Becoming a “unicorn” was a long and hard job / Article

Achieving the status of “Unicorn” was part of the success, but mostly – long and hard work, said Dāvis Siksnāns, CEO of the company “Printful”.

For a new company to reach the value of one billion US dollars in a few years – this is something very rare. So rare that such companies are called unicorns in the business world. And Latvia now also has its own unicorn. Acquiring $ 130 million in investment from private investment firm Bregal Sagemount, the first Latvian unicorn or start-up to provide more than $ 1 billion in market value, has become a manufacturer of printing products “Printful”.

“It simply came to our notice then. But in reality – also for Latvia and Latvian talents. This proves that a large international company can be used in Latvia.

It is a big, long and hard job. We invested in our factories, in marketing, we took people.

Part of the success is, of course, but basically – a lot of work, ”said Siksnāns.

With this investment, Bregal Sagemount will become a minority shareholder of Printful, but the controlling stake in the company will still be in the hands of its Latvian owners.

Printful has production facilities in Latvia, the USA, Spain, Canada and Mexico. It employs a total of 1,800 people, a third of whom are in Latvia.

The company’s turnover in 2020 has grown by almost 80%, exceeding 200 million US dollars. The turnover of the subsidiary Printful Latvia reached 47.2 million euros.

Last year, the company paid more than 5 million euros in taxes to the Latvian state budget.

The news about Latvia’s first unicorn was awaited by the entire Latvian start-up industry, which felt a bit like the latter on the Baltic scale, as the first unicorns appeared in the neighborhood long ago. In Estonia – “Skype”, in Lithuania – clothing and accessories trading platform “Vinted”.

“This is #latvijavar. Now we can raise their flag and move on.

This will have a positive impact on our country’s image, brand and visibility. And that can translate into more investment, more knowledge about us.

This is also good news for other start-ups. This is an additional motivation maukt further, continue to evolve, as there is a good example before our eyes that this is not just happening somewhere in the United States or on another planet. This is also happening here in Latvia, ”commented Olga Barretu-Gonsālvisa, the head of the Latvian Start-up Association.

Among the experts of the new companies, it is said that other Latvian “unicorns” could soon join the company “Printful”.

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