Vilnius Startup Tingit Lands €500,000 Pre-Seed Round for Repairs Marketplace

Vilnius-based startup Tingit, specializing in the repair marketplace, has secured a €500,000 pre-seed investment. This funding round was led by Firstpick, a Lithuanian VC fund and accelerator focused on tech startups in the Baltics, with additional contributions from BADideas.fund (Latvia), PurposeTech (Czech Republic), and Heartfelt Capital (Germany).

Tingit’s platform is designed to seamlessly connect consumers with repair specialists. It integrates various functionalities such as service booking, payment processing, and shipping logistics into a single platform, aiming to simplify the repair process for users. With the new investment, Tingit plans to launch its Service Provider Gateway, a feature that will allow repair specialists to independently list and manage their services on the Tingit platform. This move is expected to broaden the network of available repair services and enhance the overall user experience.

In addition, Tingit is developing an API that will enable brands, e-commerce sites, and marketplaces to integrate Tingit’s repair network into their own platforms. This integration will allow these entities to offer repair services directly through their websites, streamlining the process for both consumers and businesses. Following its initial success in Lithuania, Tingit is gearing up for expansion into other international markets. The startup also plans to diversify its offerings to include repairs for additional categories such as sports goods, toys, and consumer electronics.

The increasing focus on sustainability in consumer behavior is underscored by the success of Lithuania's first unicorn, Vinted. Vinted has become a major player in the secondhand clothing market with 105 million registered users and close to €600 million in revenue in 2023, demonstrating a robust demand for sustainable consumer practices. Tingit aims to tap into this growing trend by providing an efficient and user-friendly repair service that helps extend the life cycle of consumer products.

Since its launch, Tingit has processed over 600 orders and managed more than 2,500 repair requests. The platform’s unique approach involves users uploading a video of the item needing repair, which Tingit then uses to provide a tailored quote for the most suitable repair services. This method simplifies the process and eliminates the uncertainty often associated with choosing repair services.

Co-founder and CTO Tadas Maslauskas, who previously led engineering teams at Kilo Health, highlights Tingit’s commitment to making repairs as straightforward and routine as possible. Co-founder and CEO Indrė Viltrakytė, with a background in the fashion industry, emphasizes the need for a more sustainable approach to consumption. She notes that with over 92 million tons of textile waste produced globally each year, maintaining and repairing products is a crucial step toward reducing waste.

Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė, Managing Partner at Firstpick, points out that Tingit is addressing a significant gap by using technology to promote sustainability and is excited about the potential for the platform to educate consumers and foster sustainable habits. Viltrakytė envisions Tingit leading the way in the repair economy and aims to position the company as the leading global platform for all types of repairs. By focusing on the broader goal of sustainable consumption, Tingit hopes to become synonymous with efficient and accessible repair solutions.