About Me

I'm Ainars Klavins, a driven entrepreneur and lifelong learner with a passion for tech and a decade-long journey in augmented and virtual reality. My interest in business and technology began early, as I taught myself to code, build websites, and even launched a few ventures during my school years. These experiences shaped my dream: to build a meaningful business rooted in technology and innovation.

After gaining experience in Sales, Marketing, and even leading projects for NATO, I found my true calling in 2013. I co-founded Overlyapp, the first and only company in the Baltics dedicated to augmented reality development. Seeing the potential of AR/VR, I set out to make Overlyapp a leader in the field, providing immersive and transformative digital experiences.

Over the next nine years, I faced the highs and lows of agency life—three times nearly going bankrupt, yet ultimately building Overly Agency to its most profitable year ever with a 1.5M€ turnover and exceptional profitability. In this journey, I experienced both complete burnout and a hard-earned sense of achievement. I grew immensely as a leader, learned countless lessons, and developed a deep understanding of business strategy, resilience, and innovation.

By 2021, I realized I had met my goals for agency business and needed a fresh challenge. Knowing where we brought the most value to our clients sparked a new vision: an selfservice augmented reality SaaS tool for e-commerce. For two years, I focused on developing this product, believing it's the future of AR and a way to drive tangible results for e-commerce brands.

2024 is a year of experiments and stepping out of my comfort zone. I stopped working on Overlytapp.com as it was not getting any traction, and I had to learn to let some things go. I returned to social media to share my journey, learned full-stack coding, and embraced the Build in Public philosophy—sharing the ups and downs, lessons learned, and valuable insights from my work. Personal and professional growth comes from taking risks, challenging my assumptions, and embracing the unknown.

I have joined a company called Giraffe360 as a Lead Product Manager. It is an impressive company that combines Hardware and Software development and, most importantly, is at a fast growth and scale stage where I can learn a lot and test my leadership skills at different levels. I am excited the most about having a platform to experiment and find ways to disrupt some industries.

Throughout my journey, I've learned that resilience and adaptability are essential to growth, but even more important is to keep learning about my self - this is where the most growth thappens. Each challenge, from managing NATO projects to leading Overlyapp, has deepened my passion for tech and my commitment to creating solutions that make a difference. I look forward to what’s next, and I’m excited to continue innovating, learning, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.