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FIRSTPICK
Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė’s FIRSTPICK writes first checks of €100K–€500K to Baltic founders at pre-seed, backed by a 250-member operator network.
FIRSTPICK
FIRSTPICK formed around the partnership of Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė and Dmitrij Sosunov, who previously managed their first fund together after Vaitulevičiūtė’s tenure as the manager of the inaugural Startup Wise Guys VC fund. The firm writes first checks into Baltic founders — predominantly in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia — concentrating on the inception and pre-seed stages where cheques range from €100,000 to €500,000. The team’s prior deal flow, totaling 50 investments before FIRSTPICK, included names such as Ondato, GoRamp, and Turing College. The strategy is generalist but data from the active portfolio reveals weighted exposure to AI-enabled software, fintech infrastructure, cybersecurity, and consumer marketplaces. Confirmed active positions include Finfra (embedded-lending infrastructure in Southeast Asia), Amlyze (financial-crime compliance software), and Samphire (drug-free period-pain therapeutics). FIRSTPICK offers follow-on capital up to €1 million, and the portfolio contains Seed-stage assets alongside pre-seed entries — Algori (AI consumer analytics) and Handwave (biometric authentication) have progressed to Seed rounds. The partnership also places accelerator-track companies into a distinct program where it has backed teams like Subsig and Buck4Bug. Geographically, while deal origination centers on the Baltic states, FIRSTPICK’s portfolio companies serve markets across Europe and Southeast Asia. FIRSTPICK’s four General Partners — Vaitulevičiūtė, Sosunov, Andra Bagdonaitė, and Marijus Andrijauskas — anchor an eight-person crew in Vilnius that includes a Head of Platform and dedicated finance and investment-analyst functions. Bagdonaitė joined after an investment-manager role at Startup Wise Guys, and Andrijauskas arrived with operator experience launching SaaS company Teamgate and managing a 200-startup accelerator portfolio in CEE. The firm’s public commitment is speed: the website markets itself as the fastest fund in the Baltics, executing investment decisions without extended diligence cycles. FIRSTPICK’s structural differentiator is its post-investment architecture: a network of more than 250 founders and operators that remains permanently accessible to portfolio companies, operating less like a time-boxed accelerator and more like a lifelong operating community. This model — combined with a partnership that blends former accelerator managers, management consultants, and exited founders — produces a fund that behaves like a bridge between an accelerator’s speed and a Seed fund’s capital depth, purpose-built for the Baltic ecosystem where the earliest institutional check can determine whether a startup reaches a Series A.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Lithuania
City
Vilnius
Corporate office
Vilnius, Lithuania
Principals
Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė
General Partner
Dmitrij Sosunov
Managing Partner
Andra Bagdonaitė
General Partner
Marijus Andrijauskas
General Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at FIRSTPICK?
Four General Partners drive investment calls: Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė, Dmitrij Sosunov, Andra Bagdonaitė, and Marijus Andrijauskas. Each partner’s background converges on early-stage operating and accelerator experience — Vaitulevičiūtė and Sosunov previously co-managed their first VC fund together, Bagdonaitė was an Investment Manager at Startup Wise Guys, and Andrijauskas launched and exited SaaS businesses before overseeing a 200-startup accelerator portfolio in CEE. The firm does not disclose the specific voting thresholds required to approve an initial check.
How does FIRSTPICK source proprietary deal flow?
FIRSTPICK leans on the Baltics’ tight-knit founder ecosystem, where its four General Partners and platform team hold relationships built across roles at Startup Wise Guys, Civitta, and local accelerator programs. The firm also benefits from its marketed speed — positioning itself as the fastest fund in the Baltics — which attracts founders who need a quick decision at the inception and pre-seed stages. However, the firm does not publicly detail a proprietary sourcing engine beyond its network and inbound founder applications through its website.
Is FIRSTPICK structured as a family office or traditional venture firm?
FIRSTPICK is an asset manager running a venture capital fund, not a single-family office. Its limited-partner base is not publicly disclosed, and the firm does not advertise any connection to a single family’s wealth. The structure follows the classic VC fund model: a management company (the four General Partners plus an operational team in Vilnius) invests committed capital from external LPs into portfolio companies.
Does FIRSTPICK participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm makes direct startup investments, writing initial cheques of €100,000 to €500,000 and reserving up to €1 million in follow-on capacity. There is no public evidence that FIRSTPICK also operates as a fund-of-funds or allocates to external fund managers; its model is built around taking direct equity positions in inception and pre-seed-stage Baltic companies. The team’s disclosed track record and portfolio page show only direct startup exposures.
What investment stages does FIRSTPICK target?
FIRSTPICK concentrates on Pre-Seed and Seed, with an Accelerator track for earlier-stage teams that may not yet qualify for a full equity cheque. The firm’s active portfolio includes companies tagged Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A; the Series A exposure typically represents companies where FIRSTPICK invested earlier and maintained pro-rata through follow-on rounds. The firm states that its core sweet spot is inception and pre-seed, writing first cheques before institutional Seed rounds materialize.
Which sectors does FIRSTPICK avoid?
FIRSTPICK does not publish a formal exclusion list. The active portfolio skews toward AI-enabled software, fintech, cybersecurity, deeptech, and consumer marketplaces, and the firm’s website markets itself as a generalist fund for Baltic tech startups. There is no stated prohibition on sectors such as defense-tech, adult content, or gambling, though the portfolio shows no exposure to these areas as of the latest snapshot.
Where does FIRSTPICK’s capital come from?
FIRSTPICK does not disclose its limited partners. The firm’s public materials position it as a VC fund backing Baltic founders with institutional-style cheque sizes and follow-on reserves, implying a committed-capital fund structure. Without a published annual report or regulatory filing naming LPs, the composition of the investor base — whether it includes development-finance institutions, family offices, or fund-of-funds — remains unconfirmed.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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