How do two major insurers merge their IT, data, and teams without customers feeling a thing? In this episode of the Innovantage podcast, we go inside the ERGO and Gjensidige integration across Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to see what insurance M&A really demands from technology and people.

Kristaps Spundins is Information Technology and Operations Officer at ADB Gjensidige and Deputy CIO at ERGO Latvia, with more than 14 years in insurance after starting his career as a software engineer. He now works at the center of a cross-border transformation, bringing two established insurers’ organisations, processes, systems, products, and data under one roof while keeping service running smoothly for every customer.

You’ll come away knowing how to make hard integration calls faster, keep a regulated business stable while everything underneath it changes, and protect the knowledge and relationships that give an acquisition its real value.

Introduction 0:00 From software engineer to 14 years in insurance 0:27 Why ERGO bought Gjensidige’s Baltic business 4:00 How to decide which systems survive a merger 9:14 Who gets blamed when the merger slows everything down? 13:00 Why trust drives successful post-merger integration 16:16 The hidden cost of overplanning a merger 20:53 Why software is now the engine of every business 26:47 Insurance is boring? 30:00 Legacy systems and when to kill, upgrade, or keep them 31:47 Why data is the asset every merger must protect 37:13 What makes mergers survive? 40:26 Can you pay AI to recommend your brand? 44:48 Will AI replace people in insurance? 51:09 What insurance will look like in the next 5 years? 56:03 Where to find Kristaps 58:50

Connect with our guest Kristaps Spundins – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristaps-spundins/ Connect with Max Max Golikov – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxim-golikov/

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🎧 Listen Now Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19M3HKc1pbeTkYcOeOkJc0?si=aab60a9ec2864ba2 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/innovantage-podcast/id1749330437

Follow for More Insightful Episodes Innovantage Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovantage-podcast/ Sigli: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sigli/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sigli.gang Did something surprise you in this conversation? Drop a comment below — we read every single one. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of Innovantage Podcast.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗩𝗖 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀? 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 #𝟱𝟴 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗶𝗸𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗷𝗮 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗹.

Viktorija Trimbel is a VC investor, strategic advisor, and Managing Director at Coinvest Capital, an evergreen sovereign venture capital fund investing alongside business angels and other VCs. With more than 30 years across corporate governance, M&A, investing, and fundraising, she brings both an investor’s view of risk and a long-term perspective on how startup ecosystems develop.

Funding is rarely just about having the strongest idea or the best-looking pitch deck. The real edge comes from understanding how investors think, what builds trust, where risk actually sits, and how to build a company that can attract capital without losing sight of the business itself.

Introduction 0:00 Lithuania’s startup tiger is finally awake 0:25 You have to be Viktorija to run Coinvest 01:58 Does Coinvest’s investment model actually work 10:03 Why Coinvest backs real defense startups 14:04 What investors really look for in founding teams 19:55 Maternity leave, military service and startup funding 22:00 What founders always underestimate when raising capital 29:20 When startup founders turn out to be criminals 34:13 How co-investing reduces investment risk 38:29 How much luck does building a unicorn take 43:11 Lithuania’s startup ecosystem 45:23 The Baltic startup “sibling rivalry” 49:30 Where Lithuania’s startup ecosystem goes from here 54:42 What founders should do before approaching investors 58:55 Where to find Viktorija 1:05:35

Connect with our guest Viktorija Trimbel – https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktorijatrimbel/ Substack – https://substack.com/@huba Coinvest – https://www.coinvest.lt/ Connect with Max Max Golikov – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxim-golikov/

🎧 Listen Now Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19M3HKc1pbeTkYcOeOkJc0?si=aab60a9ec2864ba2 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/innovantage-podcast/id1749330437

Follow for More Insightful Episodes Innovantage Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovantage-podcast/ Sigli: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sigli/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sigli.gang Did something surprise you in this conversation? Drop a comment below — we read every single one. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of Innovantage Podcast.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲? 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗸𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗸𝗮𝗶𝘁ė 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀.

Justina Saikauskaitė is a Fractional CMO and Brand Strategist helping startups and challenger brands turn chaotic marketing into brand-led strategy that supports revenue growth. Her experience spans positioning, go-to-market strategy, brand and product launches, and fractional marketing leadership across agency, in-house, and freelance roles.

Strong branding is less about having the perfect creative idea and more about making deliberate choices, testing whether they work, and committing long enough to become recognizable. From sharper positioning to smarter use of AI, the practical takeaway is simple: more marketing activity means little when people cannot understand, remember, or trust the brand behind it.

Introduction 0:00 What actually makes a brand noticeable and memorable 0:28 Why looking like your competitors kills your brand 4:57 Can you trust AI to analyze your competitors 7:02 Being boring became a brilliant brand strategy 8:57 When should startups actually start investing in brand 13:21 The marketing mistakes that keep startups from growing 16:00 How to balance brand and performance marketing 18:29 Why B2B and B2C need different marketing strategies 20:36 How startups can find the right audience faster 23:14 AI is changing marketing and brand reputation 26:28 More leads won’t always solve the problem 34:14 One message can be enough for small companies 36:38 The future of mass reach through smaller niches 40:55 Traditional branding is coming back 42:57 Message for founders 46:56 Where to find Justina 49:45

Connect with our guest Justina Saikauskaitė – https://www.linkedin.com/in/justina-saikauskaite/ Connect with Max Max Golikov – https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxim-golikov/

Sign up to our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sigli/innovantagenewslettersignup

🎧 Listen Now Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/19M3HKc1pbeTkYcOeOkJc0?si=aab60a9ec2864ba2 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/innovantage-podcast/id1749330437

Follow for More Insightful Episodes Innovantage Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovantage-podcast/ Sigli: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sigli/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sigli.gang Did something surprise you in this conversation? Drop a comment below — we read every single one. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode of Innovantage Podcast.