{"id":20969,"date":"2019-05-14T07:33:37","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T05:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feministeerium.ee\/?p=20969"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:15:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T13:15:50","slug":"kristel-kruustuk-you-can-never-please-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/kristel-kruustuk-you-can-never-please-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Kristel Kruust\u00fck: \u201cYou can never please everyone\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">Kristel Kruust\u00fck, 29, is the co-founder of Testlio, a startup that tests software. Nominated \u2018Entrepreneur of the Year\u2019 in 2017 in Estonia, she\u2019s the youngest female millionaire in the country and a prominent figure in the European tech industry.<!--more--><\/p>\n<aside class=\"important-information\"><strong>MILESTONES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>June 1989: Kristel was born in the former Soviet Union.<br \/>\n2008: Starts her studies in the Estonian IT college.<br \/>\nApril 2013: Co-founding of Testlio with her (now) husband Marko.<br \/>\n2018: Birth of her son Aaron.<\/p>\n<p><strong>HISTORY OF WOMEN\u2019S RIGHTS IN ESTONIA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1955: Abortion is legalised in the Soviet Union, including Estonia.<br \/>\n1996: Introduction of a sexual education programme in all schools.<br \/>\n2004: Parents (one at a time) can be paid 100% of their salary during first 18 months following birth of their child.<br \/>\n2017: 2 in 10 company leaders are women in Estonia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STATISTICS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Gender pay gap: 25,3 % (Eurostat, 2016)<br \/>\nPolitical representation: 26,7 % of parliamentarians are women (World Bank, 2018)<\/aside>\n<p><strong>How did you end up working in the tech industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When I graduated from high school, I didn\u2019t really know what I wanted to do with my life. My older sister who had already been living abroad for six years worked in London. She invited me over to expand my horizons and figure out my next steps. That was in 2008. So after graduating, I flew over and found work as a waitress. My sister\u2019s friends who I would hang out with were mostly working in tech. They all said that if I didn\u2019t know what I really wanted to do, I should just study programming.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So how did you kickstart your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I started with software testing. It\u2019s quite an easy entry-level job for a programming beginner. Eventually I took a liking to testing and realised it was the right career path for me. Instead of focusing on becoming a developer, I strived to become a better tester. I really liked the idea of crowdsourced testing where testers meet online and take part in specific projects, testing applications for bugs and other issues. For every bug I found and reported, I got money. Then, I started testing for different platforms and after a few months I was already among the top testers. But at the same time, I became more and more frustrated. In my eyes, the way in which the platforms were built didn\u2019t value testers enough.<\/p>\n<p><strong>It sounds like the perfect success story. You found your passion, chased your dream, got the funding and acknowledgment. Were there any obstacles or challenges you faced along the way?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Oh yes! While I was looking for a job in London, I lived in a hostel with 12 people in one room. Rats were scuttering over our suitcases at night and I slept with my bags under the blanket. When I finally got a job, I still didn\u2019t have an apartment and had to stay there. One night I even stayed in the office [where I worked] because I didn\u2019t want to go back to the hostel.<\/p>\n<p>When my husband and I launched Testlio, we had to live month by month because we had no resources or savings to fall back on. When we went to Austin for the Techstars programme in 2013, a three month accelerator programme, we also had a tough time. We got so much mixed feedback. Some people told us Testilo was the next big thing while others said our business model wasn\u2019t sustainable. It was hard for me, I kept thinking: \u201cOh god, maybe we\u2019re doing the wrong thing here and wasting our time and no one believes in us.\u201d There were a lot of tears in the beginning.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you set that stress aside and come out the other end?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After having been through a lot, you just realise that no matter what comes your way, you will find a solution. Entrepreneurship taught me how to be even more optimistic. Building up a company isn\u2019t easy, especially when you\u2019re doing something completely different. You can never please everyone. The most important thing is doing what you\u2019re passionate about and believing that you\u2019re on the right path.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019ve been named \u2018Youngest Female Millionaire in Estonia\u2019, \u2018Woman of the Year\u2019 and \u2018Young Entrepreneur of the Year\u2019. How do you feel about those accolades?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For me, although it\u2019s a huge recognition, there are so many other people who deserve these acknowledgements. But above everything else, I\u2019ve realised that what I do seems to matter to people. I\u2019m really honoured to be able to inspire young people, girls in particular, to pursue a career in technology or carry out their entrepreneurial dreams. In the future I hope to see a lot more girls and women in the tech industry. That\u2019s our future, and there\u2019s no doubt that we need more diversity in the field.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why is it important for you to see women working in male-dominated industries like technology?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We all use apps. If they\u2019re created from a single viewpoint, then that\u2019s not building towards a future I would like to see. It\u2019s crucial to take other perspectives into account. Even though women\u2019s role in society is changing, it\u2019s important to talk about [representation] because I still see women being discriminated against. So it\u2019s a vital topic that we as women, and men especially, have to talk about. Last year when I was pregnant, I felt so much internal pressure.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20982\" style=\"width: 832px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20982\" class=\"wp-image-20982 \" src=\"https:\/\/feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/003_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-870x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"822\" height=\"968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/003_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-870x1024.jpg 870w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/003_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-600x707.jpg 600w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/003_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-255x300.jpg 255w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/003_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-768x904.jpg 768w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/003_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E.jpg 1824w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 822px) 100vw, 822px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20982\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image: Birgit P\u00fcve<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>How do you see gender discrimination in Estonia in general?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think that a woman\u2019s role is still primarily seen as being a mother and a wife. Last year when I was pregnant, I felt so much internal pressure. I thought that in becoming a mother, everyone would expect me to stay at home and forget about the company. There are such strong gender stereotypes across the world that I felt like I had to get back to work immediately after giving birth. Otherwise I would have [felt like a] failed leader and entrepreneur. I think that\u2019s why there are so few women in top executive positions. They\u2019re convinced that, if you\u2019re a mother, you can\u2019t commit to working 100%.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Could you explain that social pressure?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the tech world, where Silicon Valley companies raise hundreds of millions and billions of dollars, there\u2019s a work culture where you wake up at 4am and work until 10pm. How is that even possible? Especially when you\u2019re a mother breastfeeding your child, you physically can\u2019t be working from 4 to 10 o\u2019clock at night and consider it normal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now you\u2019re staying home with your baby boy Aaron\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When I saw Aaron I was like, \u201cNope, I\u2019m going to take my time and that\u2019s OK.\u201d I wish that women would understand that it\u2019s OK to take time for your child; your professional life doesn\u2019t have to be over. It\u2019s terrible that being a mother is seen as something negative with regards to their career, whereas for men becoming fathers it\u2019s like a huge bonus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you feel you are treated differently being a female company leader and entrepreneur?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a hard question to answer because I\u2019ve never been a man, right? So I don\u2019t know how men are treated. But sure, I thought it might have been slightly different. I\u2019ve experienced more arrogance from male colleagues when I\u2019ve been alone compared to being with Marko [her husband and co-founder of Testlio] during meetings. Once we were in Moldova for a start-up conference talking about how Testlio raised seed money, and one entrepreneur said that the only reason I managed to raise money was because I was a pretty, blonde woman.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is that a common belief in the start-up world? That you can raise more money as a woman?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve managed to secure funding very smoothly. But I\u2019ve heard stories, even here in Estonia, where venture capitalists and investors asked women entrepreneurs lewd things like: \u201cSo, are we going out or what?\u201d Like going out on a date\u2026 The fact that they expect something in return for giving money is just crazy to me. Luckily I haven\u2019t experienced that. But that\u2019s also why we need to talk about gender inequality more and include men in the conversation. They don\u2019t understand the problem because they don\u2019t experience it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you feel the impact of the #MeToo movement?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I think the #MeToo movement is a conversation that needed to happen. The scope of the problem is so vast and pervasive on all levels that it\u2019s really everyone\u2019s duty to stay vigilant, vocal and proactive about these issues. Sexual harassment and assault are not acceptable. We need to condemn that and prevent it from happening [in the first place]. What\u2019s more, I think that a big takeaway from #MeToo is that it doesn\u2019t only affect women \u2013 men are also victims of sexual violence.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you consider yourself a feminist?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The term \u2018feminist\u2019 is so stereotyped and misrepresented that I prefer not to label myself as anything other than human. And as a human being, I strongly believe in harmony and equal treatment for both men and women. Still, the reality today is that more women and girls around the world are denied fundamental rights than men. It\u2019s my duty to address these issues in any way I can.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20985\" style=\"width: 1019px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20985\" class=\"wp-image-20985 \" src=\"https:\/\/feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/007_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-1024x814.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1009\" height=\"802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/007_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-1024x814.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/007_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-600x477.jpg 600w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/007_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-300x238.jpg 300w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/007_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E-768x610.jpg 768w, https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/007_Kristel_Kruust\u00fck_Birgit_P\u00fcve_E.jpg 2400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1009px) 100vw, 1009px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20985\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image: Birgit P\u00fcve<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Do you feel European?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of course I feel like a European citizen. Actually, I feel like a citizen of the world. In Estonia, if we think about where we came from and how other countries helped us during the war times, it makes me sad to think about the conflicts that are taking place [heated discussions on refugee topics, attacks against foreigners and liberal politicians from the conservative party]. It\u2019s just sad how people are think in stereotypes and are narrow-minded. People are narrow-minded and tend to stereotype. I wish that people would get along and that there would be more tolerance and acceptance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you feel concerned by the rise of populism across Europe?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes. Radicalisation is always worrying. It means that somewhere, something in our society is failing. When people are so angry that they start shifting to the far-right, the chances of having an authentic, open conversation with them are slim. History shows us what happens when extremist ideologies rise to power and creep into the fabric of our societies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Are you referring to the Soviet era? Did women have more rights during the communist regime?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was way too young then and I don\u2019t really have first-hand knowledge, so I can\u2019t really comment on that from a personal point of view. But my grandmother, who is my inspiration, worked her whole life during the Soviet Union and beyond. I get the sense from her that the position of women in the workforce and politics, to a certain extent, was more similar to that of men.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In your eyes, what would be the most important law concerning women that should be changed in the EU?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One thing for sure is the gender pay gap. We should work towards bridging it. In many organisations, women ask for much lower pay than men when they start a job and companies won\u2019t raise it to the level it should be. They tell themselves: \u201cOh she asked for less so let\u2019s leave it at that, we could save some money.\u201d It\u2019s so wrong. I don\u2019t know how they could even think that. At Testilo, we have specific roles with specific salaries, and we don\u2019t discriminate based on gender.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20257\" src=\"https:\/\/feministeerium.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/piklik-logo-1024x161.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 585px) 100vw, 585px\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/piklik-logo-1024x161.jpg 1024w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/piklik-logo-300x47.jpg 300w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/piklik-logo-768x121.jpg 768w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/piklik-logo.jpg 1191w\" alt=\"\" width=\"585\" height=\"92\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>The interview was published in the framework of\u00a0<a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/sistersofeurope.com\/#about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Sisters of Europe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><em>Sisters of Europe is an empowerment project to inspire and better connect women across Europe, through 17 inspiring stories, a series of events and a list of concrete proposals. Read the other interviews\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/feministeerium.ee\/en\/tag\/sistersofeurope\/\">here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kristel Kruust\u00fck, 29, is the co-founder of Testlio, a startup that tests software. Nominated \u2018Entrepreneur of the Year\u2019 in 2017 in Estonia, she\u2019s the youngest female millionaire in the country and a prominent figure in the European tech industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":20979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[393],"tags":[800,802,758,801],"class_list":["post-20969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-estonia","tag-motherhood","tag-sistersofeurope","tag-startup"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20969"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44810,"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20969\/revisions\/44810"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.feministeerium.ee\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}