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Mentors

15 mentors

Diana Veider

Entrepreneur, sales mentor, and strategist

Diana has a deep understanding of the challenges of managing an “early-stage” startup – working with limited resources while pursuing big dreams. She is a co-founder of a global HR platform, entrepreneur, and mentor. With over 15 years of sales experience, she has helped launch multiple companies and mentored leaders in startups and traditional businesses (Brandem, Pilvio, Ziticity, Arras CF, Okaidi, and more).

Sales challenges light up her passion. She is experienced in price negotiations, mapping customer needs, and creating value propositions. Diana knows that price is not the real reason when a client says "no." She is also the creator of the podcast "Playbook for Sales and Founders."

Diana can support you in the following areas:

  • Creating value propositions and messaging
  • Developing successful sales negotiation tactics
  • Designing B2B sales processes and strategies
  • Building and leading successful sales teams
  • Setting and managing sales metrics
  • Establishing, maintaining, and measuring partnerships
  • Validating foreign markets, building strategies, and conducting analyses

Olle Tichler

Partnersuhete arendus, B2B müük ja müügijuhtimine

Olle Tichler is an experienced executive, product, and business development manager with over 20 years of experience as a sales and marketing director, startup mentor and investor, and as a public sector leader and CEO at leading companies (e.g., Elron). As an expert in project management, business development, sales, marketing, and leadership, he is well-equipped to support both early-stage startups and scaling businesses. Olle is also actively involved as a mentor in Tehnopol’s acceleration programs.

Topics Olle can help with:

  • B2B sales
  • Crafting sales messages for digital channels
  • Negotiation skills

Veiko Paalandi

Digiturundus

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Veiko Paalandi on 12 aastase digiturunduse kogemused tippspetsialist, kes täna juhib Dentsu Aegis iProspect agentuuri. Veiko on edukalt EAS Turuletuleku meistriklassi raames (2020-2023) kümnete meeskondade turuletuleku toetanud ning läbi karjääri töötanud nii traditsiooniliste brändide kui ka tehnoloogiasektoriga toodetega. Uuringute tausta tõttu on tegu analüütilise turundusega kes on võimeline ka toetama kliendiuuringute planeerimist ja läbi viimist.

Teemad, millega Veiko saab aidata:

  • Turu-uuringud, kliendi-uuringud & valideerimine
  • Digiturunduse strateegia & reklaamikampaaniad

Kaarel Mikkin

Design thinking

Kaarel Mikkin is one of the founders of the service design company Brand Manual, with 15 years of experience in design thinking and service design for both private and public sector clients. Kaarel's daily work involves making organizations and their products/services more understandable and user-centered, defining organizational goals and differentiation, engaging employees and raising their awareness, mapping the user journey to the product/service, and shaping the user experience. He is an experienced trainer, mentor, and design lead in various development programs such as Design Masterclass, Circular Design Masterclass, and the Top Innovators program, among others.

Topics in which Kaarel can assist:

  • Circular design and circular economy
  • Brand creation and development

Külliki Kesa

Circular design

Külliki Kesa is a strategic designer with a systemic thinking approach, for whom sustainable entrepreneurship begins primarily with the mindset to create value in a broader context beyond just the efficient management of a company. Külliki graduated with a master's degree in Interaction Design from the Estonian Academy of Arts, cum laude, focusing her thesis on creating intervention points in packaging systems through system design.

As a member of the Rohetiigri team, Külliki has contributed to the development of various environmental and circular economy-related topics and the training of businesses. She has led the sustainable development program for the international network of World Cleanup Day, mentored startups on the application of circular design principles within the framework of the Entrepreneurial Women’s Association (EENA), and has participated as a design lead in the development of public services and in circular design masterclasses.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Circular Design
  • Circular Economy

Kaili Kallas

Service Design

Kaili has over ten years of experience in designing and improving public and private sector services. She is dedicated to creating brands and designing services with a constant focus on the end user.

Her user-centric approach ensures that every aspect of a brand or service is carefully tailored to meet the specific needs and desires of the target audience. With prior work experience in government and in retail, she has led several strategic branding projects, including for companies such as Helmes, Kalev, and Põltsamaa, as well as the transformation of public services at the Tallinn Strategy Center and the Estonian Education and Youth Board. Her empathy for the user and understanding of design methods and innovation processes have made her a public advocate for promoting design thinking in the industry.

Topics where Kaili can offer assistance:

  • Market research, customer research & validation.

Allan Valm

Service design, unique value proposition, positioning

Allan has over 20 years of experience transforming complex business challenges into human-centered digital solutions. He has led product and service design initiatives for organizations such as Ericsson, Telia, Veriff, Inbank, Apollo, MyFitness, Ühisteenused, Visit Estonia, the Estonian Maritime Museum and Vihula Manor — always with the goal of creating services that customers love and businesses can grow with.

His work has delivered tangible results: securing €600,000 in funding, generating over €3 million in business growth, and increasing profitability by 30% through value-based pricing. Allan is known for his ability to align leaders, teams and stakeholders. His success formula is simple but powerful: listen deeply, innovate boldly, and execute flawlessly.

As a mentor, Allan is valued for his practical approach, empathy, and ability to connect product design directly to business outcomes and customer value. Teams under his guidance gain reliable methods, real-world examples, and the confidence to apply design processes in their daily work.

Mari Arnover

Client surveys, service design

Mari Arnover is a service designer, entrepreneur, and guest lecturer at the University of Tartu Pärnu College (brand management and service design). On a daily basis, she helps to understand customers, develop services, and conceptualize businesses under the brand Kliendiuuringud.ee. She also hosts her own service design podcast, "What Do Customers Want?".

Topics where Mari can provide assistance:

  • Service Design
  • Market Research, Customer Research & Validation

Jürgen Jürimäe

Production technologies, starting and expansion of production

Jürgen Jürimäe

Jürgen is the founder of the production company Jusmi OÜ, which deals with special production technologies and robotics. Previously, Jürgen managed the production and development of production technologies at Wendre AS for over 10 years.

Jürgen has mainly been active in the textile industry and has come into contact with mechanical engineering, the food industry and the packaging industry, both in Estonia, Europe and China. In addition, he has studied entrepreneurship and technology management at the University of Tartu. Jürgen advises on production technologies and production management and expansion.

Topics that Jürgen can help with:

  • Starting production
  • Adapting production to a new product
  • Development of appropriate production technology
  • Production expansion
  • Automation, robotics

Priit Kallas

Online marketing

Priit has been involved with marketing and advertising for more than 20 years and has contributed to the marketing of many Estonian top brands. Priit is also the creator of the first English-language Internet marketing blog. He is currently managing www.dreamgrow.com, an online media outlet focused on social media marketing, where Priit has shared knowledge in social media and digital marketing for reaching millions of people around the world. In addition to sharing knowledge on digital channels, Priit has also conducted over 400 training seminars, workshops and conferences.

Priit Kallas can advise you on:

  • strategy and planning in online marketing
  • driving potential customers to your homepage
  • online sales
  • SEO
  • Google Ads and Analytics
  • content marketing
  • email marketing
  • social media marketing

Andrus Kiisküla

Digital marketing

Andrus Kiisküla

Andrus Kiiisküla has long-term experience in the field of digital marketing and digital marketing strategy. Today, he manages Tallink Group's digital marketing and analytics on a daily basis. His second vocation is training, supporting and directing others to make marketing work more effectively. As a valued trainer and consultant, his knowledge has been put to work in their strategy by small NGOs as well as the Estonian representative office of the European Commission, several e-shops, tourism companies, public sector institutions, real estate developers, industrial drone manufacturers, and large telecoms.

Topics that Andrus can help with:

  • Digital marketing
  • Digital Marketing Strategies
  • Digital tools for entering foreign markets

Iris Kivisalu

Photography and visual identity

Iris has been a photographer for more than 10 years. Her works have been published by the most of Estonian media outlets, and also der Spiegel, Vogue Italy and iGNANT. She won the first prize of the Nikon “Best Portrait and Wedding 2017”. Iris has been involved in the fashion industry for a long time, helping aspiring brands from the creative director and visuals designer perspective. Iris believes that well-elaborated and wholesome visual presentation are the basics of a modern brand creation - otherwise, your ideas won’t reach the right target group.

Iris Kivisalu can advise you on:

  • finding suitable visual identity for the brand
  • presenting your creation
  • creating an image with the photos
  • practical photography and product photography

Indrek Põldvee

LinkedIn and sales

Indrek Põldvee created B2B Growth OÜ to help companies and people take LinkedIn to a new level. B2B Growth is the only LinkedIn-focused agency in the Baltics. In the last 3 years, more than 1000 personal and company profiles have been fixed, more than 80 different profiles have been managed, more than 3000 people have been trained and a branch in France has been opened.

With the previous company Sorry as a Service, the StartupWiseGuys accelerator and Techstars London accelerator and startup sales experience have been completed. Indreku's strengths are mentoring of companies in the initial phase, foundations of sales, acting with a mindset, preparation of sales and marketing plans.

Topics that Indrek can help with:

  • LinkedIn
  • Preparation of sales and marketing plans

Kari Maripuu

International business network creation, personal selling

Kari has been an entrepreneur for more than 18 years, she has been working mainly in IT. He has also worked as an employee for Telia and IBM. He is the founder of software development company Brightspark, which received many prizes at international business contests. Kari’s strongest sides are personal selling and sales management, service exporting and finance planning. For many years Kari has been a mentor of Enterprise Estonia (EAS) Business mentor program and the largest competition of business ideas in Estonia Ajujaht.

Kari Maripuu can advise you on:

  • strategic management
  • creating international business networks
  • personal selling and customer relations
  • financial analysis and budgeting

Eili Taavits

Packaging

Eili is an experienced manager and project manager working in a print and production agency Print House. Working every day with different producers has given her a very good skill of building cooperation and an overview of both offset and digital printing houses’ capacities. Eili has cooperated with companies from various fields: Honda Eesti, Monton, Statoil Eesti, the Government Office of Estonia, Estonian Design Center, Saint-Gobain Eesti, Ülemiste City, Eesti Gaas etc. In addition to that, during the EU2017 Estonian Presidency she has advised the process of developing, production, packaging and logistics of the presents for the high-rank officials. 

Eili Taavits can advise you on:

  • technical nuances of packaging development
  • choosing a material for packaging and its design unity
  • packaging production possibilities