TechChill organization to be led by Kristīne Korņilova

TechChill organization to be led by Kristīne Korņilova

The non-governmental, non-profit organization TechChill, known to the wider public as the organizing team behind the Baltics’ leading startup conference, will henceforth be led by Executive Director Kristīne Korņilova. Throughout the year, the organization will continue working to support startups while also introducing several new initiatives. The current head, Marija Ručevska, will remain on the organization’s board.

The TechChill conference is an initiative of representatives of Latvia’s startup community that began seven years ago with the founding of Latvia’s first and largest startup community, TechHub Riga. The aim of the event was to attract the interest of foreign investors in Latvia, inspire startup founders through the stories and experience of seasoned entrepreneurs and experts, and bring community members together once a year. 

As the startup environment has developed and interest among investors and the media in Baltic startups has grown, the TechChill conference has also expanded rapidly over the past three years. From a few hundred attendees, the event has grown into a two-day Baltic-level event that attracted nearly two thousand participants this February, thereby raising Latvia’s international profile. 

Over the past year, the organization has actively initiated cooperation with partner organizations, events, investors and media around the world, establishing contacts that could help Latvian startups and founders. Thanks to TechChill, ideas created in Latvia have been actively featured in international media, while startup delegations, events and meetings with investors in other countries have also been organized. The organization has also actively contributed to educating the public and the younger generation, including by organizing guest lectures at universities, educational discussions on startup-related topics and other activities in close cooperation with industry partners.

“We believe that TechChill’s international contacts can make a major contribution to Latvian startups—when creating products for a global market, knowing potential customers, investors and industry specialists plays a major role. This year, we will continue our successful projects while also planning to introduce several new initiatives, united by the goal of working more actively with startup founders and raising awareness of Latvia’s startup environment. As the organization grows, it is equally important to develop its internal culture and bring it closer to the startup community—I want the young people who become involved in organizing TechChill to continue working in this industry over the long term, now with a global perspective, industry experience and an international network of contacts,” says Kristīne Korņilova, head of TechChill. 

Kristīne has been part of TechChill’s management team for more than three years and has extensive experience in the startup industry. She previously led the exchange program for entrepreneurs “Startupreneurs” and gained experience as a project manager at TechHub Riga, as well as while implementing Startup Wise Guys accelerator programs in Tallinn and Riga. 

The board of the non-governmental organization will continue to include the former head and co-founder of TechChill, Marija Ručevska; Andris K. Bērziņš, co-founder of Latvia’s first and largest startup community, TechHub Riga, and managing partner of the investment fund Change Ventures; Ernests Štāls, founder and CEO of the startup Dripit.io; and Līva Pērkone, head of the communications agency Ethos and a member of the board of the Latvian Startup Association. 

The organization’s biggest event of the year, the next TechChill startup inspiration conference, will take place on 21 and 22 February 2019 at the VEF Culture Palace, marking its eighth edition. The conference’s goal for the coming year is to maintain the attendance ceiling while increasing the proportion of international startups and investors among the attendees.