Founder and President (ImpactBuilders)
From Estonian excellence to European opportunity
Jan Lagast founded ImpactBuilders with the ambition to contribute to a Europe we are proud to work and live in. With activities in Tallinn, Ghent, and Milan, his work focuses on connecting European industrial capabilities.
Over more than five years of living and working in Estonia, he observed a combination of strengths that are rarely found together. A highly educated workforce, strong technical capabilities, and a business culture based on discipline and respect. Industrial environments are often highly automated and efficiently managed.
Estonia also developed a strong digital ecosystem. Following the exit of Skype, a generation of digital-first companies emerged, building on the country’s early investment in digital infrastructure. These companies required less traditional business development and were often financed and eventually acquired by international, frequently US-based, capital.
Alongside this, a different pattern can be seen in more traditional industries.
Many companies have limited focus on business development. Networking and sales capabilities are underdeveloped. The focus remains on internal optimisation rather than external expansion. This was not a structural issue in the past. Estonia benefited from strong economic links with the Nordics and access to the Russian hinterland. Local companies could grow without needing to actively develop markets in Western Europe.
That situation has changed. With Russia no longer accessible and Nordic markets under pressure, Estonian companies are positioned at the end of the supply chain. Growth now requires access to Western European markets.
This shift coincides with another dynamic. A large number of industrial companies, established after the 1990s, are reaching a point of succession. Many of these businesses are operationally strong, but lack the commercial capabilities required for the next phase.
This creates a specific type of opportunity. Well-run, efficient industrial companies, with strong production capabilities, but limited access to markets.
On 28 April, during the Tuesday Breakfast in Ghent, Jan Lagast will outline where these opportunities are located, why they exist, and how European companies can engage with them.