FIRSTPICK
FIRSTPICK is a Vilnius-based first-check venture capital fund that backs Baltic founders at inception and pre-seed with €100K–€500K tickets, supported by an All-stars platform of 100+ operators, a 250+ founder community, and warm intros to 700+ VCs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersVilnius, Lithuania
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What FIRSTPICK does
FIRSTPICK is a Vilnius-based first-check venture capital fund backing Baltic founders at the inception and pre-seed stages. Founded in 2022, the firm manages a €20M Fund I and a €25M Fund II (closed March 2026), writing initial tickets of €100K–€500K with follow-on capacity up to €1M. Its investment mandate explicitly covers Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian founders — including Baltic founders headquartered outside the Baltics — and is generalist by sector with a stated focus on AI-first software. Since 2022 the fund has invested in 46 portfolio companies, and the broader team has executed ~100 Baltic investments over seven years with 5 exits and 1 partial exit (kevin).
The firm's core operating technology is the All-stars platform, a long-life community stack bundling 100+ operator coaches, a 250+ founder network, 7+ years of curated early-stage playbooks, and warm-introduction pathways to 700+ VC funds. Complementary infrastructure includes the FIRSTPICKing ESG framework (UN SDG-aligned screening, term-sheet-embedded KPIs, half-yearly portfolio reporting) and the Baltic Startup Funding Report, an annually published proprietary dataset covering 62%+ of all Baltic pre-seed/seed rounds over six years (741 transactions), co-produced with Practica Capital and Change Ventures.
FIRSTPICK's revenue model is standard VC fund economics: management fees on committed capital during the investment period plus carried interest on realised exits. Distribution is direct and community-led: a self-serve online application with a 48-hour response guarantee, partner-led sourcing through the coach/founder network, and event-driven deal flow at TechChill, Slush, and regional hackathons. The portfolio spans SaaS, AI, Fintech, Deeptech, and Consumer Marketplaces, with co-investor breadth across NGL.VC, Coinvest Capital, BADideas.fund, Outlast Fund, Plug and Play, Practica Capital, and Iron Wolf Capital.
FIRSTPICK firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FIRSTPICK
- Legal name
- Firstpick Management
- Website
- https://firstpick.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- FIRSTPICK is a Vilnius-based first-check venture capital fund that backs Baltic founders at inception and pre-seed with €100K–€500K tickets, supported by an All-stars platform of 100+ operators, a 250+ founder community, and warm intros to 700+ VCs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FIRSTPICK industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early-Stage Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)
Keywords
Where FIRSTPICK is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vilnius
- HQ country
- Lithuania
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
FIRSTPICK business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Carried interest / fund management returns: FIRSTPICK earns management fees on its €25M Fund II (and previously €20M Fund I) AUM and carries a share of profits from successful exits. As a venture capital fund, the dominant revenue model is capital gains on equity investments plus annual management fees.
- Portfolio company exits and follow-on gains: Returns generated from equity stakes in 46 portfolio companies across SaaS, AI, Fintech, Deeptech, and Consumer Marketplaces. Realised and unrealised gains from exits (e.g., Realtify, Nobe, kevin partial exit) and from successful follow-on rounds (e.g., Samphire $5M seed, Copla €6M Series A, WhiteBridge €2.6M seed).
- All-stars platform and ecosystem services revenue: Revenue from co-investment programs (e.g., All-stars program with Lost Astronaut) where FIRSTPICK deploys €100K tickets per company across the 100-startup initiative and earns returns on those investments.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Inception ticket: up to €100K for founders with bold vision and all-star team validating idea/MVP; full All-stars platform access included |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Pre-seed ticket: up to €500K initial, up to €1M follow-on for startups with market validation and momentum |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
FIRSTPICK product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FIRSTPICK manages first-check venture capital funds (Fund I €20M launched 2022; Fund II €25M launched March 2026) that invest €100K–€500K initial equity tickets, with follow-on capacity up to €1M, into Baltic founders at inception and pre-seed stages. The fund offering is wrapped with the All-stars founder-support platform (100+ operator coaches, 250+ founder community, warm intros to 700+ VCs) and is anchored by an EuVECA-compliant ESG framework with KPIs embedded in term sheets.
Product overview
FIRSTPICK's offering is a platform-plus-modules architecture anchored by its core venture capital fund (currently Fund II, €25M, launched March 2026, following Fund I at €20M in 2022) and complemented by two supporting modules: the All-stars Program, a founder-support platform built with Lost Astronaut that bundles a €100K investment layer with a coach/founder community and warm VC intros, and the Baltic Startup Funding Report, a research publication that analyses regional funding trends. Together, the fund supplies the capital, the All-stars Program supplies the operational support layer, and the Baltic Startup Funding Report supplies the ecosystem-research layer that reinforces FIRSTPICK's positioning as a first-check investor for Baltic founders.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- All-stars: FIRSTPICK's ideation-stage investment platform, co-built with Lost Astronaut, offering €100,000 investments to outlier Baltic founders plus access to a community of 100+ coaches, 250+ founders, and a network of 700+ VCs.
- Baltic Startup Funding Report
Products and services
- FIRSTPICK Fund I (€20M) First-check venture capital fund that invests €100K-€500K initial equity tickets (up to €1M follow-on) into Baltic founders at inception and pre-seed; generalist across sectors with a stated AI-first software tilt. Targeted at limited-partner investors seeking Baltic early-stage exposure.
- FIRSTPICK Fund II (€25M) Second first-check venture capital fund (€25M, closed March 2026) backing Baltic founders at inception and pre-seed; same €100K-€500K initial / up to €1M follow-on structure, with continued emphasis on AI-first software and integration of the All-stars founder platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Portfolio: 1 company > €10M ARR, 2 companies > €6M ARR, 5 companies in €1–2M ARR range
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use FIRSTPICK
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
FIRSTPICK technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
FIRSTPICK partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and strategic.
- Lost AstronautflagshipCo-developed the All-stars program — a Baltic-focused early-stage investment initiative targeting 100 startups over 3 years with €100K per selected company. Combines Lost Astronaut's first-contact experience at the -1→0 stage with FIRSTPICK's scaling platform and 100+ operator coaches, 250+ All-star founders community, and warm intros to 700+ VC funds. Launched February 2026.
- Practica CapitalcoreCo-authors the annual Baltic Startup Funding Report (joined by Change Ventures for 2019-2024). Together the two funds have built a transaction-level dataset covering 62%+ of all pre-seed and seed rounds in the Baltics over 6 years (741 rounds with real numbers). Co-investor in multiple portfolio companies (e.g., Handwave).
- Change VenturescoreCo-contributor to the annual Baltic Startup Funding Report (2019-2024 period). Co-investor in multiple Baltic startups including Algori and BirdyChat.
- Startup Wise GuysstrategicEcosystem partner — Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė and Andra Bagdonaitė previously led the first VC fund under Startup Wise Guys flagship, where they worked hands-on with 50+ early-stage startups. Provides ongoing pipeline and co-investment opportunities.
- Plug and Play Tech CentrestrategicCo-investor in multiple FIRSTPICK portfolio companies (WhiteBridge AI, CBRX). Provides accelerator and corporate network connections.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
FIRSTPICK competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Practica Capital: Lithuania-based early-stage VC fund and FIRSTPICK's most direct regional competitor; both are Baltic-first investors and co-authors of the Baltic Startup Funding Report. Practica recently led Handwave's $4.2M seed and is a frequent co-investor in the same founders FIRSTPICK backs.
- Change Ventures: Tallinn-based seed fund focused on Baltic founders; co-produces the Baltic Startup Funding Report with FIRSTPICK and Practica Capital and frequently co-invests in shared portfolio companies (e.g., Algori, BirdyChat).
- Startup Wise Guys: CEE-focused early-stage accelerator and fund where several FIRSTPICK partners previously led the first fund. Operates a portfolio model and B2B SaaS/fintech focus closely aligned with FIRSTPICK's, serving as both talent incubator and direct competitor for Baltic deal flow.
- Outlast Fund: €21M debut fund headquartered in Riga and Stockholm focused on pre-seed/seed in Baltics and Nordics. A direct co-investor with FIRSTPICK in Handwave ($4.2M) and Superpal (€500K), and structurally the most comparable new entrant.
- BADideas.fund: €22M fund targeting Baltics/CEE with a thesis and check size highly comparable to FIRSTPICK. Co-investor in WhiteBridge AI, Tingit, and other FIRSTPICK rounds, and co-produces the '10 Early-Stage AI Startups' listicle alongside FIRSTPICK.
- NGL.VC: Multi-stage Baltic co-investment partner; backs FIRSTPICK rounds including WhiteBridge AI, Copla, Tingit, Backoffice, and CBRX. Operates with overlapping thesis and founder relationships across the Baltics.
Broad incumbents
- Coinvest Capital: Major Lithuanian VC managing multiple vehicles across stages; a repeat co-investor with FIRSTPICK in Algori (€3.6M), Tingit (€1.5M), and CBRX (€540K). Operates a broader portfolio than FIRSTPICK's inception/pre-seed focus.
- Iron Wolf Capital: Baltic-Nordic VC focused on defense, deeptech, and dual-use technologies. Led Copla's €6M Series A in which FIRSTPICK participated; broader-stage investor than FIRSTPICK but operates in the same regional ecosystem.
- Inovo.vc: Poland-rooted early-stage VC with growing Baltic exposure; co-investor in Handwave's $4.2M seed alongside FIRSTPICK. Larger fund vehicles and broader geographic mandate make it a regional incumbent rather than a direct head-to-head.
- Speedinvest: Large pan-European early-stage fund that increasingly invests in Baltic founders. Provides a useful benchmark for what a scaled European seed platform looks like and is the kind of competitor FIRSTPICK's founders may graduate to at Series A.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
FIRSTPICK social profiles
Digital presenceFIRSTPICK compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
FIRSTPICK financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FIRSTPICK leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
FIRSTPICK subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
FIRSTPICK funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FIRSTPICK M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments57 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FIRSTPICK
What does FIRSTPICK do?
FIRSTPICK manages first-check venture capital funds (Fund I €20M launched 2022; Fund II €25M launched March 2026) that invest €100K–€500K initial equity tickets, with follow-on capacity up to €1M, into Baltic founders at inception and pre-seed stages. The fund offering is wrapped with the All-stars founder-support platform (100+ operator coaches, 250+ founder community, warm intros to 700+ VCs) and is anchored by an EuVECA-compliant ESG framework with KPIs embedded in term sheets.
Is FIRSTPICK a public or private company?
FIRSTPICK is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was FIRSTPICK founded?
FIRSTPICK was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is FIRSTPICK based?
FIRSTPICK is headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, in the Europe region.
How does FIRSTPICK make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Carried interest / fund management returns are the primary driver. The others are portfolio company exits and follow-on gains and all-stars platform and ecosystem services revenue.
Who are FIRSTPICK's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Practica Capital, Change Ventures, Startup Wise Guys, Outlast Fund, BADideas.fund and NGL.VC. Broad incumbents are Coinvest Capital, Iron Wolf Capital, Inovo.vc and Speedinvest.
Does FIRSTPICK have an API?
No public API is recorded for FIRSTPICK.
What industry is FIRSTPICK in?
FIRSTPICK's product category is Early-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAAAM, Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.