Change Ventures

Change Ventures Research Document Investment Thesis Change Ventures is a Baltic-focused early-stage venture capital fund with the explicit mission of 'backing ambitious Baltic founders.' The fund invests in founders from Estonia, Latvia, or Lithuania, or members of the Baltic diaspora globally who can build global-scale businesses. Their core investment philosophy emphasizes team quality and grit as primary criteria - 'our main investment criteria is team and whether they have the grit to succeed.' Change Ventures is deeply embedded in the Baltic startup ecosystem and leverages extensive networks of successful founders, angels, and later-stage investors to support portfolio companies through hypergrowth. Sector Focus Change Ventures invests across diverse sectors with particular strength in: B2B SaaS & Enterprise Software: Compliance and regulatory solutions (Complok, Auditry, Certific) No-code/low-code platforms (Formaloo) HR and recruitment technology (Teamdash, MeetFrank) Data platforms and analytics (Algori, Fyma) FinTech & Payments: Open banking infrastructure (Nordigen - exited to GoCardless) Insurance technology (INZMO) Financial inclusion solutions (AskRobin, Planet42) Cross-border payments and compliance E-Commerce & Marketplaces: Print-on-demand (Printify - major growth company) Food marketplaces (Saltz) B2B commerce (Outvio) Robotics & Deep Tech: Industrial robotics (Aerones - YCombinator graduate, wind turbine inspection) PropTech with robotics (Giraffe360) Advanced manufacturing (AM Craft) Defense technology (Origin Robotics) AI & Automation: Sales automation (Handhold with AI product demos) Computer vision (Fyma) AI compliance tools (multiple companies) EdTech & Impact: Online tutoring (Memby) Game-based learning (99math) PetTech consumer (Dog training app) Stage Focus Change Ventures explicitly targets pre-seed and seed stages: Pre-seed: €100-500K initial investments Seed: €100-750K initial and follow-on capital Focus: "The earlier we get in" philosophy 98+ portfolio investments tracked, showing aggressive deployment. Check Size Pre-seed: €100K-€500K (typical) Seed: €100K-€750K for initial investments Follow-on: Significant follow-on reserves for later rounds Lead Tendency Change Ventures actively leads and co-leads early rounds. Recent portfolio companies show Change Ventures as lead investor in majority of cases. Recent Activity The fund has been aggressively deploying capital: December 2025: Invested in Algori (FMCG data analytics) 2025 throughout: Continued strong deployment with 98 portfolio companies Fund Status: Fund II is actively deploying with support from Baltic Innovation Fund (BIF) Fund II benefits from InnovFin Equity and European financial backing. Portfolio Highlights Notable companies in portfolio: Exits/Acquisitions: Nordigen (acquired by GoCardless 2022) - open banking data platform Growth Stage/Unicorn Candidates: Printify - world's leading print-on-demand marketplace (2M+ merchants) Veriff - global identity verification (YCombinator, backed by Accel, IVP, Tiger Global) Aerones - YCombinator graduate, robotic wind turbine inspection Planet42 - fintech for underbanked in South Africa Active Portfolio (98 companies): Handhold, BirdyChat, Interactio, Origin Robotics, AM Craft, Formaloo, Complok, INZMO, Fyma, Saltz, Outvio, MeetFrank, Teamdash, Memby and many others across stages. Team Leadership: Andris K. Berzins (Managing Partner): C-level roles at AeroScout ($240M exit), Bookatable ($110M exit), co-founder TechHub Riga (MBA Stanford) Yrjö Ojasaar (Investment Partner): Tech CEO, co-founder EstBAN and Estonian VC Association Rait Ojasaar (Investment Partner): Tech entrepreneur, Techstars alumni, multiple exits Kärt Siilats (Investment Partner): 7+ years at Mojo.capital (backed Tink, Wise, Veriff) Ed Steiner (General Counsel, US): 30+ years counsel to VC/PE funds Decision Process Founded by successful operators with deep network support through venture partners and advisory board. Geographic Focus Primary: Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) Secondary: Baltic diaspora globally International: Some exposure to EU and international markets Founder Preferences Change Ventures seeks: Ambitious teams with proven grit Baltic founders or diaspora members Founders solving real problems with global scale potential Technical founders and operators Notable Patterns Portfolio reveals strong themes: Deep tech & robotics solving real industries Baltic diaspora leverage B2B focus predominantly Impact investing integration Strong exit track record EU funding leverage (Baltic Innovation Fund, InnovFin)