After an intense selection process by Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN) investors, syndicate members, and co-leads Martin Goroško and Heidi Kakko, the winners of the 10th sTARTUp Day Pitching competition were announced in Tartu on 30 January 2026.
Due to the very strong competition, the EstBAN syndicate will be divided between two promising deep tech startups: ImpactPCB gets up to €150k, and LifeGlue (FIN) gets up to €150k.
EstBAN syndicate co-lead Martin Goroško commented that the startups were impressive, and it wasn’t an easy task to pick the winners. “All the top 30 companies that made it to the sTARTUp Day pitching stage are investable, and I believe investors will pick them up sooner or later. Regarding the angel investor syndicate, we were weighing the decision pretty intensely until the last minute,” Goroško mentioned.
Lead investor Heidi Kakko said that the winners were the strongest in all aspects that investors are looking for. “They know how to validate a problem early enough in a complex field and create a corresponding solution. For investors, it’s also important to understand their specific markets,” Kakko said.
How are the investment winners going to change the world?
ImpactPCB offers a validated, revenue-generating deep-tech solution for chemical-free e-waste recycling, addressing a critical EU resource challenge. Strong founder expertise, early customer traction, and scalable modular technology support an attractive growth opportunity.
- Founders: Artur Klauson, Deniss Klauson
- Read more: https://www.impactpcb.com/our-solutions
LifeGlue is developing a scalable biomaterial platform with strong scientific foundations and broad application potential. Early validation and a clear value proposition position the company well for long-term impact and growth.
- Founders: Laura Kuittinen, Paula Puistola, Anni Mörö
- Read more: https://www.glue4life.com/
Rest of the TOP5 startups of the sTARTUp Day 2026 Pitching Competition
These companies made it to the finals together with two winners from a pool of over 200 promising ventures:
- Thistle and Gerda-Annika Laager (EST)
- EsaDres and Karin Kogermann (EST)
- BabAI Orbital and Roman Karpenko (UKR-EST).
More on the same topic
- Read more about the sTARTUp Day 2026 syndicate
- Take a look at former EstBAN syndicates too.
