Fennoa is a Finnish financial management software company whose goal is to make the everyday work of financial administration professionals as smooth as possible. Today, its system is used by more than 1,000 accounting firms and, through them, by more than 50,000 companies and associations across Finland. Fennoa’s growth has been built around a strong product, close customer collaboration and a unique business model in which accounting firms are not only customers but also a key channel to the companies using the software.
Fennoa’s story began in 2014, when Mikko Kalliovaara and Lasse Elfving, who had both worked in financial administration and software, became frustrated with the industry’s cumbersome systems that were difficult to develop. At the same time, digitalisation and new browser-based technologies were opening up opportunities to do things differently. The idea was simple: financial management software could be built from the ground up in a different way.
During the company’s first years, the product was developed closely together with accounting firms. Mikko visited customers to gather feedback on what they actually needed from the software, while Lasse focused on developing the product. In 2015, the first version was ready for production. From the outset, the goal was to bring accounting, sales, purchases and banking into one real-time system that would make everyday work easier for financial administration professionals.
Two things have remained at the core of Fennoa’s competitive advantage: its product and the way it takes the product to market. Throughout its history, the software has been developed based on the needs of accounting firms, with customer feedback continuously guiding product development.
Another strength is Fennoa’s business model. The company sells its software to accounting firms, which in turn offer it as part of their own services to corporate customers. When a new accounting firm adopts Fennoa, the software can simultaneously reach dozens or even hundreds of companies.
For a long time, growth was driven almost entirely by the product’s reputation and customer recommendations. Although Fennoa has built an active customer acquisition engine over the past two years, the majority of new customers still approach Fennoa themselves after hearing positive feedback about the product in the market.
In the picture: Fennoa Mobile -mobile app in use.
By 2022, Fennoa had already become a fast-growing and highly profitable company. Revenue was approximately €10 million, and the company had around 30 employees. The company did not actually need external capital, but it had attracted interest from both investors and other players in the industry.
The founders did not, however, want to sell the company outright. Their goal was to continue building an independent Finnish alternative and aim for market leadership. CapMan Growth joined as a minority investor in 2022, enabling the company to continue developing according to the founders’ own vision. In choosing a partner, capital was not the only consideration. What mattered was a shared view of Fennoa’s future and a common approach to working together.
“From the very beginning, Fennoa had a strong idea of building a Finnish alternative and continuing the journey towards market leadership. CapMan’s minority investment was a good fit for that: they believed in the founders’ vision, while also bringing experience to support the next phase of growth,” says Ilari Nurmi, CEO of Fennoa.
For CapMan, Fennoa was particularly attractive because of the combination of strong, scalable growth and high profitability, as well as the significant untapped potential in the Finnish market.
“It is rare to come across a company where growth is this scalable while the business is also this profitable. Another thing that made Fennoa interesting was that there was still a lot of market share to capture in Finland,” says Nikke Mikkonen of CapMan Growth.
CapMan’s investment did not change Fennoa’s business model, but it did bring additional structure to the rapidly growing company. At the time of the investment, Fennoa did not yet have a management team or established board practices comparable to those it has today. Over the years, the company has built expertise in areas including sales, marketing, finance, people management and customer service.
CapMan contributes to the company’s development particularly through the board. The partnership has involved sparring on key recruitments, pricing, acquisitions and longer-term strategic decisions.
“For me, the value of investors comes down to whether they give the management team energy and new ideas or take them away. In Fennoa’s case, the board creates energy. Together, we can look further ahead and bounce ideas around about the kind of future success we are building,” Nurmi says.
Fennoa’s growth during CapMan’s ownership is clearly reflected in its figures. At the time of the investment, Fennoa’s revenue was approximately €10 million, and the company had around 30 employees. In 2025, revenue reached €23.8 million, and in 2026, it is expected to comfortably exceed €30 million. At the same time, the number of employees has grown to around 120.
The growing organisation continues to operate fully remotely, as Fennoa has done from the beginning. Fennoa employees work across Finland, from Lapland to the southern coast, enabling the company to recruit talent regardless of location. At Fennoa, however, remote work does not mean leaving company culture to the screen. The company has invested in open communication from the outset, and the entire organisation also comes together regularly in person.
In 2026, Fennoa took another step in its growth by completing its first-ever acquisition. The company acquired Avaa Solutions Oy, whose Avaa.io software serves the property management industry. Fennoa and Avaa had already been working together before the acquisition, and the combination enables Fennoa to offer property management companies a broader solution alongside financial management services. CapMan has also supported the development of Fennoa’s M&A capabilities and provided support throughout the acquisition process.
Fennoa’s main objective for the next phase is clear: to become the leading player in Finland’s financial management software market. Growth will come both from acquiring new accounting firms and their customers and from expanding the product offering with new services and modules. The continued digitalisation of financial administration is also expanding the market for software companies such as Fennoa.
“There is still a huge amount of market share for us to capture in Finland. Our goal is to build a market leader here and grow Fennoa into a €100 million business first – and then well beyond that,” Nurmi says.
Fennoa’s story began with the idea that financial management software could be done better. In just over a decade, an idea shared by two founders has grown into a software company with more than 100 employees, whose solutions are already part of the everyday operations of tens of thousands of Finnish companies. The next phase, built together with CapMan, has brought more structure, experience and confidence alongside growth. The goal, however, remains the same: to build an even stronger Finnish alternative for financial administration professionals.
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This article is part of the Building Growth 2026 blog series by the Finnish Venture Capital Association and PwC, introducing the growth stories of this year’s finalists. You can find the competition page here! The final will take place at the Finnish Venture Capital Association’s main annual event, Finnish PE-VC Summit, on 8 October 2026.
