Innovantage Podcast

What does it take to build a defense tech startup, raise €1.1 million, and manufacture drone technology in Europe? In this episode of the Innovantage Podcast, Elvinas Kukys, CEO and Co-Founder of Luna Robotics, shares how the Lithuanian hardware startup is building advanced vision systems for unmanned platforms without relying on Chinese supply chains or unnecessary AI.

Drawing on his military background and startup journey, Elvina...

Why do 70% of mergers and acquisitions fail after closing?  In this episode of the Innovantage Podcast, integration strategist Sabine Janssens shares what separates successful M&A integration from value destruction, why the first 100 days are critical, and how companies can turn acquisitions into long-term growth.

Sabine Janssens has led more than 40 M&A integration projects over the past four years and developed a pra...

Can AI actually fix your skin or just feed your insecurities? On this episode, the founder of System Akvile breaks down how a skincare app reached 900K+ users by letting data, not assumptions, drive the product.

Akvile Ignotaite is a PhD data scientist who moved from corporate finance and M&A into founding System Akvile, an AI-powered skin-health platform now used by more than 900,000 people across Europe, Southeast Asia, and A...

Can AI transformation actually make a company faster, or is it just hype? In this episode of the Innovantage Podcast, we go inside Wix to find out what real AI transformation looks like when you're running engineering sites across Europe.

This is the latest episode in our ongoing series with BMI Executive Institute, spotlighting leaders who put business theory into practice.

Joining Max is Monika Laukaitė, a senior operations and s...

What does real innovation look like in 2026 — inside a 160-year-old state railway and a modern AI-first startup? We continue our series with BMI Executive Institute, sitting down with two guests from two different worlds to explore how innovation, AI adoption, and the future of work actually play out on the ground.

We cover the startup vs enterprise mindset, the project management triangle of speed, cost and quality, the EU A...

This episode marks the beginning of our special series in collaboration with BMI Executive Institute, where we explore the intersection of business, leadership, and technology with standout entrepreneurs connected to the BMI network. We kick off the series with Bas Kooijman, tech-to-finance entrepreneur, CEO/co-founder of DHF Capital, and participant of the EMBA programme at BMI Executive Institute AI is no longer a future concept ...

What if mixed, unused LEGO bricks could become complete sets again — at industrial scale? Ilya Malkin, founder of Sort A Brick, is building an AI-first automation company that does exactly that. Using computer vision, machine learning, and custom-built hardware, his team identifies, cleans, and sorts over 100,000 unique LEGO elements by shape, color, and print, turning chaotic brick bins into rebuildable sets. After nearly 20...

What does it really take to go from founder to venture capitalist, and why are most startup ideas actually “bad ideas” at first? In this episode, Raimonds Kulbergs shares the real story behind BADideas Fund, what founders consistently get wrong about fundraising, why most VCs will struggle in the AI era, and what separates ambitious startups from small ideas that never scale. If you’re building a startup, raising ...

China tech and innovation | Chinese economy | Silicon valley vs China | AI strategy

In our new episode, Pascal Coppens — sinologist, author, and tech entrepreneur with decades of experience working between China and Silicon Valley  breaks down how the Chinese economy actually works and why Western perceptions of China are outdated. We cover how Chinese innovation differs from Silicon Valley, the role of competition and s...

Are law firms using AI all wrong? The answer might cost you millions.

Aku Sorainen, Founder & Senior Partner at Sorainen and Chairman at Crespect, reveals why most legal tech investments fail and what actually works after 25 years of building his own systems. In this episode, we explore the dangerous gap between AI hype and real-world legal practice.

• Why Sorainen spent €2M building software after discovering global solutions ...

What does it really take to succeed as a woman in tech leadership today?

In this episode of the Innovantage Podcast, we’re joined by Diana Gold — CTO | Head of Digitalization and Technology at Gijos, Partnership Associate Professor at Vilnius University, and PhD candidate at ISM University of Management and Economics.

In this conversation, Diana shares: ➡️Her journey from IT and consulting roles to becoming a CTO in the...

Most founders think grants are about paperwork. In reality, they are about positioning, clarity, and execution. In this episode, we speak with Jonathan Spruytte, Grants & Incentives Senior Manager at KPMG Belgium, with prior EY Subsidia experience and a Ghent University research/PhD background, helping organizations secure Belgian and EU funding through structured grant strategy and writing.

In this episode we talk about:  ...

Is AI fixing hiring or breaking human connection? Why do the best candidates never apply to job ads? And what really happens inside a startup during its first 9 months?

Juris Zalāns — Co-founder at Talenme, HR Tech strategist, and digital transformation expert shares unfiltered insights from building a referral-driven hiring platform and navigating the fast-changing world of talent acquisition. From startup realities and fund...

If you are building a startup, this episode might save you from expensive mistakes. In this new Innovantage Podcast episode, we talk with Thijs Verheul, Co-founder of United Wardrobe, acquired by Vinted. Thijs is now an Angel Investor and author of Thrift to Triumph. We focus on execution: how to build the right team, launch fast, find distribution, manage burn, and make decisions when the runway is shrinking.

What you will learn:

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Building a startup is a series of tests you don’t see coming until you fail one. In this episode, Max sits down with Povilas Žinys, Director of Plug and Play tech center in the Baltics, working with startups from Pre-Seed to Series B and helping founders prepare for the realities of venture-scale growth. They unpack what separates scalable companies from “busy” startups that never break through — the 2026 la...

What if creativity isn’t about “expressing yourself”, but about understanding yourself? In this episode, Max sits down with Fredrik Härén, the Creativity Explorer who has spent decades traveling the world to understand how humans create — and the truth he’s uncovered will challenge everything you assume about creativity.

This episode goes straight into the uncomfortable, the surprising, and the transfo...

In this episode of The Innovantage Podcast, Max sits down with Jerome Cloetens, Co-founder & CEO at Palau, Sustainability Tech Entrepreneur, to unpack what it really takes to build and scale a startup in today’s AI-driven world. From bootstrapping with almost no runway to signing major enterprise clients, Jerome shares the hard realities, clever strategies, and mindset shifts that kept his company alive and growing even w...

What happens when technology outpaces democracy? In this episode, Max sits down with Mathieu Michel — Belgian politician, State Secretary for Digitalization, and advocate for digital identity, trust, and responsibility in the online world. He has played a leading role in shaping Europe’s digital identity standards and initiatives such as eIDAS 2.0 and the Declaration of Leuven, with a strong focus on protecting democrac...

In this episode of The Innovantage Podcast, host Max sits down with Gytenis Galkis, Partner at Superhero Capital and venture capitalist with over a decade of experience investing across the Baltic and Nordic startup scenes. From evaluating 600 startups a year to spotting the elusive “founder–market fit,” Gytenis shares what really separates great founders from good ones — and why luck, timing, and conviction...