Pia-Maria Nickström Appointed as New CEO of Startup Foundation
A new chapter begins in Startup Foundations’ journey as Pia-Maria Nickström has been appointed as the new CEO of Startup Foundation. With her previous experience as the founder of Mimmit Sijoittaa media and startup entrepreneur, Pia-Maria brings her extensive experience to lead the Foundation into its next ambitious phase.
"The Startup Foundation is a backbone for the Finnish startup ecosystem – we are here to support aspiring entrepreneurs and those in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey and to promote the startup mentality. Now, we’ll focus on scaling our efforts and impact,” Pia-Maria says.
To fulfill its mission, the Foundation provides grants to individuals and projects that align with the vision of creating a more rich, diverse, and successful startup ecosystem. Last year, the Foundation distributed over €100,000 to early-stage entrepreneurs and novel projects.
“This year, we're tripling our personal grant allocation. We believe this is the most impactful way to support new entrepreneurs in testing their ideas and pursuing entrepreneurship full-time,” Pia-Maria says.
The foundation's grants have sparked numerous successful entrepreneurship initiatives and startup teams, with many going on to secure venture capital funding.
“Finland needs more high-growth entrepreneurship – now more than ever. With the support of our initiatives, we aim to have 100 startups in Finland with over 100m€ in revenues by 2050. By providing diverse support mechanisms at the early stage, we create better conditions for these companies to emerge in Finland," Pia-Maria concludes.
Learn more about our grant programs and explore previous grantee stories in our blog series “Reflections on Building”.
