Our mission

The Foundation’s mission is to create more entrepreneurs, new companies, growth and internationalization, as well as supporting and promoting the startup mentality. 

This mission is supported by initiatives by the foundation. Externally, the Foundation supports both not-for-profit initiatives advancing the mission of the foundation as well as individuals wishing to start their entrepreneurial journeys.

We aim to have 100 startups in Finland with over 100m€ in revenues by 2050.

About the Foundation

Startup Foundation was founded in 2012 by fifty-seven Finnish technology influencers, entrepreneurs and investors to create a new generation of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs to be. The foundation was born from the ecosystem to give back to the ecosystem in a concrete way. 

In ten years, the Startup Foundation has been an integral part of the Finnish startup ecosystem by backing initiatives like Slush, Junction, The Shortcut, Maria 01 and as the first home for Wave Ventures. 

Our community

Slush

The world’s leading startup event gathering 12,000 curious minds to Helsinki

Junction

Europe’s leading hackathon, yearly gathering over 1500 hackers together for a weekend-long experience.

Maria 01

Maria 01 is an entrepreneurial community and a selection-based campus for tech teams.

The Shortcut

The Shortcut is the place for meaningful professional integration and career transformation in Finland.

Dash

Dash hosts Europe’s leading multidisciplinary problem-solving hackathon.