InPass: to use state support tools, you have to be ready to prove your idea
Liepaja-based technology company InPass has been developing and manufacturing work time tracking, production equipment monitoring, and indoor climate control systems for more than eight years. These systems are used by Latvia’s largest manufacturers, educational institutions, medical and service companies. From a small team working in the incubation support programme at the Liepāja representative office of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, it has grown into a stable player in the industry, capable of competing with international solution providers and offering customers customised electronic products and solutions created in Latvia.
Raivis Ekšteins, CEO of the company, acknowledges that cooperation with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) has been essential for the growth of InPass. “We started out at the business incubator set up at the LIAA office in Liepāja, so I consider the cooperation to be very positive. There we gained our first understanding of the possibilities offered by support programs and learned how to structure our ideas and plans properly,” he says. It was the LIAA office in Liepāja that served as the main guide to other support programs, including the use of innovation vouchers.
LIAA innovation vouchers, which were used to develop new prototypes and attract highly qualified specialists, played a significant role in the company’s growth. When talking about the bureaucracy involved in using state support tools, Mr Ekšteins smiles and says that he got used to the reporting procedures during the incubation period. “Of course, everything is simpler during incubation, but the principles remain the same. It was a chance to learn, and I gained an understanding of how to do it,” he explains. Once goals and plans are clearly defined, preparing project applications is no longer complicated. “The main thing is to be able to argue and prove your idea, which is actually the basis of any business idea – from there on out it’s just a matter of doing it.”
Mr Ekšteins also encourages other entrepreneurs not to be afraid of support programmes. “We are all afraid of the unknown. When you see the programme description and reporting requirements, it seems complicated, and many people shy away from it. But it’s not that crazy,” he emphasises. In addition, LIAA employees are accommodating, and if you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. “Even if you write something wrong ten times, no one will yell at you,” he adds humorously.
In conclusion, the company’s CEO reiterates that support programs are a good tool for growth, as long as there is a desire and a clear goal. “Our experience with LIAA has been very good, and that is exactly what helped us become what we are today.”
Information material prepared with the support of the European Regional Development Fund
