FIRSTPICK

Big ideas in Tech in 2025? 🔮 Let’s see what we’ve got here👇 Curious? You should be. Full and very 🌶️ spicy article by Andreessen Horowitz experts — 🔗 link in the comments. #FIRSTPICK #vc #trends

2024 was an absolute 💥banger💥, and the FIRSTPICK team is SO READY for 2025. Who else is pumped??? 🤩 THANK YOU and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the founders, fellow VCs, and ecosystem players we’ve connected with this year. You made it A W E S O M E! 💜 #FIRSTPICK #vc #funding #community

🎅 🎁 Merry Christmas from FIRSTPICK TEAM 🎁 🎅 From pitch decks to festive checks, We’ve swapped funding calls for jingle bells. 😎

FIRSTPICK TEAM offsite ✅ We 🔃 swapped pitch decks for 🪵 firewood, strategy sessions for 🧖 sauna steam, and KPIs for 🧅 “Who’s burning the onions?” We cooked together, laughed by the fire, reflected on 2024, and mapped out 2025. Turns out fresh air really does help with fresh ideas. 🤭 💜 BIG THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY FIRSTPICKER 💜 This year was… what’s the word? Epic? Mind-blowing? Wildly productive? Let’s just say 2025 better buckle up. 😎 #FIRSTPICK #team #teambuilding

The Baltic Impact Ecosystem Overview 2024 is out, and guess who’s in it? 😏 FIRSTPICK is proud to be recognized as a key player in Lithuania’s startup scene (yay!) 🤩 Special kudos to our portfolio company ⭐ Tingit | You Live, We Fix., featured in the Impact Spotlight section. A big thank you 💜 to Katalista Ventures for creating this report. Find the full report 🔗 in the comments. #FIRSTPICK #vc #funding #startups #report

Talking about startups? Yeah, we never do that… 🤥 except when we do — nonstop. Andra Bagdonaite joined the 🎧 Runway Podcast alongside hosts Julija (JJ) Jegorova and Mauro Battellini for a 💬 chat about: 🟣 What startups can expect in 2025 🟣 Tips on raising from LPs and collaborating with other VCs 🟣 The Baltic startup scene: is Lithuania ready to take the crown from Estonia? 🟣 FIRSTPICK’s journey and why branding matters for VCs 🟣 A behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of a venture capitalist Full episode 🔗 link in the comments. #FIRSTPICK #vc #startups #trends #podcast

Looks like 🎅 Santa skipped the chimney and made a stop at the Annual Lithuanian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Christmas Celebration & Awards! Three awards later, FIRSTPICK is officially on the "nice list." 🤭 🏆 Pre-Seed Dealmaker of the Year 🏆 Collaborator Extraordinaire (with our 🫂 friends Practica Capital) 🏆 Most Diverse Fund, awarded by Association „Lyderė“ (Thank you 🥹) A big thank you to LT VCA for organizing such a festive annual celebration. 💜 These awards highlight the incredible founders, funds, and partners we have the privilege to work with. 🥰 Here’s to building an even stronger startup ecosystem in 2025. 🥂 #FIRSTPICK #vc #funding #startups #awards

🎐 Podcast time 🎐 Jone Vaituleviciute joined Adrian Kondrat on 🎙️VC in the CEE for an action-packed chat about the world of venture capital. Here’s what they covered👇 🟣 Fresh insights from the 2024 Baltic Startup Funding Report, including trends in pre-seed and seed rounds, angel investments, and their implications. 🟣 A deep dive into one of CEE’s most exciting sectors and how local quirks are driving global innovation. 🟣 FIRSTPICK’s approach to evaluating 1,000 startups each year and making strategic, consistent investments every month. 🟣 How FIRSTPICK is leading the way in fostering diversity and creating a better future for venture capital. 🔗 Find the full episode in the comments. #FIRSTPICK #VC #Investment #Funding #Startups

This is kind of a big deal. 😎 The FIRSTPICK x Turing College event wasn’t the usual “AI is the future” 💬 chatter, we had something worth talking about. We revealed a plan to actually help people 🔨 build AI skills and create things that make sense (crazy idea, right?). 😉 We have introduced  👉 Europe’s first AI Engineering and Acceleration Program 👈 a chance for developers and technical professionals to lead in one of tech’s fastest-growing fields. Here’s the plan: 1️⃣ Turing College launches AI Engineering program. 2️⃣ Students build real-world AI solutions guided by industry experts. 3️⃣ Selected teams join the FIRSTPICK AI Accelerator for funding, mentorship, and beyond. A massive thank-you to all the speakers for inspiring us all to think bigger: 🎤 Benedict Evans (University of Cambridge) 🎤 Linas Nasvytis (Stanford University) 🎤 Paige Bailey (Google Gemini ) 🎤 Algimantas Cerniauskas, PhD (IBM) 🎤 Simon Berg (Ceros) 🎤 Nikon Rasumov (Stanford University, ex- Meta) And of course, 💜 thank you to everyone who joined us, both on-site and online. #FIRSTPICK #AI #startups #reveal #ecosystem

Which scenario would you choose: A), B), or C)? 🤔 💡 Check out the full article in the comments from labsoflatvia.com, where Andra Bagdonaite explores controversial ways AI is being used in startups and discusses where we should draw the ethical line. #FIRSTPICK #vc #funding #ai #startups