On 14 May, Wallester’s HQ at Golden Gate Business Centre in Tallinn hosted the 4th edition of John Galt Forum, a founder-focused event themed aroundF*ckup & Success Storiesand organised by John Galt Finance.
John Galt Finance, which provides fractional CFO services for growing businesses, built the forum as an extension of its mission. The idea is simple: to encourage conversations about founder mistakes, operating decisions, and scaling lessons. As a general partner of the event, Wallester helped bring this vision to life.
The event brought together around 100operators, investors, and finance professionals. The programme featured two sets of keynotes, F*ckup & Success Stories and Scaling & Exit Journeys, followed by a panel discussion with all speakers and extended networking. The structure worked in its favour, keeping the discussion focused and concise and avoiding drift into conventional startup talk.
The Speaker Mix
The lineup reflected the forum’s Founders for Founders ethos. Event host Louis Zezeran set the tone for the evening. Speakers included Koren Aisenstadt, former VP at Pipedrive and founder of Kortaliya; Mariliis Mia Topp, Co-Founder and CEO of Raw Edge; Dmitrij Żatuchin, founder and CEO of Rankfor AI; Oleg Shvaikovsky, co-founder of several education and AI ventures; and Yoad Mick, founder of Imagym and fractional CMO.
Wallester was represented by Natalia Suurtee-Pavlova, Head of Client Success. Given her background across Skype, Microsoft, and fintech operations, and Wallester’s position in financial infrastructure, the fit was perfect.
Why Wallester Was the Right Host
The discussion centred on a familiar yet relevant theme: growth remains the objective, but the terms of that growth have become more disciplined. Execution, resilience, operating structure, and financial control now occupy more of the conversation than they did a few years ago.
Also, this is why the event made sense at Wallester. The company operates close to the same questions many speakers and attendees are addressing in practice: how to scale without losing control, how to build the right financial and operational infrastructure early enough, and how to make growth sustainable rather than merely fast.
Finally, Tallinn was a fitting location for that conversation, as it remains one of the more credible startup and fintech centres in Europe. A forum like this benefits from being anchored in a city where those subjects are part of the business environment rather than just event language.
John Galt Forum succeeded by keeping it simple: a focused discussion, relevant speakers, a relevant audience, and a commitment to real-world challenges, making it the kind of event that sticks with everyone who attended.
