sTARTUp Day Classics #2: Kaarel Kotkas on Y Combinator and Growing as Hell

In this episode of the sTARTUp Day Podcast, we revisit a standout keynote from sTARTUp Day 2019 . Kaarel Kotkas, the founder of Veriff, takes us through his journey from a small-town upbringing in Estonia to building one of the fastest-growing online identity verification companies in the world.

Kaarel shares how a personal experience with online fraud inspired the idea for Veriff, what it really means to find product-market fit, and how joining Y Combinator helped accelerate the company’s growth. He also opens up about the chaos of hypergrowth, the importance of mission-driven teams, and the lessons learned from moments when it seemed like Veriff might not survive.

This talk is part of our sTARTUp Day 10 celebration series, where we look back at the most impactful keynotes from past festivals. Tune in for an inspiring behind-the-scenes look at building trust on the internet – and growing a company at breakneck speed.