifying the collective influence of Gen Z in the global business landscape. They are excited about seeing their peers succeed and eventually transitioning to become the next generation of mentors, giving back to the community that fostered their initial growth.
Ultimately, Gen Z Founders operates with a clear and inspiring message: that determination, passion, and bravery are the core characteristics of their membership and the defining elements of entrepreneurial success. By facilitating access to experience and building a strong foundation of peer support, the organization is actively shaping a future where young visionaries are not just participating in the startup world but are leading it.
