Ieva Upeniece

Ieva Felman is a dedicated professional with a strong focus on developing a sustainable startup ecosystem in Latvia and the emerging Baltic region. Her experience includes community building around TechChill, the largest startup event in Latvia. In just two years, she transformed an unorganized contact list into valuable relationships with over 60 community partners from Baltic, Nordic, CEE, and other regions. Ieva actively promotes and enhances the visibility of the local startup community by organizing events like Startup SAFARI Riga and representing influential networks like PIRATE Summit and Seedstars CEE in Latvia. She embodies the principle of 'Give-Give-Give-Ask' in her daily activities, emphasizing the importance of pay-it-forward in fostering a thriving startup space. Ieva's educational background includes a Bachelor's degree from the University of Latvia. She has held key roles such as Head Of Partnerships at Baltic Sandbox and has previous experience in community management, partnership building, and event organization within the startup landscape.