Investor and venture capitalist Yrjö Ojasaar delivered a thought-provoking speech at Scaleup launchpad workshop in Tartu, offering a dose of realism about how investors select the startups they fund. He challenged the audience with statistics and direct questions:
Only 1% of startups that apply for funding actually receive it – and even many of them fail.
Venture capital investors are the last on line to get their money back.
For a VC to make a €50 million return, the business needs to reach a valuation of a billion euros.

From an Investor’s Perspective: Are You Building a Billion-Euro Company?
Ojasaar encouraged entrepreneurs to assess their startup’s potential:
Will your company be worth a billion euros in seven years?
Is your business scalable and capable of rapid growth?
Can you generate €100 million in annual revenue?
He compared venture capital investing to talent scouting in professional sports. "You need to be the Mo Salah of your field," he said, referring to the Liverpool football star. Just as elite athletes in football, basketball, or ice hockey are identified early, investors are constantly looking for those rare entrepreneurs with the right mix of vision, execution, and market opportunity.

The Four Essential Criteria for a Successful Startup For a startup to attract investor interest, it must meet four key criteria:
Solving a significant problem – If the problem is not real or large enough, the company has no viable market.
A clear competitive advantage – The startup must be demonstrably superior to existing alternatives.
Scalable business model – Only businesses with the potential for rapid growth are investment-worthy.
Targeting a large market – Niche solutions in small markets are unlikely to attract investors.
Ojasaar emphasized the first point in particular. "We often perceive the problem we are solving as more significant than it actually is. In reality, people might not even have this need at all."
Ideas Not Just for Unicorns?
Ojasaar’s perspective primarily focused on unicorns—billion-dollar startups that venture capitalists seek to fund. Mikko Pesonen, project manager from Scaleup launchpad and Business Tampere offered a bit more balanced view:
"Ojasaar’s points are absolutely valid. However, we should also apply this thinking to smaller companies, not just unicorns."
Pesonen’s comment highlighted an important perspective in the startup world: while not every company needs to aim for a billion-euro valuation, the same fundamental principles—solving a real problem, offering a clear advantage, scalability, and targeting a sizable market—are crucial for any company aiming for sustainable growth.
Ojasaar’s key message was clear: only a small percentage of startups will succeed. If you want to be among them, you need to stand out and prove that your business can scale—whether to a billion-euro level or simply large enough to thrive.
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