My Estonia Report

European Straits #36

Dear all,

A key part of The Family’s business is building expertise on what makes a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem. It helps us spot good practices that we can replicate, ideas that we can advocate, and assets that we can use as part of our infrastructure for ambitious European entrepreneurs.

Hence as I recently spent several days in Tallinn, Estonia, part of the plan was to meet entrepreneurs, investors and government representatives to try and better understand what exactly brought this small Baltic state so far ahead in the age of ubiquitous computing and networks.

For one, Estonia got a fresh start in the digital age...because it could. A former Soviet Republic, it regained its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The breakup liberated a lot of energy and entrepreneurial spirit. Freed from most legacies, forward-looking political leaders decided to bet on the new technology of the day—the Internet.

Estonia enjoyed the positive influence of neighboring Fi…