Maisala.net in short

I enjoy working hands-on with startups and growth companies, most often in fund-raising. I am also a member of Finnish Business Angel Association, FiBAN. I also keep pushing myself beyond limits in various endurance sports - if interested, take a look on my personal blog of trail and ultrarunning (in Finnish).

I think that these two connect nicely. You want the best gear to be around when you plan to go long or fast or both - like Dura-Ace if you are into cycling stuff. Things that you want to have around when the going gets tough. That’s my intention, to offer the best help for start-ups through their journey. A trusted partner for startup CEOs solving small and big issues - whether the need is just to report an R&D project to Business Finland or to think of exit paths.

You probably know where you want to get to. It’s more about how to get there. While every startup needs to find its own way to success, you should learn from others how have made their way forward. What funding did they raise? When did they start to scale up? How did they balance with risks?

I have been advisor to 350 plus startups since 2000 across many industries. Before Maisala.net, I have advised clients of incubation and acceleration programs in Otaniemi as well as coached at bootcamps and other short programs. Then are the startups in which I have invested. Plus the war stories of fellow FiBAN members and their startups.

Collectively, all this builds certain insight and wisdom. Like in orienteering. The more terrains, maps and route choices you have been exposed to, the more educated decisions you can quickly make when exhausted or surrounded by sheer darkness beyond your headlamp beam. You want your start-up to find the best route, don’t you? To reach the finish line avoiding costly mistakes.

Suitable amounts of right type of energy, water and electrolytes help to boost your performance in endurance sports. The closer to your limits you aim to push, the more you need to think in advance how to keep yourself going through an ultra-distance trail run. You need to figure out, what form of energy and how much you should carry with you and where can you possibly replenish your supplies before the finish line.

Startups and fast-growing companies need external funding. Finding the right instruments and optimal mix of equity, debt and various grants takes time that is away from building your business. Let me help to build a funding package or complement the one that you already have with additional leverage of public funding from Business Finland, EU or other sources. Plus take a few of my tools to further save your time - rather early than too late, may I suggest?

Referrals and recommendations

9 out of 10 reach me because someone they trust recommended me. I like it this way. No marketing. No sales. A tiny bit of social media activity. You could check who we have as joint contacts in LinkedIn. In a hurry? No worries, a cold call, SMS or email is totally fine.

Startup Funding in a Nutshell

My introduction to different sources of funding for startups in Finland. You might have heard this presentation at Microsoft Flux, xEdu, Startup Sauna, Kiuas, Turbiini, Tribe etc. If you haven't, and you are planning to launch a new startup or just have done so, try to join the next session.