Automotive CRM and Dealer Software platform Modera raised 740,000 euros from its current and new investors, bringing the total amount of received funding to over 3 million euros. Multiple parties were involved in this fundraising round, including Siim Vips, Raido Toonekurg, Thomas Padovani, Robin Bade, Priit Vaikmaa and Siim Viidu.

More than 30 different brands in over ten countries are currently using Modera car sales platform. In 2021, the amount of transactions carried out on the platform is set to exceed 1 billion. Thus far, over 3.5 million euros have been invested in the development of the product platform

Rapid growth is seen all over the car software industry with global volumes expected to rise from the current $16.9 billion to $60 billion by the year 2025.

Modera is planning to expand out from their already established markets in the Baltics, Ukraine and Scandinavia. The pandemic has definitely speed up the car sales digitalization process, which is well demonstrated through significant increase in demand from Modera’s clients and partners. “It was essential to raise outside funding to keep up with this demand”, says Toonekurg.

Bellone Invest was already part of the previous round and is now following up on his first investment. “We are seeing strong traction on the market and a real need for transformation in the tools used by the industry players. “That’s the reason why Modera fits perfectly in the investment portfolio of Bellone Invest, as our focus is on innovative and disruptive software solutions”, says Thomas Padovani.

Modera completes an already well furnished portfolio of software companies where Bellone invest plays both, the role of financial and strategical support”, concludes Padovani.

Via their private companies, the investors’ circle of Modera includes Siim Vips, Raido Toonekurg, Janek Prümmel, Kristjan Vaga, Robin Bade (head of the supervisory board), Siim Viidu (supervisory board member), Thomas Padovani, Priit Vaikmaa, Tõnu Soodla and Hannes Tamjärv.

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Estonian beverage manufacturer Punch Drinks started manufacturing disinfectants in order to help contain the spread of COVID-19 virus in Estonia. The sanitizers are available in e-shop, Bolt Food and soon pharmacies across Estonia.

„In the light of the corona virus we decided that it is our duty to help our country and people in these difficult times. We had the production capacity and capability, so shifting temporarily our strategy seemed the only reasonable thing to do,“ said Kristjan-Walter Kask, the CEO of Punch Drinks.

Punch Drinks, whose main products are organic craft soft drinks and cocktails, quickly familiarized themselves with the regulations and requirements needed for the disinfectant manufacturing and rearranged their current production processes. “We didn’t hesitate in the production for a second, but were dependent on how we could obtain the needed permits and certificates. We’re glad that the Health Board was on board from the minute we contacted them and fastened the bureaucratic processes to issue the certificates,” explained Kask.  He added that Punch Sanitizers are officially approved by the Health Board, for which the biocidal product registration has been issued.

Entrepreneurs share the responsibility to help during crisis

To increase the production capability, Thomas Padovani together with the Webinfluence Group and Bellone Invest made a quick investment decision, when heard that Punch Drinks wanted to expand their activity. “I strongly believe that all entrepreneurs have a responsibility to help to fight this virus, if possible. We appreciate Punch Drinks’s commitment to contribute to the community and safety of all of us,” explained Thomas Padovani. He added that even though they currently invested to help to increase the production of sanitizers, they see great potential of Punch Drinks becoming a strong player. “The ambitions of Punch are strong in our region. There is a clear market demand for organic crafted drinks elaborated by top bar tenders,” noted Padovani.

Padovani brought out that during the crisis they try to be there for all their current investments and partners to go through the crisis together. “Nobody knows at the moment how deep the fall will exactly be. One could never imagine that the world and economy could be paused like this, so this is completely a new situation. Therefore, we do our best to help to ease the situation for our partners,” said Padovani.

Available in e-shop, Bolt Food and pharmacies

Punch Sanitizer antiseptic sprays effectively kill bacteria, yeasts, mold and viruses. In addition, the product is colourless and fragrance-free, and suitable for both professional and home use. “Today we are able to produce around 4000L of sanitizers a day, but we hope to increase that up to 6000L a day. We do our best to ensure the supply of raw materials, which is very unpredictable in today’s circumstances,” said Kask.

He noted that if they find a partner abroad they could also start exporting. “At the moment we have the biocidal product permit only for Estonia and currently there is no single Estonian company who has been listed as biocidal producers abroad. If we find a partner, who would have needed licenses, then we would be ready to export,” explained Kask.

Currently the sanitizers are sold in Punch Drinks e-shop in different sizes and quantities, but soon also available in Bolt Food and pharmacies. “We have sealed a deal with Magnum Medical, which means that our sanitizers will be available in pharmacies across Estonia. We’re actively searching for new retailers to make the product available to all citizens and companies in need,” stressed Kask. He added that their goal is not to earn easy income during the crisis and therefore have kept their pricing reasonable and competitive.

Additional information: https://punch-drinks.com/sanitizer

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Baltic startups have created over €5 billion in value since 2013.
 2018 was a record year for VC Investments in the Baltic states. The total amount of VC raised by companies in the Baltic States hit €534 million in 2018.

Across the Baltics, over €1.5 billion has been invested since 2013, as a result of several large VC rounds such as Bolt, Citybee, Monese, Vinted, Pipedrive, Starship. And its showing a substantial growth since 2013.

Venture Capital investments average growth from 2013 has been rising +88% in Estonia, while Lithuania’s growth rate is booming with +135%. Latvia is still in very moderate stages regarding startup growth and VC investments, compared to Estonia and Lithuania.
By invested venture capital, Estonia is still ranking #1, with €1,173B, while Lithuania is ranking #4 with €375M, according to the latest report.

One-third of the total unicorns in Central & Eastern Europe are created in the Baltics.

The Baltic region has created one third of total unicorns in Central & Eastern Europe, and 3% of unicorns in total Europe, worth a combined €12 billion. Estonia is leading the way in Baltics, with 4 unicorns: Bolt, TransfereWise, Playtech and Skype. While Lithuania has just crowned it’s first Unicorn Vinted, who raised €128M in a funding round that valued it at more than 1 billion euros, making it Lithuania’s first tech unicorn.

“For investors, it is surely interesting to keep a look-out to the Baltic and Northern European countries. Estonia has created a strong and proven track record of successful startups and is still strongly moving forward. But it is worth mentioning to keep a strong eye on the other booming countries, such as Lithuania and Latvia, who are showing a growing number of rising stars”, says Thomas Padovani from Bellon Invest.

The future looks promising


The investments into Estonian startups are still strongly on the rise and the proven track record of creating internationally successful businesses, creates trust for future growth. “Of course, as the first digital nation on the planet, this also creates extra buzz and attracts more interest to look into Estonia,” says Padovani.

It is already clearly seen that the interest from foreign Investors is increasing in Lithuanian tech startups, especially from Western Europe and the USA. Like Estonia, as the leading country of digital technology and startup business scene, Lithuania is also strongly rising up with their business favourable & regulation friendly environment.

For more details, take a look at the report by Dealroom.co for more insights on the Baltic countries startup ecosystem.

Thomas Padovani, after stepping down from the CEO position of Adcash, is now strongly focusing on investing in to startups all over the world through his investment company Bellone Invest, keeping a strong eye and interest on the booming Baltic startup scene. Thomas Padovani, together with Webinfluence Group, was one of the first investors to the Estonian Unicorn Bolt.

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