# Startup Wise Guys

Startup Wise Guys is a Venture Capital based in Tallinn, Estonia.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** Tallinn, Estonia
- **Region:** Europe
- **Address:** Tallinn, Estonia
- **Founded:** 2012
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** startupwiseguys.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-wise-guys

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Startup Wise Guys runs global VC funds and accelerators for passionate B2B startup founders. It helps early-stage startups solve key challenges at every stage and puts them on a path to worldwide success. It is an accelerator fund with vertical-focused programs, an international founder community, and an established market in CEE and CIS countries.

## Sectors

- Enterprise Software
- FinTech
- Cybersecurity
- ClimateTech
- AI/ML
- Digital Health
- PropTech
- Industrial Tech
- AgriTech & FoodTech
- Mobility & Transportation
- Media & Entertainment

## Offices

- Warsaw, Poland
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Kyiv, Ukraine
- San Francisco, United States
- Munich, Germany

## People

- Herty Tammo — CEO & Co-Founder, General Partner
- Alexandra Balkova — General Partner Challenger II & Head of Portfolio
- Davide Coppola — Managing Director
- Dag Ainsoo — General Partner

## Questions

### Is Startup Wise Guys structured as an accelerator, a venture fund, or both?

It operates as a hybrid: the core business is a pre-seed/seed accelerator that writes initial €100K tickets, but the firm also manages follow-on funds — notably its Challenger II vehicle — and a dedicated Growth Program. This lets it stay with companies from first check through later rounds, blurring the line between a pure accelerator and a multi-stage venture manager.

### Does Startup Wise Guys participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

The firm invests directly via equity checks in its accelerator batches and through its follow-on funds; it does not market a fund-of-funds product. All disclosed deployment is direct company investment, co-invested alongside other VCs when rounds are syndicated.

### What investment stages does Startup Wise Guys typically target?

Target stages are pre-seed and seed, with the flagship program writing €100K initial tickets. The Growth Program targets later-stage companies already within the portfolio that need expansion capital, while Challenger II focuses on follow-on rounds where the firm wants to maintain or increase ownership.

### Which sectors does Startup Wise Guys explicitly avoid?

The firm pivoted away from B2C in its early years and now operates almost exclusively B2B. Within B2B, its vertical programs carve out cybersecurity, fintech, sustainability, XR, and SaaS; it does not actively market programs for biotech, hard-tech/deep-science, or consumer marketplaces, and none appear in its current batch roster.

### How is Startup Wise Guys related to the Estonian tech ecosystem?

It was founded in Tallinn in 2012 by a group of local software entrepreneurs and has remained anchored there even as it opened offices across Europe, Africa, and the US. The firm’s headquarters are in Estonia, and it continues to run Tallinn-based SaaS batches, but it now operates more as a pan-regional platform than a single-ecosystem player.

## Related profiles

- [Startup Tunisia](https://altss.com/profile/startup-tunisha)
- [Startupxplore](https://altss.com/profile/startupxplore)

---

Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:08:11.274Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/startup-wise-guys

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology