Startup Story: 10Lines x ESA BIC Estonia

10Lines is transforming the pavement marking industry by combining robotics, software, and AI to automate road painting processes.

The company, founded by Janno Paas and Tarmo Prints, brings together deep engineering expertise and extensive industrial experience. Both founders are seasoned entrepreneurs who have successfully built businesses before. As an ESA BIC Estonia alumnus, 10Lines has leveraged the potential of space technology—particularly in earth observation and satellite positioning—to further enhance its products.

What inspired you to launch a space tech startup?

As we started the business with the idea of autonomous robots, they needed good positioning technologies, and precision satellite positioning was one of them. Going through ESA BIC, our understanding of the possibilities of using earth observation for our business greatly advanced. We have been finding different ways to include that in the next products and features we will launch.

What have been your biggest challenges and failures so far, and what are your biggest wins?

Using satellite positioning is not that stable, and we have combined it with other sensors from the early days. Working with earth observation data requires a lot of research and understanding, as this is not the usual technology you use when you start a business. That also means there are great opportunities available.

What drives you to keep going, even on tough days?

As this is not our first ride as entrepreneurs, we know that it is not a sprint that you are running but rather a marathon. We keep ourselves healthy and try to stay calm and clear-headed through the tough days.

What sets your startup apart from competitors in the space industry?

Our business is a little different from regular space startups, as we are working on the downstream application. Our strength lies in having a physical product that you can see, and we keep finding new ways to work with new technologies—especially space technologies—to improve it.

Why did you choose to apply to ESA BIC Estonia? How has it helped you so far?

We applied because we had won the MyGalileoSolution track from EUSPA, and during that period we started understanding that there might be more things we could look into regarding space for our solution. ESA BIC helped a lot to understand how to actually apply the technologies, and we got our first paid customer jobs done after that.

What’s your vision for your startup in the next year? And where do you see it in five years?

We see that with more autonomous cars on the road, the visibility of the lines is becoming even more important. The lines need to be (re)striped more often to provide a safer environment for people and cars in the future smart cities. We will be the main solution provider for these in the next five years, and we have already started scaling in the US market, with many markets waiting for us already.

Which books, podcasts, publications, and influencers in space technology or entrepreneurship do you follow and recommend to others?

From the scientific podcast side – StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson. As ESA BIC is a business incubator, we would recommend podcasts on the business side – Acquired and 20VC.

What advice would you give to future candidates?

Focus on business first, and then see where there are opportunities to apply the latest technology to your company. Think boldly!

ESA BIC Estonia, led by Tartu Science Park in collaboration with Tehnopol, is part of the European Space Agency’s network of business incubators across Europe. It helps innovative Estonian startups bring space technologies to new markets, offering up to €60,000 in product development support, specialised mentoring, international network access, and business development loans.

The next ESA BIC Estonia application deadline is October 23rd! Apply here: https://www.esabic.ee