Estonian Accelerator Startup Wise Guys Secures €1M Deal For Alumni Teams

Mike Butcher

Mike Butcher is the European Editor for TechCrunch. A former grunge rock drummer, he became a long time journalist, and has since written for UK national newspapers and magazines including The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The New Statesman. Mike is also a co-founder and shareholder of TechHub, a co-working space/service/community with several locations... → Learn More

Monday, October 8th, 2012
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Tallinn-based tech accelerator Startup Wise Guys – yes, really – has struck a useful deal for the alumni companies that pass through its programme. It’s secured a deal with a venture investor SmartCap, an Estonian based VC, where it will commit €1 million into SWG alumni companies that have a local presence. SmartCap invests along with independent co-investors on a 50-50% basis and often takes a role of the lead investor.

Wise Guys Lead Investor Herty Tammo says the news comes just before they start their second program.

Twice a year Startup Wise Guys accepts up to 10 teams to participate in a 12-week intensive development program. It’s backed by 15 angel investors together with the Estonian Development Fund and takes teams from anywhere in the world. They finish with an investor day in Tallinn and London and trips to Silicon Valley.

They started their first round this spring with 240 applications, and now have around 80 mentors and a network shared between Springboard London and Ignite100. The common connection here appears to be Jon Bradford, the always-on-a-plane lead guy from Springboard.