Participated · Seed · Aug 2023

Spenfi provides an all-in-one platform to automate finance-team operations and facilitate collaboration between finance and non-finance employees, combining expense management with embedded financial services such as payment cards, bank transfers, and currency exchange. The product is delivered as a web app for finance managers and a mobile app for employees who need funds, cards, and budget access on the go. The company was founded in 2019 by Povilas Žinys, Vladyslav Tkachuk, and Yuriy Rachek and began in the Startup Wise Guys accelerator. Spenfi uses Open Banking and embedded finance to speed up operational finance without becoming an electronic money institution. It targets SMEs that need integrated tools with accounting and banking integrations to replace Excel and disjointed tools. The startup is fully operational in Lithuania and the Netherlands and plans to scale further in the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK using new funding.

Led · Equity · Aug 2022

Okredo is developing a multi-modular scoring system aimed at improving SME credit scoring. The company says the new system will transform how businesses assess and manage credit risk. Okredo has secured €1.2M in funding to accelerate development of that platform. The financing is reported as coming from European funds. Okredo aims to score up to 30 million EU companies as part of its roll-out across Europe and beyond. The article identifies Okredo as a Lighthouse Ventures portfolio company. Okredo provides a business-matching SaaS platform that evaluates new and existing customers’ financial strength and sales potential, offering both freemium and premium services. The product supplies data and insights that help SMEs assess the credibility, stability, and sales potential of prospective and ongoing business partners. The company was founded in 2015 and launched across the three Baltic nations; it currently operates in Lithuania with planned expansion to Latvia, Poland, the United Kingdom and other European countries. Okredo reports over 17,000 users and more than 3,000 corporate clients. In August 2022 the company raised €650,000 to support geographic expansion and product development. The funds will specifically be used to expand into the UK and other markets and to develop an Open Banking solution for its users. Okredo is a Vilnius-based open data platform that uses AI to help SMEs assess the credibility, financial strength, and sales potential of business partners and customers. The product gathers, formats, and presents raw open data made available under the EU's open data directive so information is human-readable and actionable for small businesses. It highlights counterparties most likely to miss invoice payments and can automatically advise on actions such as negotiating, going to court, or publishing the debt on the platform. Okredo closed a €1 million seed funding round and plans to expand into Latvia, Poland, and the UK. Investors in the round include Lithuanian Business Angels Fund, Presto Ventures, Startup Wise Guys, and several undisclosed angel investors. Presto Ventures estimates a minimum €175 million market opportunity for the business given the recent enforcement of open data rules and significant late-payment exposure among SMEs.

Led · Equity · Aug 2021

InRento, founded in 2020 and based in Vilnius, operates a regulated crowdfunding platform that enables users to invest from €500 into prime European rental properties. The platform is licensed by the Bank of Lithuania and combines rental yield with capital growth when properties are sold. InRento has exceeded €1 million in investor capital and recorded zero late payments. Revenue grew 25 times in the last 12 months and headcount expanded from 4 to 18 as the company scales operations. The business is facilitated via its holding company, Rikanus, which provides white‑label crowdfunding core technology and has raised more than €1 million to date. With the new funding, InRento plans international expansion beginning in Spain to offer investments in touristic rental assets along the Mediterranean coast and Iberian mountains. InRento operates a buy-to-let crowdfunding platform allowing users to invest in rental properties with a minimum of €500. The platform offers investors rental income and potential capital growth when assets are later sold above purchase price. Founded in 2020 in Lithuania, InRento targets lower-risk real estate investments compared with many existing crowdfunding options. Founder and CEO Gustas Germanavičius draws on prior experience sourcing and co-financing over 300 property crowdfunding investments. The platform currently advertises annual rental yields of 6–7.5%. Management says the company will use funding to accelerate platform development and to expand into foreign markets for greater investor diversification.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2020

Mark ID provides a universal identity verification platform that combines machine learning face recognition, document validation, and e-signature capabilities accessible on any camera-equipped device. Its core product creates facial biometric vector maps from a selfie or short video, matches them to government IDs, and checks document genuineness. The company uses a hybrid approach—AI plus human KYC experts—and offers professional liability insurance, a single API for multiple local identification methods in the Baltics, and physical identifications across Baltic cities. The product was tested in late 2017/early 2018 and the company was launched in 2019 Q1; the team currently consists of about 10 people. Financially, Mark ID raised €200,000 at the end of the prior year and reports approaching 100,000 face-recognition identifications, with automated decisions delivered in ~10s and manual KYC re-checks taking ~163s. Its stated long-term plan is to integrate European local identity-verification services to become an EU-wide identity gateway, and it may pursue another funding round in a year or two.