Kaunas, once the capital of Lithuania, with its striking Art Deco buildings, a tree-lined boulevard stretching across the entire city center, and timeless architectural spaces, is a perfect filming location for any kind of historical drama. During the summer, the streets in Kaunas blossom with youthful restaurants, bars, and cultural hangouts, making it a perfect spot for a cool urban getaway.

David Trainavicius, PVcase Founder & CEO

It’s also where David Trainavicius was born and raised – and where he began to think about renewable energy and the tech that powers it. It’s where he began laying the foundation for PVcase, his solar technology company which managed to hit €5 million in revenue within the first few years.

Led by his curiosity to understand how the world outlook may change in the upcoming decades, David went to study engineering at the Kaunas University of Technology. Straight after graduation, he had spent 9 years in various countries across Europe until 2018 when he reached a decision to relocate his company and family to Lithuania. Today David shares his story of entrepreneurship, reflections on the solar tech industry, and the reasons behind picking Lithuania as the headquarters for PVcase.

David, if you were to think back, what are the most important milestones that you are proud of?

Moving to a different country at a young age, let alone starting a career, can be quite challenging at first. Securing a position at Enviko, a UK-based renewable consultancy, was a memorable moment and one which led me to the solar tech industry and eventually sparked the idea to launch PVcase.

Detra Solar Office,
2018

The second big milestone was launching Detra Solar, a solar consulting business. Whilst working both in Germany and the UK I got the opportunity to collaborate with awesome companies such as Google, Sony, and Rolls-Royce in delivering some of the most exciting solar projects in Europe.

However, I’d say that launching PVcase was one of the most important events that changed my life upside down. What started as a software project to speed up our daily engineering work has quickly grown into a full-blown technology company serving customers in more than 50 countries. The first three years of PVcase have definitely been a rollercoaster – from selling the first license, picking the right investors to moving to a new office, and growing an international team in the midst of the pandemic.

Why are you passionate about what PVcase does?

I think that over the last ten years, entrepreneurs around the world have done an incredible job in digitizing some of the most archaic industries and improving connectivity between people, systems, and services.

However, the solar market, and especially the solar engineering industry, have struggled to maintain the same pace and is lacking significant digitization. PVcase is determined to play a vital role in this transformation and that’s what excites me the most about what we do – solving real problems that the industry is facing with a team who is passionate about their customers.

What sets PVcase apart from other start-ups?

People’s motivation has changed quite a bit recently and a lot of professionals, especially the younger generation, don’t see their employment purely as means to an end. PVcase offers the opportunity for those people who are passionate about tech and renewables to not only build new products but also positively influence the environment and societies around them.

Our ways of working are actually quite simple and straightforward – we encourage personal and professional development, share feedback and employ the ‘fail fast, learn faster’ mentality. We also don’t have a strict hierarchical structure, we expect strong leadership from our managers and put a lot of trust in their judgment.

We are building great things, and we need your talent.

Open positions

Why did you choose Lithuania as your headquarters?

It was an easy choice for us because Lithuania has a very diverse talent pool and a start-up-oriented mindset. It’s also a place that offers a great life-work balance which is essential when you are raising a toddler!

PVcase Headquarters, Magnum Business Center, Kaunas

Building a startup comes with certain challenges. What is your daily source of inspiration and what do you do to recharge yourself?

Building something from scratch usually requires a lot of resilience and occasional improvisation. I’m lucky to have a supportive family that helps to push through at times when the decks seem to be stacked against you and a very bright team that I can trust. It’s a fairly common piece of advice to surround yourself with people who are smart and competent but it really works.

The impact that PVcase has created in such a short period of time is incredible and quite inspiring in itself. We are on a mission to fight climate change with software and I’m very excited to see where it takes us.

Finally, what advice would you give to someone who was looking to relocate to Lithuania?

Just do it! I’d recommend finding a company such as PVcase which can help you to re-integrate. Alternatively, seek remote-friendly opportunities and once you feel comfortable – relocate to Lithuania permanently.

The economic and social landscapes here have changed drastically in the last 15 years. It’s amazing to see how many Lithuanians are coming back home after spending some time abroad and bringing back their international experience and knowledge.

If you’d like to learn more about what opportunities PVcase is offering in Lithuania and abroad, please visit our careers page or send me a private message on LinkedIn.

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