Akim Arhipov

Akim Arhipov

Estonian. I lead Fund Fellow Founders.

📍
Current Location Tallinn, Estonia

My story

In 2000, I learned coding as a student: launched Lineage 2 gaming servers and international courier service in my small room in Narva, Estonia. Striving for knowledge, I moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. I worked 12 hours per day at a production line to be able to survive and continue studies. It was a mind-blowing burst of motivation! Hustling around, I got a job at HSBC's head office with 10,000 employees in it, while still finishing a university degree in banking and finance.

While studying at the university, I was invited to help set up a new transportation company in Finland and Baltics. I was inspired by the idea of allowing people of all ages and incomes to meet their families cheaper and faster than before. The goals were achieved through bold solutions in data analytics and machine learning. More than 70 lines were launched and 250+ trips were being performed by 130 buses on a daily basis. Eight million people per year were enabled to travel comfortably and with bigger ease than before. The result was inspiring and I challenged myself to understand better how people interact, and how culture and habits affect decision making.

The concept of improved interaction in the real world through IT solutions drove me to Singapore. Together with my team, we created a global identity verification and personal data management tool that would simplify access to financial tools for unbanked people while meeting the highest security requirements. This is how BASIS ID was born, and now it’s part of the ZignSec & WebShield family.

In 2018, I was listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 for contribution to the development of the digital identity in Asia. By the age of 26, I visited more than 40 countries.

My strategy during the last 10 years were to say "yes" to every incoming opportunity. However, this negatively affected my perception of life values. Now I concentrate on what I really like - investing in founders.

In 2021, I have become a partner in Stockholm based startup studio called VNTRS and board member of the Estonian Founders Society with a goals to finding novel solutions for engaging our society’s activities and creating new initiatives, growing cross-border networks that lead to lasting partnerships, and introducing C-level professionals to members who can boost their confidence to start a new career as a founder.

I am running the most prominent European tech angels community Fund Fellow Founders (https://fff.vc). We invest and collectively advise founders from the Nordics & the Baltics.

In 2021 & 2022, I reviewed 1500+ companies, interviewed 361 founders, 105 due diligence reports, 17 investments and lead 7 investment rounds.

Scholarship

🇪🇪
Scholarship #justnameIT

Investments

I am occasionally lucky enough to convince founders to let me join as a small part of their journeys. I'm a quiet name on the cap table and cannot take credit — all success is squarely due to their hard work and vision.

Proud of startups I already invested in

NameDescriptionTagsLink
🎥
Filmustage
Automatic script breakdown and scheduling service
#saas
🟠
PeerBoard (exit)
Plug & play community platform
#saas
🥷🏻
KatanaMRP
A manufacturing MRP that unites all sales channels, tools and workflows
MRP
🩳
Swag42
Sustainable fashion corporate apparel
#apparel
🛴
Bolt
Transportation platform providing ride-hailing, micromobility, and food and grocery delivery services
#mobility
RecruitLab
Radically simple recruiting software
#recruittech
Modash
Influencer discovery platform with the best data in the world
#martech
Insly
Design & deliver your insurance products
#insurtech
Apata
Simplified fraud prevention for card issuers
#fintech
Scramble
The most accessible early financing for your startup
#fintech
DriveX
AI-powered vehicle verification with damage detection
#insurtech
Membo
Grocery delivery app optimised for freshness and quality
#grocery
Votemo
Interactive tools for online events
#events
Coursy
All-in-one learning platform for effective skills development
edtech#seed
imagiLabs
Learn coding with smart accessory that you can personalize anytime and anywhere through the imagiLabs app.
edtech#pre-seed
Jeff App
“Tinder for loans”. Loan brokerage solution that utilizes alternative data to boost financial inclusion in Southeast Asia
#fintech#seed
ATOM Mobility
All the technology you need to launch and scale kickscooter, scooter, bike, moped or even car sharing business.
#mobility#seed
Startup Wise Guys
Europe's most experienced B2B startup accelerator
#accelerator#fund

Stories and DD reports

I am occasionally write short articles and due diligence reports. I share it with my friends and we try to help startups or have strong discussions about interesting topics:

🚥
My learnings in due diligence: 2020 & 2021
📊
Market evaluation: TAM-SAM-SOM
☄️
Recap: How to avoid a climate disaster by Bill Gates

Adventures

I love adventures. Hiking, sailing, kitesurfing, biking, surfing - just name it. If you have a great idea for crazy trip, let me join you!

Links

Contact

✉️
Email me To get in touch
icon
Connect with me On LinkedIn