TechChill has a way of making you say yes before you’ve even checked your calendar. It’s the right size, it’s in one of Europe’s most exciting startup regions, and it consistently delivers on the things that actually matter at events: good sessions, great people, and conversations that go way beyond the agenda. As Andrii Degeler said, it is fast becoming one of the most gezellig events in Europe (that’s Dutch for cozy, warm, inviting).
TechChill 2026 was our latest outing in Riga, and if Mauro’s LinkedIn post calling it “a series of fortunate events” tells you anything, it’s that we came back with a lot more than business cards.
Here’s what we were up to across three very full days.
Day 1: Mentoring, Lobsters, and Long-Overdue Dinners
We hit the ground running. JJ and Mauro arrived just in time for the Mentoring Madness session, which had him working with Ukrainian startups. A shout-out here to Andrii Kolpakov of Generect and Volodymyr Leshchenko of Getpin. Good luck with what you’re building, guys!
Andrii also ran the OpenClaw workshop on the sidelines. Whether you’re open to trying it or can’t for whatever reason, we’re told it’s a must for understanding the lobster. (Yes, the lobster 🦞.) We’ll leave that one there.
The day wrapped up with a long-overdue dinner with Meeri Savolainen at Zivju Lete. Highly recommended for an oceanic meal when in Riga.
Day 2: On Stage, On Mic, and Off the Record
Day 2 was the fullest day by some distance.
JJ moderated a fireside chat with PayPal’s Anna Szczygielska on the future of agentic commerce (like everything else, payments and shopping will of course become agentic), a meaty conversation covering trust, responsibility, overreach, and who actually holds the keys as AI takes a bigger role in commercial decisions. Twenty minutes, a lot of ground covered, and the kind of panel that reminds you why these conversations need to happen with the right people in the room.
For the Black Unicorn Runway Podcast fans (you know who you are), this was a big one: we finally, after what felt like approximately a million reschedules, sat down in person with Andrii Degeler, Head of News at Dealroom.co, to record a special episode of Runway in collaboration with unzip.media. Watch this space for the drop (and Mauro’s uncombed hair). And while you’re at it, make sure you’re signed up to his newsletter and LinkedIn, cool analysis, charts, graphs and videos with insights on the European startup landscape will be your reward!
We also took the time to catch up with Origin Robotics and Raitis Kipurs, a client building one of the most important technologies of our time. Drone interceptors. Some may not know it yet, but Latvia is a drone powerhouse, and that has helped it now be at the forefront of defence tech innovation.
The evening was a proper highlight: an unofficial journalist side event dinner at Lokāls Karbonādes (now a classic for us), bringing together Anda Asere (Labs of Latvia), Bojan Stojkovski (IT Logs), Tarmo Virki (FOMO.Observer, recent pod out on Runway), Andrii Degeler (Dealroom News), Fiona Alston (Resilience Media), and Viktorija Ratomskė (Partnergap) for unfiltered, off-the-record conversations fuelled by local brews and ‘schnitzels’. The kind of evening you can’t manufacture, and the kind that makes attending events worthwhile even before any sessions start. (Also, apparently there’s a book project in the works among some of those assembled. The plot, as they say, thickens. Stay tuned also for this!)
Day 3: Sessions, Defence Tech, and a Shared Ride to the Airport
Day 3 brought coffee in the sun with Raitis Purins, trading notes on marketing, startups, and Latvia. You know, a good way to start the final day. PS: are you a Latvian marketer? Then join his community for advice and insights – more details here.
Sessions-wise, a few stood out. Andrii Degeler’s chat with a 14-year-old founder from Kosovo building EdTech was genuinely one of those moments that resets your perspective. I mean, what were you/we doing at 14!? The MusicTech panel was a great deep-dive into Latvia’s under-appreciated history of pioneering audio technology and the startups doing impressive things in audio globally. And the defence tech panel, featuring all three Baltic reps and Agris Kipurs from Origin repping Latvia, was a compelling signal that the Baltics are not playing around when it comes to defence technology. Like we touched on before, some leading solutions are already coming out of the region. In between sessions, a healthy lunch (for a change) with the company of Sigvards Krongorns, who just announced his transition out of VC and into building… exciting times!
JJ also had the pleasure of co-hosting the Spotlight stage alongside Roberts Alhimionoks. Thanks for sharing the stage! One of the most fun sessions: the reverse pitching, where VCs pitch startups. Loved the spicy feedbacks! 🌶️ 🔥
We were also very glad to finally meet Julia Petryk in person. Having heard so much about her work and her voice on the situation in Ukraine, finally putting a face to a name felt important. We’re always thinking of our Ukrainian friends and colleagues.
A shared ride to the airport with Matt C Smith (thanks for recapping your session and sharing the Norwegian secret to high-performing athletes!) and Jānis Vedļa. And that’s a wrap!
The Reason We Keep Coming Back
TechChill just works! I has a clear identity and it doesn’t try to be something it isn’t. For us at Black Unicorn PR, events like TechChill are not only a must for what we do, they make our work feel meaningful. The scheduling gymnastics to get there are always worth it. And we usually come back with a few new conversations that turn into something meaningful.
Huge thanks to Luize Darta Sietina and the whole TechChill team for another brilliantly organised event. See you in 2027. 👋 🇱🇻
More events we wrote about
🇲🇹 EU Startups Summit 2025, Malta
🇳🇱 TNW Conference 2025, Amsterdam
