Helsinki-based seed-stage venture capital firm Maki.vc has appointed Pauliina Martikainen as their new Partner.
Pauliina Martikainen joined Maki.vc in 2019 and since then has been working with the firm’s brand-driven and deep tech companies from pre-seed to IPO. She has been focusing on expanding the firm’s footprint in the Nordics and selectively scanning the European market in certain thematic areas such as health tech, food tech, and retail tech. With a special interest on the consumer side, she’s associated with ventures that tap into emerging consumer needs and transform people’s personal lives.
Pauliina has led investments in several companies at Maki.vc including the cycle mapping app Jennis (UK), carbon labeling company and Oatly’s go-to partner CarbonCloud (SWE), smart grocery shopping assistant Lollipop (UK), TOTEM building Office Stores as a Service (FR) and the forerunner in next-generation cardiac function analysis, CardioSignal (FIN), to name a few.
“Pauliina has been an integral part of Maki.vc from its early days, and with her persistence and interest towards consumer behaviour shaping industries, she’s been driving our portfolio’s growth across Europe. I’m extremely happy to have her join us as Partner”, says Ilkka Kivimäki, Founding Partner at Maki.vc.
Prior to joining Maki.vc, Pauliina co-founded the Nordics’ first and Europe’s biggest student-led VC fund, Wave Ventures. She also worked at the Finnish Venture Capital Association as Head of Communications and Policy Advisor, promoting the interests of investors and growth companies to policymakers. Pauliina earned a MSc and CEMS MIM from Aalto University School of Business and HEC Paris, and a BSocSc from the University of Helsinki. She has strong experience in marketing and communications from both agency and in-house sides.
“Since joining Maki.vc over three years ago, I have really enjoyed working with our unique and inspiring team and founders. I’m looking forward to continuing to deepen our conviction in thematic areas such as food, health, and consumer tech and expand Maki’s footprint in the Nordics and beyond by investing in category-shaping companies at their very first rounds. It’s still not every day that women in the industry are promoted internally and I appreciate the development and trust in me”, says Pauliina Martikainen, Partner at Maki.vc.
Maki.vc was founded in 2018 and currently invests from its Fund II of €100M. Its other portfolio
companies include players such as sustainable textile fibre producer Spinnova, quantum technology company IQM, and Europe’s leading customer service automation platform Ultimate.ai. Maki has quickly found its sweet spot as the first VC investor in brand-driven and deep tech startups in the Nordic region and selectively in other European hubs, and is looking to follow the same recipe for success with the upcoming Fund III.
About Maki.vc:
Helsinki-based Maki.vc, founded and backed by a team of tech entrepreneurs, invests in brand-driven and deep tech companies across the consumer and enterprise landscape. The firm invests at pre-seed and seed stages with initial investments ranging from €300k to €3M. The fund’s 70+ LPs compose of exited entrepreneurs and corporate executives, including Wise Co-Founder Taavet Hinrikus, Supercell Co-Founder & CEO Ilkka Paananen, Wolt Co-Founders Oskari Petas and Mika Matikainen, and Small Giant Games chair of the board Timo Soininen. Maki.vc
Contact: Reetta Heiskanen, Platform & Marketing manager, reetta@maki.vc, +358-44-326-9902
