Esko Herrala is an active early-stage startup investor, advisor, and board member in several Oulu-based companies. A graduate of the University of Oulu's Department of Physics, he has a strong background in industrial R&D, manufacturing, and sales. He combines a proactive entrepreneurial mindset with professional expertise in international business, spectroscopy, digital imaging, and optics.

Meet Jan Schmidt — he's been a CEO, an evangelist for new ideas, and a marketing strategist in Oulu, which is basically the Silicon Valley of Finland, just with better saunas. He's here to judge your startup ideas, and unlike Finnish winters, he promises to be warm and supportive but doesn´t mince his words. Impress him. He's seen pitches of all kinds due to being a mentor for young people who are exploring entrepreneurship and business

Aapi is an experienced entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Currently he is working as the CEO of Coubonga, a startup which will revolutionize the way people and businesess use coupons. Coubonga has also competed in the 2025 Polar Bear Pitching event and in the Finnish TV show Leijonan Luola (Shark Tank).

Co-founder of Polar Bear Pitching. Serial startup builder. The guy who's going to run your 54 hours.

Jason Brower has spent over a decade putting Oulu on the global startup map. As co-founder of Polar Bear Pitching, he helped turn a wild idea into an internationally recognized event that brings VC attention to Northern Finland every year.

But that's just the headline. Behind it are 15+ years of building, 8 startups, deep expertise in software and AI, and hundreds of founders mentored through Startup Weekend and BusinessOulu. He knows what early-stage chaos looks like, and he knows how to channel it.

As your facilitator this weekend, Jason will keep the energy high, the teams moving, and the clock honest. If you've never done Startup Weekend before, he'll make sure you're ready. If you have, he'll make sure you go further.

Eemeli Alanne is a Startup Weekend Oulu alumnus and an experienced entrepreneurship education specialist with over ten years of experience in facilitation, communication, idea development and pitching.

His work has focused on helping people develop ideas, build confidence and turn early-stage thinking into clear, compelling presentations. Alongside his work in education, Eemeli works as an entrepreneur in the creative industry and is currently building his own startup in the educational entertainment space.

At Startup Weekend Oulu, he brings both professional expertise and founder experience to a hands-on pitching workshop where participants get to actively develop and test their ideas in practice.

Nina Jackson is a researcher, educator, and co-founder of the University of Oulu’s Interdisciplinary Product Innovation and Creation (IPIC) program. With over ten years in the Oulu startup ecosystem, she focuses on creativity in innovation and loves helping teams shape bold ideas into real-world solutions.

Viera Karam is the Startup Program Manager at BusinessOulu, where she activates and develops the local startup ecosystem and leads the organization of Polar Bear Pitching.

Her journey with Startup Weekend began in 2017, after which she went on to organize more than six SW events in Oulu, and became a Techstars Certified Facilitator in 2023.

Coubonga is an Oulu-based startup on a mission to revolutionize B2C marketing and consumer engagement. Founded in 2023, the company is young, but it has already made remarkable strides in the Finnish startup scene.

Leading the team are Aapi Sotaniemi, CEO of Coubonga, and Joonas Puurunen, co-founder of Coubonga and CEO of Prime Sales. Together, they’ve pitched Coubonga on some of the country’s biggest stages from Polar Bear Pitching to the Finnish TV show “Leijonan Luola”.

Saku is an experienced software enthusiast and CEO. Before founding his current company Eeku Oy, he worked at Nokia as a Software Architect and Product Owner, as well as training teams around the world.

In his current role, Saku has been involved in the full lifecycle of dozens of products — from nurturing initial ideas and shaping business models, all the way to technical development, launch, and ongoing maintenance. Some of these products have been successful, while others have also taught valuable lessons through failure.

Nathan Minns is a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, and conference emcee who helps individuals become confident communicators—using the playful spirit of improv comedy. He’s led sessions worldwide for governments, Fortune 500 companies, and universities, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Cardinal Health, and Techstars, showing professionals how to unlock creativity and thrive amid uncertainty.

In 2025 alone, he’s set to deliver 100+ talks. Nathan’s high-energy, interactive style proves that strong communication sparks engaged teams, happier workplaces, and innovative breakthroughs. He’s also the creator of Pivot Pitch, a quick-thinking game that boosts confidence under pressure. When organizations need to raise their communication game, they call Nathan.

Peetu is an Oulu born entrepreneur and software developer. In the last 8 years he has been programming web- and mobile applications for 10 different startups. Peetu is also one of the cofounders of Buutti, a software education and consulting company that has been listed among the fastest growing companies in Europe. Buutti was acquired by Netum in 2023.

Currently Peetu is working at Buutti developing software for an AR start up, project managing a few new software products and as a "hobby" bootstrapping a new startup for ordering drinks at bars and festivals.

Jarmo has a strong expertise in crafting growth strategies and overseeing operations, especially in situations where a company is expanding into new markets. He is adept at designing and improving products that are not only popular but also have a high rate of customer retention.

His proven abilities extend to the development of new brands. Besides, Jarmo is an advisor in various startups and is a co-founder of a company specializing in property management.

Anne Sorvari, development manager of startup activities at Oamk. She has a wide variety of experience in the startup world. She’s a former entrepreneur who’s founded three companies, internationalized a company to Sweden, worked for a VC, lead an idea accelerator program for a university, and is an active startup ecosystem developer.

She’s worked with companies from different sectors such as in contruction, healthtech, education and fashion field.

As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and founder of Green Light Improv, Nathan Minns has dedicated his career to helping people embrace new ideas, experiences, and connections.

Nathan has spent most of his career in the startup ecosystem as an employee and a 3x founder. His online courses on web design have earned over 60,000 enrollments from 179 countries. He has spearheaded startup initiatives for major corporations and became the youngest board member at a youth leadership development nonprofit in 2017. As a mentor and certified facilitator for Techstars—the world’s largest pre-seed investor—Nathan has honed his skills in nurturing innovation and fostering entrepreneurial spirit.

When Nathan began working as a professional actor in 2015, he realized that as he improved as an actor, he also improved as a communicator, as an entrepreneur, and as a team member. This epiphany led Nathan to create Green Light Improv.

Eemeli Alanne is a Startup Weekend Alumnus with years of experience in startup creation. Eemeli is an impact-driven professional, who has worked with hundreds of educators and thousands of students across different education levels. Eemeli has extensive experience in facilitation, communication and pitching.

P.S. Eemeli has "won" the Startup Weekend Oulu event back in 2017. Ask about their team's idea, and you might even hear the pitch from six years ago.