Martin Vares Announced As the Young Entrepreneur of The Year
During the Best Estonian Companies award gala, the title of Young Entrepreneur of the Year awarded by the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and LHV was given to the 29-year-old Martin Vares who is the founder and CEO of Fractory.
This year’s competition for the title of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year was especially intense as there was only a one-point difference between the top three nominees. The nominees for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award were Martin Vares (Fractory Solutions OÜ), Sergei Bogatenkov (Admirals Group AS) and Gaspar Anton (EyeVi Technologies OÜ).
During her opening speech of the award ceremony, President of the Republic Kersti Kaljulaid highlighted that Estonian economy is facing relatively tectonic changes and it is further supported by the result of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition. “Most probably in the same scale as in 1991. Yes, I am talking about the green transition. It is not a talk of worry. Entrepreneurs, if they are allowed to freely operate in free economic environment where the rules are simple and clear, will adapt excellently,” said President Kaljulaid. “Throughout the 30 years, Estonian economy has been constantly changing. Thirty years ago, only one percent of Estonian people worked in positions related to information technology, but 19 percent were engaged in agriculture,” said the head of state, highlighting that by today the share of ICT in Estonian economy is at eight percent. President Kaljulaid wished success to the entrepreneurs and expressed conviction that they will manage.
“Martin and his team have created a world class solution that combines the classic machinery and metal works industry, IT and start-ups. Martin’s ambition and courage to go, as a young leader, to change the traditional ways of thinking of the industry, could be an inspiration for many young people who are still today considering if they should start a business,” said Director General of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mait Palts and added that young people in Estonia have the will and enterprising spirit, but very often they are unable to see great value of the work they are doing. “Therefore it is important that we would notice young enterprising people on a daily basis and support them on their journey,” Palts called upon the peers to inspire and support young people.
LHV’s Head of Corporate Banking Indrek Nuume said that the Young Entrepreneur of the Year is a role model for many due to his enterprising spirit. “LHV wishes to encourage thinking and dreaming big. Martin is a great example of a young person who did not stay in his comfort zone, but found a real solution for a problem, and took it to the world. The world in reality is expecting the products, services and solutions of Estonian entrepreneurs. You have to be courageous enough, and then all doors will open for you,” said Nuume.
The Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 is the 29-year-old Martin Vares who founded the online platform Fractory. The company operates globally, offering a web platform through which it is possible to order metal products that are quickly needed for manufacturing – from the components of medical devices to elements used in heavy industry. Martin had the idea for Fractory when he was working as a mechanical engineer and saw that a lot of the valuable work time of an engineer is wasted on requesting various price quotations and handling them. The solution allows engineers save time and request price quotations within seconds so that even the transport is automatically planned, i.e. the engineer can focus on their main task. In the future, there are plans to make developments to connect the platform to different design programmes so that the price of the created elements could be assessed already during the drawing process.
Martin considers it important that the problems of industry could find a solution, which would mean that in addition to solving production problems, the area of activity and the role of engineer would be made more popular through more public attention and encouraging of young people. Moreover, he works a lot outside Estonia and is a positive spokesperson for Estonian industry abroad. In 2020, Forbes mentioned Martin as one of the 30 under 30 young leaders.
The jury of the competition consisted of the Director General of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mait Palts, Head of LHV’s Corporate Banking Indrek Nuume, Economic Advisor to the President of the Republic of Estonia Heido Vitsur, CEO of Estravel Anne Samlik and winner of last year’s Young Entrepreneur Award and CEO Jaan Hendrik Murumets.
The €5,000 prize of the Young Entrepreneur Award given by LHV Bank was presented for the seventh time. The competition is organised by the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and LHV, and the initiative is supported by the President of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid.