Yessica Klein
8 min read
09 November 2025
Kaarel Kotkas is the founder and strategic mind behind Veriff, the Estonian startup tackling one of the most pressing challenges in the digital age: online identity verification. Growing up on Hiiumaa, Estonia’s second-largest island, Kaarel’s early life revolved around sailing, farm chores and side projects that hinted at his entrepreneurial drive, from running a lawn-mowing service at age ten to building a branded power-bank business as a teenager. That resourcefulness eventually led him to Tallinn’s tech scene, where he worked in identity verification and discovered just how easy it was to pretend to be someone else online. Convinced this was a global problem worth solving, he founded Veriff in 2015.
Since then, Kaarel has become one of the most recognized young entrepreneurs in Europe. Named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Estonia in 2020, featured in the EU Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2023 and listed among the 25 most influential young entrepreneurs in Northern Europe by Nordic Business Report, he has helped position Estonia as a global hub for trustworthy digital identity. Today, Veriff operates internationally with teams spanning Europe, the US and Brazil, but Kaarel remains deeply connected to the collaborative Estonian startup ecosystem that shaped his journey.
When did you realize that starting a company could be your path?
Looking back, it feels like a series of steps rather than a single moment. In school, I initially wanted to be a doctor, but living on an island you naturally take on projects that develop problem-solving skills. You always had different projects to do, and eventually you could even call them entrepreneurship, even if you didn’t know it at the time. Later, I experimented with IT businesses: a flexible student job platform and small web-development projects before connecting with Wise (then TransferWise) in 2015. I started testing identity verification after school and realized the problem was much bigger than a small tweak could solve. It needed a solution built from the ground up. That was when I felt compelled to tackle it on a global scale.
How has the Estonian startup ecosystem evolved since you founded Veriff?
Back in 2015, access to capital wasn’t straightforward; there were almost no VCs and only a few angel investors. Today, the ecosystem has matured with stronger collaboration among founders and faster access to global talent. The government has been supportive too, with streamlined startup and scaleup residence permits. Estonian tech founders have been global from day one because the domestic market is too small to scale locally. This mentality fosters ambition and a focus on global impact, which has been instrumental for Veriff.
How important is collaboration within the Estonian startup ecosystem?
Extremely important. Estonia has a close-knit tech community where founders genuinely help each other. Knowledge sharing, reinvesting liquidity and being early customers for new startups are part of the culture. Unlike some other ecosystems where support is more performative, here people follow through, which drives meaningful growth and cooperation.
“The world doesn’t need another Silicon Valley. What it needs is a tech ecosystem ready for the next wave of innovation and growth.”
How did Veriff scale internationally, and what challenges did that bring?
Scaling from Estonia was natural since we always had to think globally. We now have teams in Tallinn, San Francisco, New York, Denver, London, Barcelona, Singapore and São Paulo. One challenge is adapting to different cultures while maintaining a cohesive company culture. For example, in Brazil the pace and processes are different but people are highly driven, and we’ve built a strong rapport with our teams. The similarities in mindset between Estonians and Brazilians: both cultures are hardworking, pragmatic and open to collaboration, which has helped us integrate seamlessly. In São Paulo, processes can seem chaotic compared to Estonia, but the team is highly outcome-focused. Understanding cultural differences while keeping a shared vision allows us to operate cohesively. We’ve found that openness, humor and mutual respect help bridge gaps across regions. Company culture has to be strong yet adaptable.
Have there been moments when things felt like they might not work out?
Challenges are constant, but I’ve never felt like giving up. Early on, there were near-death business experiences, like during COVID-19 when we had a payroll of €1.2 million due the next day with only €12,500 in the bank. We managed to secure investment from a real estate investor who was grateful for our support in keeping their business running. These moments are humbling and remind you that entrepreneurship is about persistence and building resilience in the face of uncertainty.
How does Veriff maintain trust and reliability in online identity verification?
Our focus has always been on building systems that scale while remaining reliable. Trust is central to everything we do. Seeing how Estonia implemented digital identity over the past 20 years was hugely inspiring. We could learn from a country that treated digital infrastructure as a national startup, creating platforms for voting, health services and prescriptions. This gave us an advantage in understanding how to scale trust globally.
How do you manage stress and avoid burnout?
Mental health is personal, and everyone needs to find their own approach. I’ve learned to distinguish between negative and positive stress. Negative stress signals that something’s wrong and needs adjustment. Positive stress comes from being fully immersed in a project. Founders often push boundaries, and burnout can happen once a year, but it’s about taking time to reset, even a long weekend, and then getting back on track. Momentum is hard to build and maintain, so it’s essential to recover quickly and keep moving.
“Thinking back on my journey, it’s like the rearview mirror in the car: it’s so much cleaner than the windscreen. Things only make sense in hindsight.”