This year, the Exit of the Year award was given to the business angels of Miradore. The Business Angel of the Year award was given to Henry Nilert, and Claes-Mikko Nilsen was awarded as the Honorary member of 2022.
Miradore – The Exit of the Year 2022
The Exit of the Year award was given to Miradore, where angel investors – Ari Korhonen, Markku Toivanen, Ari-Pekka Salovaara, and Kim Väisänen, where the company valuation was more than 10x their initial investment. Miradore was acquired by GoTo.
“Miradore started to narrow down the sales funnel and succeeded with marketing. Another success factor was that the process was made easy for the buying customers,” the awarded angels described.
“It was not a typical angel investment case and even seemed like the company would go bust. But together with the CEO and an exceptional board of business angels, it was turned into a success case, and it became a very international, highly profitable business,” they added.
Business Angel of the Year 2022 Henry Nilert
Angel Investor Henry Nilert was named the Business Angel of the Year 2022 for his exceptional efforts and activity in the FiBAN community. He has an extensive international background in building successful startups, as co-founder of iobox, which was one of the largest early mobile entertainment portals in Europe, and co-founder of Credit24, a leading online lending platform. As an angel investor, he has supported and advised a large number of startups in Finland and the wider region, contributing not only to funding but also to the experience gathered throughout his entrepreneurial career.
“I am deeply honored, particularly as my angel investor career started with FiBAN. It has been a truly enriching experience to work with so many great founders, co-investors, and the wider startup community. I look forward to continue supporting great startups in the future,” remarked Nilert as he received the award.
Honorary Member Claes Mikko Nilsen
The committee recognized Claes Mikko Nilsen for his longstanding efforts for the FiBAN community since the beginning. “Not only has he co-founded and built FiBAN in the early years, but even after, he has offered his insights and support to the community. He still has a very big FiBAN heart,” FiBAN CEO Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen described the new honorary member.
Claes Mikko Nilsen sees that he still has much to give to fellow FiBAN members. “Finland has, during the last 10 years, gained a significant role in Europe as one of the most active environments for angels to operate. There is today an international demand for more angel profiles to step up with a public profile to share insights and experiences with startups and especially international investors, who are in the scout for early-stage investment opportunities,” he says.
“FiBAN has played an essential part in developing the profile of angel investors in Finland, and I’m proud to see the inspiration continue in many forms. Especially during challenging economic times, angel investors are needed more than ever. Therefore, I expect FiBAN to play a crucial role in the current market situation and hope to see FiBAN maintain its dynamism and relevance for future angel investors, ” he said to the community.
More information
Milja Mäkelä
COO, FIBAN
milja.makela@fiban.org
