Why do familiar scaling strategies abroad fail – or unexpectedly succeed?

In this episode of Built in the Digital Republic, Alex Antonuk talks with Estonian export veteran Sven Aulik, Member of the Management Board at the Estonian Association of IT and Telecommunications, and Director of International Partnerships at FleetGuru.

With 30 years of experience, Sven shares insights on choosing first markets, avoiding cultural pitfalls, and building trust in unfamiliar environments – all of which help companies create a lasting presence beyond one-off deals.

What makes Estonian engineering culture stand out, and why are UK startups increasingly choosing teams from this Baltic country?

In the pilot episode of Built in the Digital Republic, we speak with Jack Mangnall, co-founder of UK-based fintech company Shape Technologies.

He shares first-hand insights on working with Estonian developers, the pros and cons of such partnerships, and what questions founders should ask before hiring remote tech teams abroad.

Hosted by Alex Antonuk.