Aistė Juknaitė, CMO at Kiloverse
A marketing leader with years of experience scaling digital products across international markets, Aistė shares what it really takes to build world-class businesses from Lithuania.
The global mindset – it starts at home
Having worked for a long time in international companies abroad, and today with businesses created in Lithuania that reach global markets, I still encounter a common myth: that a global business begins only when you physically leave Lithuania, open offices abroad, or move a team to major markets.
However, the reality is different – some of the most successful global digital products are created here, in Lithuania. Global thinking does not begin with geography, but with the decision not to be limited to a small local market.
Businesses in Lithuania, the Baltics, and the entire Central and Eastern European region prove this with very concrete results. For example, in the field of digital wellness, companies with roots in our region are leading the US market today: Kilo, Flo Health, and Genesis. The products that these companies create are used by millions of consumers every day.
This is no coincidence. For startups in this region, global thinking is often embedded in the very DNA of business – growing by focusing only on the local market is simply not enough. A small market is not an obstacle, but a starting point that forces you to think more broadly from day one.
Tools have levelled the starting line – people make the difference
Technology has essentially levelled the starting positions. Artificial intelligence – from ChatGPT to Gemini – and advertising platforms such as Meta or Google, along with open access to knowledge, allow Lithuania to compete with the world’s largest players. This is especially evident in the field of digital marketing, where small, fast, and creative teams, capable of effectively applying artificial intelligence, can grow very rapidly.
However, technology in itself does not guarantee success. People make the difference. The work culture of Lithuanian specialists – discipline, the ability to learn quickly, and the capability to apply solutions in practice – is a real competitive advantage in the global market.
At the same time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for fast-growing businesses expanding into international markets to find the right talent in their home country. The search often takes time and is expensive – especially when very specific competencies or experience in global products are required.
“Global thinking does not begin with geography, but with the decision not to be limited to a small local market. A small market is not an obstacle, but a starting point that forces you to think more broadly from day one.”
Aistė Juknaitė
CMO at Kiloverse
When I returned to work in Lithuania, I was surprised by how intensely companies compete for people – the benefits packages offered, including free meals, additional vacation days, and the ability to work remotely, are often on par with those of Silicon Valley startups. This indicates a mature labor market but also a limited supply.
Therefore, more and more growing businesses are expanding their search for talent outside Lithuania and choosing a hybrid work model. This helps ensure growth, access to the necessary competencies, and the opportunity to create products for a global audience from the very beginning.
Speed – a great advantage of small markets
In global competition today, it is often not the biggest that wins, but the fastest. Small teams often make and implement decisions faster than large international organisations. This is very evident when working with early-stage startups. The biggest risk here is often not a bad idea, but an attempt to “stretch” it for too long.
Therefore, the business accelerator at Kiloverse emphasises fast, clearly defined testing cycles. From the formulation of an idea to the first tests and insights can take less than a day. Statistically reliable conclusions can often be obtained within a few days or weeks.
This is especially important in marketing. Channels, formats, and creative solutions are not fixed for a long time – they are constantly tested and changed. If a solution does not yield results after a few days, it is changed without resorting to long, time-consuming discussions. Decisions are made based on data, not intuition or the opinion of the loudest person in the room.
Today, marketing teams have more data than ever before, but at the same time, there is a challenge in interpreting it properly. AI plays an increasingly important role here – not only as a content generation tool, but also as an analysis and decision support tool, that helps to understand what really works.
The success of Lithuanian businesses in global markets shows that a small local market is not, in itself, a limiting factor. What is much more important is the ambition to think globally from day one, the determination to act quickly, and the ability to test solutions based on data, not assumptions. When this becomes part of the business culture, geographical boundaries lose their meaning, and global growth becomes a natural, rather than an exceptional step.
