Female Founder Pitching Day: Celebrating innovation and diversity in startups

Insights|December 19, 2024

The Female Founder Pitching Day showcased 12 startups, reflecting the diversity and potential of the Finnish entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Held in Helsinki, the event opened with welcoming words from Paula Miettinen, Director of Business Services at the City of Helsinki, who emphasized Finland’s renowned quality of life, safety, and work-life balance – key factors in attracting and nurturing entrepreneurial talent.

Jeanette Carlsson, Founder of Tech Nordic Advocates, shared insights into building the Nordics’ largest startup ecosystem, focusing on scaling companies internationally while maintaining strong roots in Finland. Following her, Riikka Loisamo, CEO of The Shortcut – a sister organization to e.g. Maria 01 and Slush – spoke about supporting highly educated professionals in finding opportunities in the job market.

Our Partner Tero Jormanainen presented Roschier as a proud sponsor of the event, highlighting our commitment to supporting the Finnish startup scene through our Emerging Companies practice, which helps businesses at all stages. Tero also underlined Roschier’s involvement in initiatives like the SILTA program and the Finnish Startup Community, reflecting our commitment to fostering diverse talent to strengthen the startup ecosystem. Google, as the other sponsor, also played a key role in supporting the day, emphasizing a shared goal of empowering founders and driving innovation.

Before the pitches, an engaging panel discussion took place, moderated by Janiina Lammi and featuring esteemed investors Peter Vesterbacka, Caritta Seppä, Petri Rajahalme, and Hilla Klemetti. The panelists highlighted that there is no one-size-fits-all path to becoming a founder, inspiring attendees to embrace their diverse backgrounds and experiences. The panelists then served as judges for the pitching competition.

The pitching competition showcased 12 impressive startups, with Mind’s Eye, led by Anna Ptukha, winning for their innovative eye-tracking solution for early ADHD and autism detection. Three Mushketeers, led by Aizea Arce, received an honorary mention for their mushroom-based food flavor enhancer.

The pitching companies were:

  1. Ladyjustice AI – Natasha de Koker
  2. Sisufy – Pia Solatie
  3. Smart Sell – Shandra Pandey
  4. Sprok – Sheila Riikonen
  5. Syntask – S. Berna Bulgurcu
  6. Roo Strategy – Santa Bürkland
  7. Mind’s Eye – Anna Ptukha
  8. Muksu Parenting – Jinglu Chen
  9. RunFrog – Maria Panttila
  10. Starklass – Geetali Dewan
  11. Three Mushketeers – Aizea Arce
  12. AiLobe Health – Svetlana Sharifulina

For more inspiring stories, take a moment to reflect on the journey of Annika Lundström, who participated in the Female Founders Pitching Day 2023 and went on to achieve further success.

(Photo: Wasim Al-Nasser)