For over a decade, the startup and technology conference Latitude59 has been making Estonia bigger by uniting the local ecosystem with the world. Each year, the event in Tallinn gathers over 3000 startuppers, investors, policy-makers, and innovators from over 65 countries to discuss how technology can make the world a better. With Latitude59 2024 in Tallinn just behind the corner, our team had the pleasure do be interviews by our dear partners at Workland to discuss our team culture and Latitude59’s overall ambition to change the world. Thus this blog post was originally published on Workland’s homepage as a member story – head here to read it in full.
NB! Before you scroll down – using the Workland Fahle space in Tallinn for getting some work done during the Latitude59 week is completely free for all conference attendees, just show your L59 badge at the reception (or contact the Workland crew if you next extra support).
What does your team do?
The Latitude59 team believes that startups and technology are the key to changing the world and building an even better tomorrow. That’s the field we operate in – impactful technologies, world-changing ideas, bold startuppers and everybody else within the ecosystem. In short, we help startups succeed by throwing a world-class event that helps them on their way and mitigates their biggest challenges while at it.
As a platform, we employ all the tools, talent, and know-how of the global startup and tech community within our network to achieve that goal. For example, we are very proud of being able to present a 1 million syndicate once again for the L59 Pitch Competition in Tallinn; this time with the help of EstBAN and Specialist VC.
The 3000-person capacity of Kultuurikatel – our main conference venue for the Tallinn event series – means that we’re pretty cozy in size. But it also allows us to move with the startup mindset ourselves – fast, agile, on point, and uncompromising when it comes to quality or our values.
We keep on challenging each other to break molds and seek bigger impact. That’s how our vision of growing global was born, and last year we threw our first official satellite event, in Nairobi, Kenya. 800 people showed up and the positive feedback was overwhelming. New locations are already on the horizon!
What part of your job do you enjoy the most? What are the biggest joys and wins today?
We love creating connections, building opportunities and seeing challenges melt away. The startup mindset is a powerful thing – nothing is impossible. The feeling gets magnified when we come across like-minded people, organizations and companies. “The best part of my job is being able to bring on board partners who share the same values, goals, and mindsets as Latitude59. Together, we are committed to providing real value to our attendees and startups,” says Kaspar Kitsing, Latitude59’s Head of Partner Relations.
It only confirms that we’re on the right track when global corporations – such as Panasonic, Amazon and Google – seek us out to join forces or are willing to invest in the brand and the event we have been building for more than a decade. Our community of friends, partners and ecosystem-builders from all around the world keep us going and make this work really worthwhile. We are bold; and we are here to build the world we want.
And finally, of course, we love startup success stories! From our own network or outside of it, this is what we’re all here for! Innovation is contagious, and so is success!
What work style prevails in your team?
Latitude59 has been at the forefront of the flexible workplace movement for years. We are a remote-first company, with team members operating from various parts of the world (or Estonia!), including Canada, Denmark, India, Kenya, Germany, and Portugal. We are digital nomads in action and our team’s global presence is only a plus – we can stay better in touch with the communities and cultures we want to connect with.
We don’t enforce strict rules or set working/office hours, but rather distribute responsibilities. We are very goal-oriented and passionate about what we do. Many of us have day jobs or at least side gigs, often within the startup ecosystem. A key element in our team culture is… to have fun! Each year and each event comes with the bitter-sweet context of “blink and it’s over.” So we do try to remember to enjoy the ride, each other’s company, each edition we pull together, and the impact we get to make through what we do!
What’s your life like in the office?
Workland has been our team’s “home” for a few years now. We love the easy accessibility and the location, the wide selection of meeting rooms – big and small – and the stylish chilling areas, and the community across all Workland spaces. It’s quiet when we want it to be, and buzzing when we wish to seek new ideas and connections. It’s cool how Workland can feel cozy for a team of 5, at the early days of organizing the event; and still fit us all nicely when we’ve grown to a team of 10 or almost 20, with a month to go to the big show. Fahle’s Workland has a huge space that expands along with our team.
Workland’s own team is among the biggest perks. They share our mindset of being solution-driven, co-operative, embracing flexibility, and more than once they’ve gone along with our crazy ideas. And it has to be mentioned that Workland’s coffee bar / kitchen setup really exceeds expectations, especially at Fahle. #Betterbreakfasts are always a source of FOMO for our team mates who are traveling. What else could you ask for, really?
Latitude59’s motto is “Be bold. Build the world you want.” We encourage the bold visionaries in the world of technology and startups to connect with like-minded people to exchange ideas and make the world a better place, one day at a time. If you’ve got a great (coworking) community behind you, it’s much easier to achieve that goal. Thus we invite more startups and community-activists to join us!
Supporting the L59 Pitch Competition winners and hosting L59 conference attendees!
To support brand new startups and help them keep up with the good momentum, Workland will once again offer free membership to the 3 winners of the L59 Pitch Competition:
- I place – a coworking membership at Workland with a private office for 6,
- II & III place – a 1-month hot desk memberships for up to 6.
PS. One of the winners of last year’s L59 Pitch Competition – Flowstep – is still a resident, running the startup from their office at Workland.
This is a guest post, originally published on Workland’s web page as a member story. Since late 2022, the Latitude59 team has been using Workland’s spaces as the main headquarters, meeting spot and office space. To learn more about Workland, and if their spaces across Baltics and Finland could be your new “home away from home”, head here. The week of Latitude59 is the perfect time to check out the Workland Fahle space – show your L59 conference badge at the door, and get a feel what life would be like as a member, for free.
