Milda Mitokte's story is a legend in the business world, both in her native Lithuania and internationally as co-founder of Vinted. At a 2008 Home Girl Party (an event attended by many of her 21-year-olds), Mitokte met Justas Janauskas, a developer, who told her that she had too many clothes in the apartment she was moving into for college. We talked about our problems. By 2:30 a.m., the idea for Vinted was born.
Vinted became Lithuania's first “unicorn”, or billion dollar company. Since then, the company has been valued at $4.5 billion, raised more than $562 million in venture capital, employs more than 1,200 people in nine countries, and surpassed eBay as the number one used company in the UK and Europe. It became a goods market.
In 2017, Mitokte stepped back from his day-to-day business to focus on his next project: his family. Four children later, that project completed, she is ready for her next adventure.
Mitokte is now a major investor in a new education technology platform that will allow teachers to offer more diverse lessons to students, and he hopes to test it with teachers in 2024..
What's in your bag?
I usually like to travel light, but I have another meeting after this interview, so I brought my computer with all my documents. I also have my exercise gear because I just got back from a training session. I told my coach, “I won't be wearing shoes in your class. I'll just wear socks because I don't want to carry a heavy bag with my athletic shoes.''
Are you fancy or frugal?
It depends on my age. If you asked me 18 years ago, I would have said it was flashy. Thus Vinted was born. And at some point he got bored with too much stuff and started trying to buy less. When he wants to get rid of something, he can't just throw it away. It is not sustainable to just put it in a big bag and give it to someone, so you are responsible for finding a new owner.
I started to consciously think about whether I really need something new and whether I will use it for a long time. But we live in a world of consumption and advertising, so it's a constant battle. You try to avoid it, but you are still human. So I'm somewhere in between.
We are currently in sales mode. My youngest and last of my four children is now 2 years old, so I would like to sell a lot of baby products. It's emotional – 4 kids were in our stroller.
Do you own real estate?
Yes, we own a house.
How much did you earn last year?
I am technically still on maternity leave from Vinted, so I receive standard benefits from the government. You can also earn money from stocks and investments.
What was your first job?
I came up with the idea for Vinted when I was 21 years old, but I had done a few jobs before that. I was working as a waitress at an Italian restaurant in Kaunas, Lithuania's second largest city, which is her hometown. After that, I moved to Vilnius and worked at the Tourism Agency and a PR company. But Vinted was my first role as a creator and leader.
What was it like growing up?
My father passed away when I was six years old, so my mother raised me and my younger sister on her own. We were able to live on 250 euros a month. I don't know how she did that. I think she would have cost around 1,000 euros now, so it was quite a challenge for the three of us. Lithuania gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but turmoil continued for a while after that. Everything collapsed.
However, most of my colleagues at the time were living in poverty, so I felt like everyone else. But once the borders opened, it felt like an opportunity was coming. We were so hungry that everyone wanted to make something for themselves. If you're 18 and don't have anything, you have nothing to lose.
In that sense, it was helpful. Then you'll be 38 years old, have a husband, kids, and a house. I call it lifestyle inflation. You're used to things like traveling regularly. We don't live a super luxurious life, but at the same time he doesn't want the life he had when he was 18 either.
Do you want to invest in stocks?
For some time, there was a mindset not to invest in stocks in Lithuania due to the financial collapse that occurred when it became a democracy. Most Lithuanians still want tangible things like real estate, but intangible things still feel very risky. But like a lot of people my age, I'm more open-minded and I invest in things like S&P 500 companies. I had to take specialized courses on how markets work, how to invest, and the difference between passive and active investing.
I currently do some passive investing, which took a lot of time and education. I'm not really interested in investing in general, I'm only interested in growing established companies, so I'm not interested in active investing. I'm interested in where you keep your money. I'm not interested in short-term investing. I'm also a business angel, but I feel this is more like “venture philanthropy” than proper investment. Because some ideas don't scale, and some ideas lose money.
We invest in people because people who fail now will go elsewhere and spread their experience everywhere.
What is the best business decision?
The launch of Vinted was very spontaneous. I happened to meet my business partner Justus (Januaskas). You may have a feeling or intuition that you want to do something, but the more you think about it, the more scared you become and the more likely you are to not do it.
Many people, including family and close friends, were very skeptical about Vinted. And even my previous boyfriend said I would be wasting my time. So Justus and I were traveling alone at first.
I'm so proud of the fact that even though no one believed in us, we still did it. In the early stages, it is important to follow your intuition, not your business.
What is your best investment?
What I'm investing in now. I don't know if I can tell you their names, so I'll just say they teach programming to kids and he runs a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) program at the school. We are currently expanding overseas.
I have been coaching them for eight years, helping them with accounting, business, and go-to-market strategies. So I thought, “I really believe in them, so I should invest in them.” I know them well and believe that it could be a big thing in a few years.
What is your money weakness?
When I go abroad, I have a rule that I don't buy things like magnets. For me it's all about the earrings. What I'm wearing now is from Sicily, just like when I went there a few months ago. Her husband always says, “Why do you need so many?” But some people like bags, and some people like dresses. In my case it's earrings.
What is your greatest luxury?
I'm tired of physical things. Now I'm more interested in experiencing it. It's really hard to find unique experiences, so when you find one, you're like, “Let's give it a try.”
For example, when we travel, we wake up in the morning, look around the city, have lunch, go to the beach, eat dinner, go to sleep, wake up, look for another city, etc. I'm stuck in a pattern. I'll do the same thing again.
For some reason I get tired of it. We want to show our children diversity in terms of what the world is like. So we think about what else to do and look for experiences that are much more rewarding than the everyday life in the city. Beach, food, sleep.
Which is better: retirement benefits, property, or pensions?
Any idea that real estate is safe has been shaken since the beginning of the Ukraine war (many projects have been put on hold due to uncertainty and increased construction costs). Therefore, you will definitely receive a pension.
From my husband's and my point of view, we felt safe having the stock since the war started. Stocks are very global and highly liquid, so you can access them if you need money quickly.
