Get ready to raise.
Learn to lead.
Fundraising & Leadership is a free, six-week program by Baltic Sandbox for founders and early-stage startup teams. Six practical workshops on the two things that make or break a young company: raising money and leading people.
Sound familiar?
If you’ve thought any of these, this program is for you.
“We’ll need investment soon, and I don’t know what investors actually look for.”
“Our team is growing faster than I know how to manage it.”
“We have a product, but I’m not sure who our market really is.”
“I’m a founder, not a manager. Nobody taught me how to lead.”
“I have to make hard calls and still keep the team behind me.”
“I lose people halfway through my pitch.”
Registered in Vilnius, or no company yet? Come anyway.
Teams registered in Lithuania outside the Vilnius region join as official participants. Everyone else can join as a free listener: come to every workshop and request one-on-one mentorship.
The program
Six workshops. Six steps forward.
One workshop a week, led by investors, founders and specialists who have raised, built and led teams themselves. In-person sessions take place at VDU Faculty of Economics and Management, K. Donelaičio g. 52, Kaunas.
Fundraising
In person · VDU
Matas Ramanauskas · LinkedIn ↗
Former venture capital Investment Manager at Coinvest Capital who led 32 early-stage deals worth €30M as a VC. With a background in Big Four advisory and finance degrees from ISM and VILNIUS TECH, he now helps early-stage founders get investor-ready.
Team engineering
In person · VDU
Dr. Linas Jonušauskas · LinkedIn ↗
Co-founder of Vital3D Technologies and former Chief Scientific Officer at Femtika, with a PhD from Vilnius University in laser 3D micro- and nanofabrication. Now at Lithuania’s Ministry of the Economy and Innovation, and an advisor and evaluator for incubators, the EU and BSV Ventures.
Marketing and market analysis
In person · VDU
Benas Maslauskas · LinkedIn ↗
CEO of Mas Laus, which he has grown since 2017 from a small bespoke shoemaker into an international direct-to-consumer brand. Marketing strategy consultant, digital marketing lecturer at edON and board member of LiMA Klaipėda.
Leadership
Online
Dominykas Milašius · LinkedIn ↗
Deep tech entrepreneur and investor with a decade of strategic and geopolitical risk advisory across EMEA. Co-founder of drug-discovery startup Delta biosciences and Venture Partner at BSV Ventures, where he scouts dual-use founders.
Leadership
Online
Erik Bhullar · LinkedIn ↗
General Partner at BSV Ventures and co-founder and CEO of Snacka!, based in Tallinn. Angel investor in deep tech since 2017, after years leading teams and commercial programs at Playtech.
Pitching and public speaking
Online
Richard Donovan · LinkedIn ↗
Business English and communication coach from Boston and founder of The Language Café, with more than five years of international teaching and coaching experience. He works with accelerators and innovation organisations, recently including STARTPLATZ Cologne, to help founders pitch clearly and confidently in English.
What you get
We don’t hand out money. We hand you the people who’ve done it.
Six practical workshops
Hands-on sessions on fundraising, team engineering, marketing and market analysis, leadership, and pitching.
One-on-one mentorship
Stuck on something specific? Anyone can request a mentor, participant team or listener.
- Tell us the problem you’re facing.
- We find the right mentor and connect you.
- You agree on a format together.
- We prepare the documents, you sign.
- Your mentorship begins.
A wide mentor network
Access to Baltic Sandbox’s pool of founders, investors, scientists and specialists.
Peers at your stage
Work alongside founders and teams preparing for the same next step: a first round and a growing team.
How to join
Two ways in. Both free.
Official participant team
Your company needs to meet both conditions:
- It is no more than 5 years old.
- Its legal entity is registered anywhere in Lithuania outside the Vilnius region, or it can move its registered address there.
The training is fully funded under the de minimis rule.
Free listener
No requirements. Come to the workshops, learn from the mentors, meet the cohort and request one-on-one mentorship.
Right for you if your company is registered in the Vilnius region, you don’t have a company yet, or you simply want to learn.
Everyone applies through the same form
Apply on F6S. It takes a few minutes.
We confirm your spot and send you the details before kick-off.
Join the first workshop on Tuesday, 20 October.
FAQ
Questions you might have
Is it really free?
Yes. The program is co-funded by the European Union and financed under the de minimis rule. Neither participants nor listeners pay a fee.
Do we need to be fundraising already?
No. The program is for teams preparing for their first round as well as founders who want to become stronger leaders for a growing startup.
I’m not a founder. Can I join?
Yes. The program is open to anyone on a startup team, not only founders.
Our company is registered in the Vilnius region. Can we still join?
Yes. Join as a free listener, or move your company’s registered address outside the Vilnius region and join as an official participant team.
What does “de minimis” mean for my company?
If you join as an official participant team, the value of the training is recorded as de minimis aid to your company: small-scale State aid that EU rules allow up to €300,000 per company over three years. It costs you nothing.
Do I have to come to Kaunas?
Some workshops are in person at VDU Faculty of Economics and Management and others are online. The schedule above shows which is which.
What language are the workshops in?
English.
Does Baltic Sandbox invest in participants?
No. The program doesn’t come with funding. Its value is in the mentors, the one-on-one mentorship and the preparation you’ll need when you do raise.
Why Baltic Sandbox
Built around people who’ve done it.
Baltic Sandbox is an innovation and startup support organisation that runs acceleration, pre-acceleration and incubation programs in Lithuania, with past cohorts in deep tech, life sciences, AI, B2B SaaS and HealthTech.
A wide mentor network
Founders, investors, scientists and specialists you learn from directly, not from a textbook.
Mentorship matched to you
One-on-one sessions with world-class experts, matched to the problem you’re actually facing.
Built outside the capital
Programs in Kaunas, Klaipėda and other regions of Lithuania, so you don’t have to move to Vilnius for top-level support.
The investor’s view
We’re affiliated with BSV Ventures, an early-stage fund, and several of our mentors are on its team. You learn how investors think from people who make the decisions.
The best time to prepare for your first round is before you need it.
Applications are open until the program starts on 20 October 2026.
Apply now →Questions? Write to Augustas, Program Manager: augustas@balticsandbox.com
Co-funded by the European Union. Financed under the de minimis rule.