Startup Summit Kuopio
Speakers
Practical perspectives from people building, funding and supporting startups. Meet the speakers, host and pitch competition jury for Startup Summit Kuopio 2026.
What to expect
No empty theory. Real startup experience.
Startup Summit Kuopio brings together people who work hands-on with startups, investment, research, communications, technology and business growth — including the experienced jury evaluating the 2026 pitching competition.
The focus is on practical experience, honest perspectives and conversations that are useful for early-stage teams, researchers, investors and people working with innovation.
Speakers & host
Speaker lineup 2026
The 2026 speaker lineup brings together perspectives from investment, entrepreneurship, research, technology and regional business development.
Saara Närä
Speaker, social media professional and founder & CEO of Kupla Social
Saara Närä is the host of Startup Summit Kuopio 2026 and brings strong experience in communications, content creation and live event hosting.
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Saara is a Kuopio-based speaker, social media professional, and founder & CEO of Kupla Social. Her background in communications and event hosting supports the Summit’s practical, conversational and human tone.
Speakers for 2026
Vilma Torstila
Partner and Investment Director, Bocap
Vilma Torstila works with investment, entrepreneurship and growth companies, bringing experience from both founder and investor perspectives.
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Vilma serves as Partner and Investment Director at Bocap, one of Finland’s private equity companies focused on SMEs. She has worked closely with growth companies as an advisor, investor and board professional, supporting companies in development, funding and strategic growth.
Minna Hendolin
Director of Impact, University of Eastern Finland
Minna Hendolin works at the intersection of science, innovation and business, helping research move toward practical impact.
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With over 25 years of experience across academia, industry and innovation, Minna has worked with research-based growth, commercialisation and international innovation environments. Her work focuses on turning science into real-world value and stronger impact.
Antti Väänänen
CEO & Founder, Vireum Oy
Antti Väänänen builds applied AI and computer vision solutions for smarter industrial production and quality control.
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Antti is the CEO and Founder of Vireum Oy, a Kuopio-based company focused on vision AI, industrial intelligence and applied production analytics. His work turns production data into practical tools for quality control, operational insight and industrial growth.
Petri Kalliokoski
CEO and entrepreneur, High Metal Oy
Petri Kalliokoski is an entrepreneur, investor and board professional with broad experience in innovation and growth.
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Petri is an entrepreneur, investor, chairperson and board member in several startups. He has previously held senior leadership roles at VTT, including Deputy CEO and Executive Vice President, with experience in strategy, business development and innovation leadership.
Noora Tuikka
CEO & Partner, Nostetta Ventures
Noora Tuikka works with early-stage startups, funding and growth, with strong experience in international technology companies.
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As CEO and Partner at Nostetta Ventures, Noora works with regional early-stage startup funds and supports founders in funding, growth and business development. Her background combines investment, startup development and international technology business.
Timo Antikainen
Director of City and Economic Development, City of Kuopio
Timo Antikainen works with city development, business growth, international investments and technology-driven economic development.
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Timo is the Director of City and Economic Development at the City of Kuopio. Before joining Kuopio, he worked as Business Development Director at the City of Tampere and at Invest in Finland, where he promoted Finnish investment opportunities to international companies and supported major foreign direct investment projects. Earlier, he worked as a startup entrepreneur and CEO at Ailocom Oy, and built a long career in the space and defense technology sector at Patria Oy and Insta Oy.
Pitching competition jury
Meet the jury
The 2026 jury combines hands-on experience in angel investing, startup growth, international business, leadership, financing and board work.
The jury will evaluate the five selected startup teams during the Startup Summit Kuopio pitching competition. The competition takes place at 14:00 as part of the main event programme.
Startup pitching competition application period is closed
Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen
CEO, Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN)
Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen is an experienced leader with a background in startups, fundraising, angel investing, sales and cross-sector collaboration.
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Tiina leads Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN). Her experience spans leadership, startups, fundraising, angel investing, digital business and sales. She is particularly focused on building strong networks, creating opportunities and helping people and teams perform at their best.
Vesa Lehtinen
Angel investor, serial entrepreneur, board professional & international business developer
Vesa Lehtinen is an angel investor, serial entrepreneur, board professional and international business developer with 30+ private investments across 20+ companies and 10+ successful exits.
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Vesa has invested extensively in medical technologies and has been actively involved in the development of next-generation electric mobility solutions, particularly innovative powertrain technologies, as both an investor and board member. More recently, he has also focused strongly on the cybersecurity and defence sectors.
He serves as a Startup Coach at Jyväskylä Startup Factory (Jyväskylän Yritystehdas Oy) and has worked as a Business Development Specialist at the University of Jyväskylä, where he also represented the university’s investment fund, Unifund, on the boards of portfolio companies. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Startup Lions VC.
An experienced CEO, business owner and strategic advisor, Vesa also owns and operates a real estate and travel business in Turkey. Beyond venture investing, he is involved in motorsport startups, racing series development, and driver and athlete funding initiatives. As a former international racing driver, he competed at the highest levels of motorsport and has supported the careers of several emerging racing talents.
Vesa holds an M.Sc. in Business Economics and is a Certified Board Member (CBM). He is a member of FiBAN, Sophia Business Angels and EBAN.
Jari Osmala
Business angel, board professional & FiBAN regional angel in North Savo
Jari Osmala brings extensive experience in international business, industrial growth, strategy, board work and business angel investing.
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Jari has a long international business background, including serving as CEO of Normet during a period of strong growth and holding leadership roles at Valtra in Finland, Brazil and Germany. In recent years he has supported SME growth through board work and business angel investing. He also serves as FiBAN’s regional business angel in North Savo.