Trado’s Background
Trado Capital is an angel fund founded by Olli Sirkiä, a successful entrepreneur. Our goal is to find and finance startups that have shown potential to be market leaders in their area of expertise. We don’t look at whether the company is an early-stage business venture or an expansion stage startup. What we look for in a partnership is that our skillset, chemistry, understanding, and capital match. Furthermore, our operation differs from a traditional fund significantly. We do not gather any public funds, which removes any responsibilities to third-party investors. Having no burdens to outside investors removes common conflicts of interest found in public funds. Also, we do not have a preset schedule that dictates our fund’s lifespan, and thus we do not push startups to inconvenient decisions. Companies that we invest in can be ensured that we do not ask them to take more funding than required. Or that we are not looking for a specific exit window to liquidate our fund for investors.
Investing from our balance sheet is also in the interest of startups. We put our money where our mouth is and have a genuine interest (read: we are not here to collect management fees) in the success of every investment we make. Entrepreneurs can be sure that we leave no stone unturned to unlock a company’s full potential once we invest in it. Having such personal and aligned interests with startups is part of our strategy, and that strategy has led to phenomenal results.
We see ourselves as an unconventional fund that mixes venture capital and angel investing. Apart from financial resources, we bring flexibility and expertise to the table. Moreover, we want to be a part of the next-generation companies that create the cornerstone for the future economy.
Why us?
There is an abundance of finance available in the current market. At the time of writing, equity, fixed income, and real estate prices are relatively high. The price inflation has also reached the private equity market, where startup prices have inflated in the past ten years. Such inflation could indicate that startups have more funding available than ever. The data confirms it. According to Finnish Venture Capital Association, the startup funding has doubled since 2020 reaching 951 million. Furthermore, Europe’s startup scene seems like a hot topic. CNBC reports that European startups managed to triple the amount raised from 2020 to a total of 121 billion euros. So why should you pick us as an investor when there’s plenty of financing available? Because financing is just a minor part of what we offer.
We bring valuable know-how to companies looking to become local or global champions. We have experience in both organic and inorganic growth. Of course, the strategy chosen relies heavily on the business itself, but our toolkit fits both options. Olli has gained hands-on experience in internationalizing multiple companies in the past decade. These include (but are not limited to) Leaddesk, Timma, and Jobilla, which all operate successfully overseas. Furthermore, Olli has made an IPO with Leaddesk in 2019 and seen through multiple M&As.
Having a vast experience like this has its benefits, but were are far from satisfying our appetite. And thus, we are looking for new challenges and experiences in the coming years.
Trado’s story in short
Trado Capital was formed as a spin-off company from Trado Innovation. The intention is to systemize startup investments through cooperation. Sami runs Trado’s daily operations while Olli takes part in the bigger picture questions.
What got us working together is through a mutual interest in business and the goal to find the next Nordic startup champion.
Our background
Olli has been an entrepreneur and investor for a decade now. He is one of the founders of publicly-traded company Leaddesk, Profinder (previously Leadcloud), and N Health Technology. He is also an early investor in multiple startups. The whole portfolio of investments can be found here: Portfolio. Olli also holds a board position in a few of our portfolio companies and guides their growth journey. Olli has an M.Sc in Technology.
Sami has been working in the corporate treasury. He has experience in liquidity and risk management as well as equity research. Besides that, he has been picking stocks for the last six years. He is in the last stages of completing his M.Sc in Finance and Economics.
Our blog will have varying subjects, from investing philosophy to breaking down why we decided to invest in a specific market.
