INVESTOR PAGE — SECTION CONCEPTS  ·  real copy & numbers, layout is the question
II The Engine — The Opportunity

This isn't one deal.
It's a structural wave.

Finland, Sweden, and Estonia all face the same demographic wall. Cleaning, laundry, waste, maintenance, trades — this spans an entire category of the economy, not one lucky find.

73,000+
Finnish entrepreneurs aged 54+
34,000
intend to sell to an outside buyer within the decade
20,000+
viable businesses at closure risk — no suitable buyer exists

Not one country's problem. This opportunity doesn't disappear if one market tightens.

Not one sector's problem. Essential services spread across the whole economy.

Real businesses, real cash flow. Decades-old, profitable operations — not turnarounds. The only reason they're available is an owner ready to retire.

Source: Valtakunnallinen Omistajanvaihdosbarometri 2024, EK
II The Engine — What We Do

We Find, Fund & Grow companies.

One repeatable engine, three parts. Each acquisition moves through the same disciplined process, from first signal to management-led growth.

Find
Steve, our AI sourcing agent, scans marketplace listings and public signals across 20+ brokers to flag owners nearing retirement — scored against thesis fit before deals ever reach the open market.
20+ active brokers100+ deal pipeline YTD31-pt screening<100d first close
Fund
Every acquisition is financed with bank leverage alongside equity — typically 50–70% of purchase price — so capital stretches across several deals rather than one. Investors hold the same share class as the founders: no preference stack.
Grow
The Askel Playbook — recruitment, marketing & sales systems, and custom software — takes each business from owner-led to management-led.
Buy at 2–4x EBITDAExit toward 6–8x EBITDA
II The Engine — Case Study

Proof-of-concept: Melers Oy.

Melers Oy storefront, Turku

Industrial laundry for elderly care and hotels, plus consumer dry cleaning — Turku region, operating since 1967. Acquired 100%, closed January 2026, in under 100 days.

Business
Revenue ~€490K, EBITDA €115K (23% margin) · 400 customers · acquired at ~3.5x EBITDA
Financing
€400K price — 55% bank loan (OP, Finnvera-backed), 25% seller financing, 20% founder equity. No outside capital.
Value creation
New branding, AI-enabled ERP, standardized sales & marketing, new outbound system, growth operator — targeting +10% YoY EBITDA growth.
III The Ask — The Team

Why this team builds
the boring business portfolio.

Varia Wahlroos-Kaitila
Varia Wahlroos-KaitilaCEO
Runs deal screening and seller negotiations, structures every acquisition, then leads knowledge transfer on the ground. Built a marketing business from 0 to €2M ARR; personally closed the bank financing on Melers.
Niklas Slotte
Niklas SlotteCRO
Runs revenue operations and financials, then drives growth post-close. Built 5 companies, including scaling one to €8M ARR internationally through to exit.
Mikael Ylinen
Mikael YlinenBoard
Understands heavy machinery and logistics inside out, and codes — turning equipment data into insights. Built 3+ hardware- and logistics-heavy businesses; knows where acquisitions actually break.
Mike Solomon
Mike SolomonCTO
Builds and runs Steve, the AI sourcing system, plus the internal software stack across the portfolio. PhD Mathematics, Stanford — the reason this scales past deal #1 without headcount scaling with it.
10 companies founded€8M ARR scaled internationallyStanford · Hanken ×2 · PhD MathematicsAI & full-stack systems
II The Opportunity

This isn't one deal. It's a structural wave.

Finland, Sweden, and Estonia face the same demographic wall — across an entire category of the economy, not one lucky find.

73,000+
Finnish entrepreneurs aged 54+
34,000
intend to sell to an outside buyer within the decade
20,000+
viable businesses at closure risk
Not one country
FI, SE, EE share the same demographic wall — this doesn't disappear if one market tightens.
Not one sector
Cleaning, laundry, waste, maintenance, trades — spread across the whole economy.
Real cash flow
Decades-old, profitable operations — not turnarounds. Owners are simply ready to retire.
Source: Valtakunnallinen Omistajanvaihdosbarometri 2024, EK
II What We Do

We Find, Fund & Grow companies.

One repeatable engine, three parts — from first signal to management-led growth.

Find

Steve, our AI sourcing agent, scans listings and public signals across 20+ brokers to flag owners nearing retirement — scored against thesis fit before deals reach the open market.

20+brokers
100+pipeline YTD
<100dfirst close
Fund

Bank leverage alongside equity — typically 50–70% of purchase price — so capital stretches across several deals. Same share class as founders: no preference stack.

50–70%bank leverage
Grow

The Askel Playbook — recruitment, marketing & sales systems, custom software — moves each business from owner-led to management-led.

2–4xbuy
6–8xexit target
II Case Study

Proof-of-concept: Melers Oy.

Melers Oy storefront, Turku
Deal overview
Industrial laundry & consumer dry cleaning, Turku — operating since 1967. 100% acquisition, closed Jan 2026 in <100 days.
Business snapshot
Revenue ~€490K, EBITDA €115K (23% margin), 400 customers. Acquired at ~3.5x EBITDA.
Financing
€400K price — 55% bank loan, 25% seller financing, 20% founder equity. No outside capital.
Value-creation plan
New branding, AI-enabled ERP, standardized sales & marketing, outbound system — targeting +10% YoY EBITDA growth.
ERPBrandingSales systemRecruitment
III The Team

Why this team builds the boring business portfolio.

Varia Wahlroos-Kaitila
Varia Wahlroos-Kaitila
CEO
Runs screening, seller negotiations & knowledge transfer. Scaled a marketing business 0→€2M ARR; closed Melers' bank financing.
Niklas Slotte
Niklas Slotte
CRO
Runs revenue ops & post-close growth. Built 5 companies, one scaled to €8M ARR internationally.
Mikael Ylinen
Mikael Ylinen
Board
Heavy machinery & logistics operator who codes. Built 3+ hardware businesses; knows where deals break.
Mike Solomon
Mike Solomon
CTO
Builds Steve (AI sourcing) & the portfolio software stack. PhD Mathematics, Stanford.
10 companies founded€8M ARR scaled internationallyStanford · Hanken ×2 · PhD MathematicsAI & full-stack systems