Why I think Estonia is the ideal country for startup businesses
By: Lady Wait-Rose Japan
Tags: Startup, Accelerator, Personal Development, Startup Life, Incubator

Why I think Estonia is the ideal country for startup businesses

I can come up with new business ideas and also can explain them in English. That is why I could enjoy an exciting career as a legal and business consultant, serving international clients back in Japan. But I had never thought about starting a company with those inspirations. Why? Precisely because I was a young woman living in Japan.

I remember people often made jealous comments about me being invited to the dinner meetings with lucrative international clients as “the flower on the table”, when in fact I was there to win their trust and sweep them from other firms by advising how they should modify their services or even suggesting a new service to better match with the local consumer needs within the Japanese legal framework. I also remember whenever I made inquiries to the authorities and potential business partners on my client’s behalf, I was always initially rejected with the same typical Japanese dialogue: “No one has done what you are trying to do, so you shouldn’t.” or “Will you bring an older guy like me so we can talk? You are just a girl.”

Japan is clearly not the best place for startups, let alone for promising women. You may not have been able to believe what I am talking about, but thanks to the Tokyo Olympic Chief (now resigned) and the former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori who recently gained international recognition for his ridiculous sexism comments, now you have a better grasp of the situation.

10 years of working in Tokyo, I have had enough as a young dashing Japanese woman and I was also living through the winter of my personal life in 2019. So I decided to take a year of sabbatical in Estonia where I would say, the Bohemian spirit still shines onto us instead of sunlight in the wintertime. I totally liked my new life because Estonians see the value in what you can do (or potentially can do), not how old you are or what gender you were born with. I am convinced that Estonia is the place for me, so I have been trying my best to find a way to stay in Estonia past my visa expiry.

As soon as I saw the ad of the business idea contest, Prototron, which “help you create a functional prototype and start a successful business” (quoted from its website), neurons sparked in my head and connected all my pain points and vague ideas in a second.

Let’s submit my business idea, get help in making a startup company, and receive the residence permit as a startup founder!

It was already the night of the deadline, so I quickly named my idea for an eco-friendly platform of restaurant meal subscriptions as “Meal Plan” and wrote up 2400 words of my business plan in 2 hours of adrenaline rush. I saw myself as the least hopeful to get into the top 50 out of 195 business ideas, but Prototron still gave me the chance to present my idea out of my head to the world. That is how my startup journey suddenly started, and I could see for myself why Estonia is known to be an ideal place for startups.

Meal Plan mobile app prototype: As part of the Prototron contest assignments, I learned how to make a mobile app UI design for the first time in my life. It was a very intimidating task until my mentor gave me a great advice. Anyone can do this on the free web-based graphic software, Figma!

For entrepreneurial-minded people, Prototron offers free workshops on Zoom for the selected contestants and on their FB page for anyone interested, plus the maximum of €35,000 equity-free fund for the first prize winner. For innovative tech startups, Tehnopol offers a 6-month incubation programme on an equity option agreement without any monthly fees. For the production phase of funding in the absence of Kickstarters and IndieGoGo in Estonia, there are local crowdfunding platforms such as Fundwise and Hooandja. The government only takes 20% of the corporate income tax at the time of distribution (as long as the profits are retained or reinvested, no income tax applies for that portion of profits), the labour costs in Estonia are more affordable than those of other developed countries, and the immigration policy opens favourable gateways for startup companies.

​It seems to me that in Estonia, if you know what you want to achieve and are brave and committed, people help and give you the opportunities. It is not just about startups, but I also feel this in everything I do here.

Are you now curious about what kind of business ideas are growing up in the Prototron contest? You can check out the emerging teams of innovative entrepreneurs on the Estonian crowdfunding community, Fundwise until 18th June. Normally, the finalists of the Prototron contest get to showcase their startup ideas at the Latitude startup conference, however, this year the conference itself is cancelled due to Covid-19. So currently, Fundwise is the only place we can publicly exhibit some of the Prototron contestants. You can also follow their startup journey on Prototron’s Facebook page!

EDITED 09.06.2021

Update 1: My business idea, “Meal Plan” is now a finalist in the Prototron contest. The news came in just last evening!!

Update 2: The Latitude 59 startup conference is now confirmed to be held in a small outdoor+indoor special version, limited for 500 participants, on 18th June as the infection rate in Estonia rapidly dropped lately. There is no fancy dinner on this year’s Latitude conference due to Covid-19, but the pitch stages are open and a smaller investor-startup matchup space is also open. I will be speaking on the pitch stage and also in the demo deck!