Founder Stories from Founders House

Nordic AI Night - Nordic ambition meets the US. What it’s about An evening for globally ambitious people building, funding and scaling AI from the Nordics. Good conversations, wine and pizza, and a few honest stories from founders who are already taking the leap to the US. Who’s organizing Maria 01, Tero Kuittinen, Nordea, Virala, Failup Ventures and the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce New York (FACC-NY). Who’s welcome AI founders with US ambitions (or already on the way) Investors: VCs, angel investors and family offices Corporate leaders and anyone curious about the Nordic-to-US path Meet the founders Companies like Planet AI, CollectiveCrunch, HI Engine, Inform, Confidential Mind, Verad, Metabite and Zenniz will be in the room. Programme 17:30: Doors open, wine and pizza 18:00: Opening words from Tero Kuittinen, Alexander Ehrnrooth, Vesa Riihimäki, and Topias Soininen.Hosted by Elton Kullström. 19:00: A few founders share short stories about their journey to the US so far After: open networking When and where Thursday 12 November, doors 17:30 Maria 01, Helsinki

Join us for our next Builders' Breakfast with Niilo Pirttijärvi, Co-Founder and CEO of Inven, a Helsinki-based AI company changing how investors and M&A professionals find and analyse companies. Founded in 2022, Inven has grown from three co-founders to over 1,000 customers worldwide, raised €11.2 million in Series A funding and was recently ranked the third-fastest-growing startup in the Nordics by Sifted. But the journey hasn't been all smooth sailing. From selling an early product that was far from finished to facing dozens of investor rejections and making difficult decisions about the company's direction, Niilo and his co-founders have had to learn a lot along the way. Having previously worked at Slush, Niilo is now building a company with global ambitions, and he's joining us to share what that journey has really been like. During the fireside chat, we'll explore: How Niilo went from Slush to becoming a founder and building Inven Finding the first customers and selling before the product was ready Breaking into the US market and scaling international sales Raising €11.2 million and dealing with investor rejections Building and leading a fast-growing team while learning to be a CEO The biggest mistakes, lessons learned and what he'd do differently Come for breakfast, stay for the conversation and connect with fellow founders and builders! About Builders' Breakfast Builders' Breakfast is Maria 01's monthly event series bringing together founders, entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts to learn from experienced founders and their journeys. Each session includes breakfast, networking, a fireside chat and an opportunity to ask questions.

Meet the next wave of startups before everyone else does! Some of the most exciting early teams in Helsinki are quietly building at Maria 01. This Slush Week, we're putting them in one room with the people who should know about them. The format is simple: each startup gets exactly 1 minute on stage. After the pitches, every founder has their own table, so you can go straight to the ones that caught your eye and dig in. Perfect for you if you're... -An angel investor or VC associate looking for your next deal -A company scouting new products, partners or pilots -Startup ecosystem professionals looking to discover and connect with promising early-stage teams The best conversations during Slush often happen away from the main stage. This is one of them. Seats are limited, and registrations are subject to approval to make sure we bring together the right people. No Slush pass needed to join.