Tech Philomaths has been growing for several years now. The voice is getting stronger, community recognition is there, reputation keeps building. But here's the thing – we're barely scratching the surface in terms of what can be achieved and the impact we can create in the Baltic ecosystem. I'm super bullish about what comes next, but it requires putting in more resources.
Here's where we stand: approaching 2,000 on the email list, about 6,000 across social platforms, and growing. But the numbers don't tell the full story. What matters more is the quality of readership – 70% open rate (yes, really). Top founders and operators across the ecosystem read this – mostly in Lithuania, but increasingly Latvia and Estonia. 70+ different VCs and even more angel investors.
Tech Philomaths has become the connecting tissue that keeps people up to date, informs the community about who's doing what, connects people pursuing similar goals or building synergies.
This could become a much bigger platform.
Startups already have real impact on the economy. This is only the beginning. I expect the way we cover economy and business will shift entirely towards tech and startups. What we consider "startup news" today will be the main business news tomorrow. The reason? Growth. Scale. Global ambition. Rapid change. All of this together makes this segment increasingly interesting, dynamic, worth following – and getting involved in.
Grow the platform in terms of visibility and usefulness. Make it the absolutely key go-to resource for anyone building across the Baltics.
Do more with content and socials. Bring in tools, AI, and automation to be even more visible and useful, especially to founders and entrepreneurs, but also the broader ecosystem. New content formats – both written and video (and maybe others, we're just scratching the surface in terms of what's been done so far).
More original, authentic content. Interviews, how-to guides, content that allows the ecosystem to learn from each other. Make it more relatable, more direct, give people the ability to actually meet the person behind the company and understand what exactly they're doing, what their strengths are, what experiences they bring. Faster learning happens when you can see the full picture.
Other things the platform can do for the Baltics. One idea: something in the realm of product launches. Give founders the ability to introduce products, get more exposure locally, secure first sign-ups and recognition in the local ecosystem – maybe in some sort of forum format. There's potential here.
Increase the opinion part of the content. Besides curation and informing what's happening, we need to double down on viewpoints. Where do we think things are working, where are they not? What should be done, what can be done – across the builder community, but also broader society and policymaking. We're in a competitive landscape, and the Baltic countries could evolve to leverage their tech potential to the maximum. Let's push that conversation forward.
Someone who is hands-on, entrepreneurial, keen to learn, and keen to build alongside me. This isn't exactly a traditional job – it's probably more of a part-time or project-based opportunity where we could build something more significant together. And share the upside.
There's a lot of encouragement from our sponsors, from the existing community, from the main players in the ecosystem. The support is there for producing the highest level content. The opportunity is real.
I'm definitely open to all kinds of ideas on where we continue, what we build next, what we generate next.