Famous Startups
Name at least 5 Estonian Startups
ANYTHING (you will get it, guys)
Which famous entrepreneur is known for saying, "Stay hungry, stay foolish," in a 2005 Stanford speech?
Steve Jobs
Legend has it, the founders of this Estonian mobility startup first tested their ride-hailing app by picking up partygoers in Tallinn. Now, they’re driving their way into 45+ countries!
Bolt
This once-beloved phone brand dominated the mobile industry before being crushed by the rise of iPhones and Androids. It tried to make a comeback but failed spectacularly.
BlackBerry
Years before Zoom, this Estonian-founded company was the first to make free video calls possible worldwide, changing the way people communicated forever.
Skype
What was Twitter’s original name?
Twttr
Which entrepreneur co-founded Microsoft alongside Bill Gates in 1975?
Paul Allen
Imagine a world where your pizza is delivered by a robot rolling down the street. This Estonian-founded company is already making it happen.
Starship Technologies
This startup wanted to revolutionize transportation with a network of underground tunnels, but after millions spent and no real progress, it became more of a meme than a solution.
Boring Tunnel
Before Spotify and Apple Music, this startup pioneered digital music streaming but was shut down due to lawsuits from the record industry.
Napster
Which famous coffee chain was started by Howard Schultz and became the largest in the world?
Starbucks
This entrepreneur turned a small online bookstore into a trillion-dollar e-commerce empire, later stepping down as CEO to focus on space travel with Blue Origin.
Jeff Bezos
Before ChatGPT made AI cool, this Estonian-founded company was already helping businesses automate sales and customer communication with AI-driven pipelines.
Pipedrive
This Google-backed social network was supposed to kill Facebook, but instead, it became one of the most forgettable platforms of all time.
Google+
Before Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, this was the first social media platform to truly go mainstream in the early 2000s, letting users customise their pages with HTML and rank their "Top 8" friends.
MySpace
What was Amazon originally founded as?
Online Bookstore
Name at least one co-founder of Airbnb.
Brian Chesky / Nathan Blecharczyk / Joe Gebbia
This Estonian cybersecurity unicorn is trusted by governments and enterprises worldwide to protect their digital infrastructure from cyber threats.
Veriff
Once called "the future of personal mobility", this two-wheeled self-balancing scooter was hyped to change the way cities work - until it flopped hard due to high prices and zero real demand.
Segway
This startup was the first-ever online marketplace, launching in 1995 and allowing users to buy and sell everything from vintage collectibles to cars—eventually growing into an e-commerce giant.
eBay
What inspired the idea for Uber?
Taxi issues in Paris
She went from a struggling single mother to one of the richest women in the world by writing a book in cafes.
Joanne Kathleen Rowling
If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a fraction of a sports car, a fine wine collection, or even a piece of rare artwork, this Estonian blockchain- powered investment platform makes it possible.
Funderbeam
Once hyped as the future of personal finance, this cryptocurrency exchange was valued at $32 billion before collapsing in 2022 due to fraud, mismanagement, and its CEO’s shady dealings.
FTX
Before Netflix and YouTube, this failed startup was the first-ever video streaming platform, but due to slow internet speeds in the 90s, it never took off.