Sesame Summit 2026 – application open

Sesamers on Tour: Latvia

Learn what’s poppin’ in the Latvian startup ecosystem and why VCs choose to invest in Latvian startups.

Join us on Tuesday, June 1st at 2pm CEST to learn about Latvia…

Program

Introduction with TechChill

Keynote: “What’s poppin’ in the Latvian startup ecosystem”

  • Olga Barreto Gonçalves, CEO at Latvian Startup Association

Panel: “Why invest in Latvian startups: the VC perspective”  

  • Eva Arh, VC Investor at 3VC
  • Andris K.Berzins, Managing Partner at Change Ventures
  • Julia Gifford, Co-Founder at Truesix)

Register here ti.to/sesamers/tour-2021/


Meet the Speakers

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Olga Barreto Gonçalves is the CEO of Latvian Startup Association “Startin.LV”. She is Co-founder and Finance Director of a Philippine-based NGO, FundLife International, a tireless startup crusader fighting for a better startup ecosystem in Latvia, and a former Chief Startup Instigator at the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), where she lead StartupLatvia team for more than 3 years.

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Eva Arh is a VC investor at 3VC partnering up with visionary European founders across the German-speaking region and CEE. Her focus includes B2B software and health tech where she has led investments into Lokalise, Avi Medical and Nethone.
Previously, she worked with founders at Austria’s biggest high-tech incubator, leading activities related to fundraising & internationalization. She also served as a CFO and Investor Relations manager in tech startups.
Eva holds a MSc degree in International Management / CEMS from Vienna University of Economics and Business and has been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 Finance.

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Andris K. Berzins is the Managing Partner at Change Ventures, the first truly pan-Baltic pre-seed/seed fund in the Baltic States. His main social entrepreneurship engagement is as co-founder of TechHub Riga, the first expansion location for TechHub from London. Andris is also a Board member at TechChill Foundation.
Two years at Stanford Business School during the run-up to the dot-com boom was enough to whet his appetite, and after a stint at strategy consulting firm Bain & Company, he has spent most of the past 18 years at technology startups in the US and Europe. Executive roles included CMO at Bookatable (formerly Livebookings, provider of reservations services to restaurants – “The OpenTable of Europe”, which was sold for $110M to Michelin), as well as a Vice President at AeroScout (Enterprise WiFi location solutions, exited to Stanley, Black & Decker for $240m).

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Julia Gifford is the co-founder of Truesix, the content marketing and PR agency, English editor of Labs of Latvia, and alumnus of many Latvian startups, including Printful, DeskTime, and more.

Register here ti.to/sesamers/tour-2021/


Cover Photo by Jānis Beitiņš on Unsplash.

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