Season 2 Episode #4: In this episode of Tech Effect, we meet Ģirts Graudiņš: A Latvian-American technology entrepreneur, who is an expert in building and running engineering teams at Silicon Valley startups as well as an active investor in the Baltic early-stage startup ecosystem - individually, as a Venture Partner at Change Ventures, and an Investment Committee member at BADideas.fund. Join us as Ģirts takes us through his journey, gives insights into the what and how a startup can break out of its local market, how smaller startups can gain a competitive edge, and what KPIs to look for.

Ģirts’s Journey

How Ģirts got involved in startups & his tech background
Ģirts' interest in helping startups grow - and his Baltic thesis
How Ģirts' tech background helped him see potential

Lessons from the Baltic startup ecosystem that apply to all startups

The importance of people and communicating that value
Leveraging local skills and resources
Smaller regions and their business environment advantages
Doubling down on what makes you unique

Breakout methods & the anti-patterns startups with a global mindset should be aware of

Having a global mindset from the beginning
The importance of moving fast
Identifying if your product addresses a local need or a global need
Identifying real market pull
Ensuring your work makes an impact
The importance of user-feedback loops

KPIs that matter: Distinguishing between real traction and vanity metrics?

The signals that matter
Your customers need to perceive value
Investors can tell the difference

Ģirts’ insights on unconventional startups

Identifying what works
Uber as an example
How to leverage new technologies

How startups from smaller markets can survive and thrive in larger markets like the US?

Leveraging cost efficiencies and opportunities
Making connections that matter
Reaching out and showcasing yourself

Ģirts’ advice from his experience at large companies like Twilio

Why the right people and teams make an impact
How great people create great ideas
How passionate people help startups pivot to success

Ģirts Graudiņš

Tech Entrepreneur & Expert, Investor, Venture Partner

Latvian-American technology entrepreneur, building and running Engineering teams at Silicon Valley startups. Two successful exits, most recently from Twilio, where I built and scaled the video platform. Accelerating Baltic startups scaling in the US, as founder of Baltic Way LLC and as co-director of the Latvian-American Chamber of Commerce. Active investor in the Baltic early-stage startup ecosystem - individually, as a Venture Partner at Change Ventures, and an Investment Committee member at BADideas.fund. Extensive experience in building and running Engineering teams, hyper-scaling systems and teams, turning around teams, and cleaning up systems. Broad experience with both client-side SDK and app technologies as well as backend microservices, mostly in real-time communications, but also developer tools/APIs, travel, and sales verticals.

Josh William Burmistre-Griffiths

Digital Marketing and Paid Ad Specialist

Josh William Burmistre-Griffiths works at TestDevLab, focusing on digital marketing and paid advertising across multiple platforms. His past experience working at agencies and unicorn startups has equipped Josh with the expertise to bring valuable digital marketing insights to Tech Effect.

#23 Ģirts Graudiņš (Ex-Twilio, Tech Investor): Breaking Into US & Global Markets As A Startup

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