Estonia is one of the best places in Europe to start a tech company

I got to that conclusion after visiting many times over the past few of years.

Here's why: (thread)

Estonia has 1.3 million people and four million hectares, half of which is forest.

After independence in 1991 (!), Estonia built itself up using a digital-first approach under the umbrella of a program and a series of policies called @e_estonia

But for a country of 1.3m and a bunch of trees, Estonia has a disproportionately strong tech industry.

- 48 startups per 100k people (9x higher than EU average)
- Every 93rd working person in Estonia has been somehow involved with startups.
- 515m raised from 2014-2019

Estonia has some very strong winners ( @TransferWise, @pipedrive, @boltapp, @Veriff) and a surprisingly good tech scene.

No wonder the president went on a humble-bragging spree last year. https://twitter.com/KerstiKaljulaid/status/1012637533925191680

But why is Estonia punching above its weight?

Four reasons:

1/ The obvious one: their digital identity and the fact that technology runs at its core.

2/ Necessity. No oil, no thriving manufacturing industry and a small, shrinking population.

The perfect example is @e_Residents

The best way to increase a shrinking population is to redefine "population".

The e-Residency program contributed:

- 58,000 e-residents from more than 150 countries,
- 7,200 companies
- +€25m in tax revenue

(2019 data)

3/ Size.

Estonia small, making it an order of magnitude easier to achieve talent density.

The sheer concentration of tech talent in Tallinn is mind-blowing.

If you sit in a random coffee shop in Telliskivi (hipster area) on a Saturday, and everyone around is talking startups.

4/ Great immigration policy

One of the biggest barriers to a positive talent loop is immigration. Estonia nailed it: a few years ago @startupestonia launched Startup Visa

- Non-EU founders can move and start a company for €1.8k
- Hiring non-EU talent is easy, fast and cheap

This is the single, most important reason why the Estonian talent loop works.

Whenever you remove restrictions and facilitate entry into a system (a country), the flux of atoms (tech people) will increase

Let's be clear: Estonia isn't perfect.

For instance, the lack of Growth capital is a thing. But it's changing.

In 2013, companies raised $24 million. In 2018, they 10x'ed that.

Trajectory trumps lack of capital.

Many things (mostly positive) have been written about Estonia.

But I wanted to surface this anyway because Estonia is much like The Lord of the Rings – widely hyped, but still under-appreciated.

If you are considering a place to start, consider Tallinn.