After nearly two months of training, new founders are ready to raise capital

On Friday, October 24, the third edition of Fundraising School - a fundraising accelerator organized by venture capital fund BADideas.fund, in partnership with the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) and the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency (RITA) - concluded with a dynamic Demo Day event. Over 40% of participating founders have already entered discussions with investors.

The program’s core goal is to prepare startups for raising investment. According to the organizers, success is measured not only by the quality of pitches, but also by continued investor interest. Investors including NGL Ventures, Firstpick, and Vendep Capital have already expressed willingness to continue discussions with several teams. The most frequently cited reasons: founder strength, determination, and large market potential.

97 participants from 25 countries - half with ties to Latvia

This year, Fundraising School received 290 applications from 34 countries. A total of 97 founders were admitted, half of whom have a connection to Latvia. As the program concluded, 78 founders pitched to 22 investors, and the Top 7 advanced to the final Demo Day stage to pitch in front of a live jury.

The grand prize - €1000 for company growth, sponsored by Make and HubSpot - was awarded to Estonian startup Cyborgs, while the six other finalists received €100 each.

State support helps startups break through

According to organizers, the closing event gathered around 120 guests, including startup founders, investors, policymakers, and industry supporters. Thanks to the strategic backing of LIAA and RITA, the program remained completely free for all participants.

“Fundraising School has been an excellent opportunity for Latvian startups to improve their fundraising skills, learn from regional peers, and connect with top investors across the CEE region. This project directly helps our companies break through to the next level,” said Natālija Siliņa, Head of Innovation Services at LIAA.

Program Director Jurģis Kalniņš added: “The Baltics have produced 13 unicorns - 10 from Estonia, two from Lithuania, and one from Latvia. To strengthen Latvia’s competitiveness, we ensured that at least half of our participants have local ties. We’re deeply grateful to see strategic national support for initiatives like this.”

Diverse startups, shared success factors

Learning from previous years, the 2025 program focused on first-time founders raising capital - especially those building AI-driven startups. Participants represented 25 countries and a wide range of industries, from software and hardware to platforms and consumer products.

Program participants during a session, September 2025

While most teams completed the program and successfully pitched to investors, others realized along the way that they weren’t yet ready to raise - which, according to the organizers, is also a valuable outcome.

“Our goal was to help teams make the right strategic decisions - and sometimes, swimming against the current takes the most courage,” said Kalniņš.

Third year in a row

Following a successful pilot in 2023, Fundraising School has now run three consecutive years. Across all editions, more than 230 founders have pitched to investors, with over 30 VC funds involved - collectively managing more than €800 million in capital.

The program was created and curated by BADideas.fund angel investors. “Fundraising School is our way of reinvesting knowledge back into the startup ecosystem,” said Raimonds Kulbergs, Co-founder of BADideas.fund. “We receive a huge number of investment applications - many from great teams who simply haven’t yet learned to tell their story convincingly. Fundraising School was built to fix exactly that.”

Over the past two years, Fundraising School alumni have collectively raised over €6 million within six months of completing the program - a significant milestone for startups in Latvia and across the region.

“Based on participant feedback, around 40% of startups are already in active discussions with investors, which is a strong signal that the next six months will bring even more success stories,” added Kalniņš.

The program is co-financed under the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027, within Specific Objective 1.2.1 “Strengthening research and innovation capacity and introducing advanced technologies in enterprises”, activity 1.2.1.4 “Support for the improvement of the technology transfer system”.