In the third quarter of this year, Lithuanian start-ups paid EUR 74.4 million in taxes–almost 45% more than during the same period last year. The number of professionals working in start-ups also grew by around a fifth year-on-year, while salaries increased by 14%.
According to Unicorns Lithuania, 16,400 employees are currently working in Lithuanian start-ups, with an average salary of EUR 3,200 before taxes. Compared to the previous quarter, the number of employees grew by 3% and salaries rose by 2%.
“The situation in the financial markets is tense today, and we are all talking about a possible economic winter. This has a direct impact on start-ups that grow from investments–we hear about cost-cutting, lay-offs, stopping operations. The situation in Lithuania is not so pessimistic at the moment, since a number of large start-ups are growing not because of direct investment, but because of profits. In other words, their income depends on customers’ satisfaction rather than investors’ opportunities,” says Inga Langaitė, head of the Lithuanian start-up association Unicorns Lithuania.
TOP 5 Lithuanian start-ups that paid the most taxes (Q3 2022):
1. Vinted – EUR 5.18 million
2. Nord Security – EUR 4.21 million
3. Nanoavionics – EUR 2.62 million
4. Oxylabs – EUR 2.40 million
5. KiloHealth – EUR 2.27 million
Compared to Q2, Nanoavionics made the biggest splash and broke into the Top 3 by announcing the sale of 77% of its shares to the Norwegian technology company Kongsberg in July. By the way, Nanoavionics employees were paid an average salary of EUR 30,700 in August. The amount of taxes paid by both Vinted and Oxylabs increased significantly as well.
Start-ups assess and manage risks”
“The situation is constantly changing, so it is difficult to predict what the next year will be like and what economic indicators we will record then. Start-ups monitor and assess risks very carefully and take immediate decisions to help manage them. In the short term, this can be scary, but in the long term it helps to preserve the business, the product, and the employees,” says Ms. Langaitė.
According to her, the technology sector is highly adaptive and innovative, and the solutions implemented in difficult times often bring the greatest benefits to both businesses and the society.
Optimistic signs were also seen in the fourth quarter of the year, with the Lithuanian start-up Ovoko, developing e-commerce for car parts, announcing that it had raised as much as EUR 14 million in October, and Litilit, which is developing an innovative femtosecond laser technology, raising EUR 3.5 million in November. By the way, this investment in a Lithuanian start-up is the first Taiwanese investment in Central and Eastern Europe
TOP 5 start-ups with highest salaries (Q3 2022, before taxes):
1. Oberlo – EUR 9.35 thousand (+72% compared to Q2 2022)
2. Redtrack – EUR 7.48 thousand (+4% compared to Q2 2022)
3. Stock Invest.us – EUR 7.19 thousand (+1% compared to Q2 2022)
4. Game Insight – EUR 6.93 thousand (-23% compared to Q2 2022)
5. Mambu – EUR 6.90 thousand (+22% compared to Q2 2022)
According to the data from the third quarter, the start-ups with the most employees in Lithuania are Vinted (1,096), Nord Security (1,019), Planas chuliganas (720), Kilo Health (509) and Oxylabs (483). All of the above mentioned start-ups have increased their team during the respective quarter and are currently looking for new employees. According to Unicorns Lithuania, there are currently more than 600 vacancies in the country’s active start-ups.
