Kaidi Ruusalepp is the founder and CEO of Funderbeam, the global funding and trading platform of private companies built on blockchain.
Education
In 1994, Kaidi Ruusalepp studied law and economy at Audentese Ülikool. In 1998, Ruusalepp went to Tartu Ülikool / University of Tartu to study law. Ruusalepp holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the Tartu Ülikool / University of Tartu in 2012.
Early career
In October 1996, Ruusalepp worked as a legal advisor at Estonian Government Office. As a legal advisor of the central coordination authority, Ruusalepp was responsible for legal issues of state information systems. Ruusalepp took part in the elaboration process of several legal acts (Estonian Digital Signatures Act, Data Protection Act, Population Register Act, etc.), created the legal frame of Estonian X-Road, and contributed in numerous working groups (Estonian ID-card and similar). Ruusalepp served the office for over four years.
In August 2001, after serving at Estonian Government Office, Ruusalepp worked as head of development at AS Eesti Väärtpaberikeskus. Ruusalepp headed the development of one of the largest state registers in Estonia – Funded Pension Information System. More than 600 000 participants, more than 1M EUR payments every month, tax handling, and client management website.
In August 2002, Ruusalepp served as chairman of the management board at Eesti Väärtpaberikeskus. Ruusalepp was responsible for the constant growth of Funded Pension Information System, development of new Corporate Actions Database, online documents subscription, new web, new document management system for Tallinn office and Information System of Fund Payments. Ruusalepp also served as the CEO of Estonian Central Securities Depository.
In March 2005, Ruusalepp became the CEO of NASDAQ OMX Tallinn. During Ruusalepp’s management, one of the most productive periods in Tallinn Stock Exchange history -new listings, active trading, and close co-operation with other exchanges of OMX group. That period also developed an alternative market for Baltic Stock exchange, First North.
In April 2007, Ruusalepp gave up the CEO position for the duration of the maternity leave but continued to be a Member of the Management Board. Returning to the office, Ruusalepp was overseeing units for development and new markets, IT, CSD, legal issues, and HR. She served the company until November 2011.
In May 2010, Ruusalepp also served as a member of the management board and co-founder at Estonian Service Industry Association, until February 2012. The same time, she became CEO at Estonian Service Industry Association/ Teenusmajanduse Koda until March 2013. Ruusalepp also founded OÜ Salme in 2013.
Funderbeam
In June 2013, Ruusalepp and Urmas Peiker co-founded Funderbeam, a platform where firms are traded and funded across borders and launched in 2016. Funderbeam provides the chance to raise growth capital for companies and offer direct liquidity to investors worldwide. And as Funderbeam uses blockchain technology, it strives to become the future model on stock exchanges.
Funderbeam merges investor’s three stages journey into one: startup analytics, financing, and trading on the secondary market. Funderbeam launched in the U.K. and Scandinavia with the plan of supporting founders to promote private funding from investors’ global network.
Urmas Peiker will depart the company to concentrate on his mission to change the capital markets in developing markets.
Funding rounds
In July 2013, Funderbeam raised €20,000 in a seed round from Ruusalepp herself. In October of the same year, Funderbeam received an additional of €100,000 in a seed round from investor Kei Aar. In May 2014, Funderbeam raised €500,000 in another seed round from existing investor Kei Aar.
In May 2015, Funderbeam secured €500,000 in a further seed round from new investors include David Gammon , UK-based Rockspring and Jaan Tallinn, co-founder of Skype and noted thinker on artificial intelligence, Epidarex Capital, and Cambridge Angels Group. In October 2015, Funderbeam raised €655,000 from 3TS Capital Partners.
In October 2016, Funderbeam raised $2.6 million in a venture round, led by Thomson Reuters, Draper Associates, and IQ Capital, with participation from 3TS Capital Partners, Jaan Tallinn, and David Braben, Frontier Developments’ founder and CEO. In November 2017, Funderbeam raised €5 million ($5.8 million) in another venture round from investors in nearly 100 countries through its blockchain-powered platform.
In November 2018, Funderbeam raised €643,000 in an equity crowdfunding. In June 2019, Funderbeam raised $4.5 million in a Series A round, led by Accelerated Digital Ventures and includes new investors such as GK-Plug and Play Indonesia, and Pandan Ventures. Existing investors Draper Associates, Draper Venture Network, IQ Capital, and Mistletoe also followed on.
Funderbeam has raised a total of $15.8 million in its nine rounds of funding. Funderbeam is funded by 17 investors.