Building a Global ERP Company from Estonia: Katana CEO Kristjan Vilosius (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: Do the accounting firms identify themselves as being focused on manufacturing companies, retail companies, or physical oriented companies?

Kristjan Vilosius: No.

Sramana Mitra: Okay. So, how did you find them in building your channel partnership? Did you have to qualify everybody then?

Featured Videos

Thursday, May 2 – 638th 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are invited to the 638th FREE online 1Mby1M Mentoring Roundtable on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 5 p.m. CEST / 8:30 p.m. India IST.

If you are a serious entrepreneur, register to “pitch” and sell your business idea. You’ll receive straightforward feedback, advice on next steps, and answers to any of your questions. Others can register to “attend” to watch, learn, and interact through the online chat.

You can learn more here and REGISTER TO PITCH OR ATTEND HERE. Register and you will receive the recording by email, even if you are unable to attend. Please share with any entrepreneurs in your circle who may be interested. All are welcome!

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped a Software Company to Global Scale

If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

This is a fascinating story from 2016 of a Ukrainian entrepreneur bootstrapping her CRM Software company to global scale. We’re thrilled to bring you Creatio (formerly BPMOnline) Founder CEO Katherine Kostereva’s inspiring and super intelligent entrepreneurial journey.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s get going. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? Let’s go to the very beginning of your personal journey.

Katherine Kostereva: I was born in Ukraine. Since childhood, I’ve been traveling a lot and visited many countries worldwide. I graduated in 1999 with a Bachelors in Computer Science. Shortly after that, I got my MBA. Even from high school, I was obsessed with technology. I was thinking of the ways to transform business through technology. Technology has always attracted me.

>>>

Video FAQs

Cloud Stocks: Atlassian Expands API Capabilities with Optic

Enterprise collaboration solutions provider Atlassian (Nasdaq: TEAM) recently announced its third quarter results that surpassed market expectations. The company’s outlook outpaced market expectations as well, but the news of its co-founder and co-CEO Scott Farquhar stepping down caused some angst in the market.

Building a Global ERP Company from Estonia: Katana CEO Kristjan Vilosius (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: That gap was obvious when you decided to position into the Shopify ecosystem. You’d already found that gap, right?

Kristjan Vilosius: Yes. Well, we’d found that when we founded the company. By the time we had finished our basic prototype, we realized that the opportunity is there.

Sramana Mitra: How much was the Series A?

Best of Bootstrapping: Bootstrapped and Managed an Excellent Pivot

If you haven’t already, please study our free Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

In 2021, Oomnitza Co-founder CEO Arthur Lozinski spoke with me about an excellent pivot that is quite enlightening.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start at the beginning of your journey. Where are you from? Where were you born and raised? What kind of background did you have?

Arthur Lozinski: Both my parents were from the Soviet Union. I was born in the Soviet Union in a country called Latvia. It was in 1989 right before the wall fell. Both my parents grew up in the Soviet Union. There is a quote by Napoleon Bonaparte that says, “If you want to understand a man, you have to understand where he was in his 20s.” My parents grew up in communist Russia and my upbringing was influenced by that. Education was really important. I grew up in Germany. My parents emigrated to Germany when I was a small child and then we moved to the Silicon Valley just before high school.

>>>

Building a Global ERP Company from Estonia: Katana CEO Kristjan Vilosius (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: Okay. Now, during these two years, tell me about the pricing model and the revenue. What was happening? What was the market accepting as your pricing model? What were you able to sell at and how was that adding up to your ARR, MRR?

Catching Up On Readings: State of Digital Health Q1’24

This report from CB Insights provides insights into the state of the digital health industry. Digital health funding grew 48% q-o-q in the quarter driven by $100M+ funding for biotech startups leveraging AI. For this week’s posts, click on the paragraph links.