Interview: Indrek Oolup, Co-Founder, Cleveron

Who are you, and what do you do?

I am one of the founders of Cleveron, an Estonian company creating advanced robotics-based solutions for the last mile of retail and logistics industries. I’m actively involved with the business development team. 

Why do you think Estonia is such a leader in technology?

Estonia and Estonians are open to change. They do not fear it, are open to try new things and also to new technologies. It is probably because of the lessons we have learnt from our history. After regaining independence, Estonia had to change the entire state structure and society to achieve something the nation had desired for so long. Change is associated with positive results and I think this attitude reflects in everything we do. E-Estonia, digital society, country-wide parcel locker network, use of robotics-based technology, start-up culture … All things that are considered innovative or ground-breaking by the rest of the world. For Estonians they are normal part of everyday life. And it is all thanks to our readiness to test and try new things which can help us to improve our lives. Our grandmothers do their taxes online with the help of the ID-card in five minutes. We receive our parcels from parcel robots in 15 seconds. That is our everyday.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in getting into this field?

In our field and also all other fields it is important to stay true to your beliefs and goals. Cleveron has the best products in the world – we are the best and should be known as the best. We have believed in this from the beginning and stayed true to it even when we had negotiations with world famous companies. It was tough in the beginning, but we didn’t give in. Today, we are doing business with the biggest names in retail. All Cleveron’s products have Cleveron’s name on them and thanks to this we are recognized all over the world. Being the hard working and stubborn Estonian has paid off. 

What excites you about coming to Canada?

Latitude 44 has a unique concept – combining technology and music. As Cleveron is a technology company, this presents a great opportunity for us to advance our business activities in North America and add some new names to our Canadian clients’ list. And as a music lover (plus, I have been singing in different formats since 6 years old), it is great to see how business and music is being brought together for this unique event.