This course covers important elements and experiences in preparing for an exit. It is targeted towards business angels who have already made investments, but it is also suitable for new business angels who are looking to know what to keep in mind for an exit, and who want to prepare for an exit from day 1.

The course includes interviews with the speakers who are experienced angel investors, presentations and lectures by the speakers, and a Q&A session after their lectures. The course is in a video format, and the course will track your completion progress automatically so you can get back to where you stopped easily at any time.

After purchase, the course will be available for you for 365 days.

You can choose to participate in just one track or the entire program. All presentations and materials are in English.


What you'll learn

  • How to plan your exit

  • How to negotiate the exit

  • What to do after the exit decision

  • Future funding rounds building blocks

  • What every angel investor should know about IPR when about to make an exit

  • And a lot more…

What will I get out of the course

  • 6 comprehensive video lectures and interviews with field professionals

  • Real-life experiences from experienced business angels who have years of experience in angel investing

  • 1 whole year access to the course

Course curriculum

  • 01

    Let's get started!

    • Introduction to the course
  • 02

    Aiming towards the exit (~30min)

    • Introduction to the chapter

    • Interview with Kim Väisänen, business angel

    • Presentation slides

    • Aiming towards the exit

    • Triangle of exit success

    • Good corporate governance

    • Get several offers

    • Q&A with Kim

    • Chapter 1 survey
  • 03

    A word from our partner Nordea: funding the growth of portfolio startups (~30min)

    • Introduction to the chapter

    • Interview with Vesa Riihimäki, Head of startup & growth at Nordea

    • Presentation slides

    • Presentation structure

    • Cash

    • Own capital

    • Angel investments & Venture capital

    • Debt capital

    • Guarantees and collateral

    • Public support, grants, and financing

    • Q&A with Vesa

    • Chapter 2 survey
  • 04

    Roadmap to the future funding rounds (~75min)

    • Introduction to the chapter

    • Interview with Tuomas Maisala, business angel

    • Presentation slides

    • Future funding rounds - naming and dilution

    • Funding round thinking by founders

    • Building blocks for funding rounds: Equity

    • Building blocks for funding rounds: Debt

    • Building blocks for funding rounds: Grants & soft loans

    • Q&A with Tuomas

    • Chapter 3 survey
  • 05

    Preparing for an exit (~40min)

    • Introduction to the chapter

    • Interview with Saga Forss, business angel

    • Exit - where to start? part 1

    • Exit - where to start? part 2

    • Exit - decision made, what next?

    • The sales process - how does it work?

    • Examples of exits and sales processes part 1

    • Examples of exits and sales processes part 2

    • Q&A with Saga

    • Chapter 4 survey

    • Presentation slides
  • 06

    IPR disputes & exit (~25min)

    • Introduction to the chapter

    • Interview with Sonja London, business angel

    • Presentation slides

    • What are IPR disputes

    • When does an IPR dispute impact investment

    • How to avoid IPR disputes

    • What to do if a dispute is imminent

    • How IP disputes are resolved

    • In case of an exit - what should be considered

    • Things to keep in mind

    • Q&A with Sonja

    • Chapter 5 survey
  • 07

    Exit negotiations (~35min)

    • Introduction to the chapter

    • Interview with Elina Koivumäki, business angel

    • Presentation slides

    • Key components of successful negotiations

    • Enhancing negotiation skills

    • Investment and exit negotiations

    • Q&A with Elina

    • Overall Survey

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Meet the lecturers

Kim Väisänen

Business angel

Kim is an angel investor with an entrepreneurial background and mindset. He became a full-time investor in 2015 after having sold his company to the London Stock Exchange and has today invested in almost 30 companies in different fields. One of his portfolio companies is Framery that has grown fast and won the Internationalization Award of the President of the Republic of Finland. Kim describes his approach to angel investing as a co-entrepreneur. “I put a bit of my time, effort, and money and we try to make things greater, bigger, and better – together. I have always said that if you have been successful you have to share it and help the other people.”


Vesa Riihimäki

Head of Startup & Growth, Nordea Finland

Vesa started composing Startup & Growth business in 2013. The Unit takes care of customer relationships in the start-up and growth customer market. It also cooperates closely with VC funds, business angels, and accelerators. Vesa joined Nordea in 1989. He has had several leadership positions in Business Banking, Transaction Banking, and Finance Company area including a period of 10 years in Nordic positions. Vesa holds a Master’s in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Jyväskylä.

Tuomas Maisala

Business Angel, Founder & CEO at Maisala.net Oy

Tuomas helps start-ups and growth companies in finding the right mix of funding and creating understandable business presentations and proposals to financiers. His special competence is Business Finland funding including the Young Innovative Companies Program and large R&D projects. He is a FiBAN member and holds several advisory and BoD positions. In his free time, Tuomas is an endurance sports enthusiast with a strong devotion to trail and ultrarunning.


Saga Forss

Business angel

Saga has an extensive background in Corporate Finance (M&A) both domestically and internationally. She has a broad network in Europe, and especially in the Nordics. During the past 10 years, she has been both entrepreneur and investor with a focus on the food sector. Said that she has made angel investments in technology, education, and med-tech where she considers impact an important investment criteria. Currently, she is an investor in 11 companies, such as Soup&More Oy, Jävla Sås Bolag as well as New Nordic School, Future Dialog, and Combonostics Oy. She has successfully exited Leipomo Keisari, Jungle Juice Bar (partly), and Talokaivo Oy.



Sonja London

Business Angel

Sonja London has over 20 years of experience in IP, legal, and business leadership from large and small technology companies and law firms. She joined Nokia in 2007 and has held a variety of roles spanning business development, transactions, licensing negotiations, and operations. Currently, Sonja leads a rapidly growing patent licensing program for the consumer electronics sector enabling manufacturers to implement connectivity and video coding technologies in their products.


In addition to her career with Nokia, Sonja has been active in the start-up sector and served several companies as an investor and board member. Currently, she serves as a board member and IP advisor to FusionLayer Ltd (www.fusionlayer.com) and 21TDMC Group Ltd (www.21tdmc.com)


Sonja is the Past President and long-time board member of the Licensing Executives Society Scandinavia. She is a Co-Chair of the High Technology Committee of LES International and co-founder of the Women in Licensing Alliance. Sonja is a popular speaker at events and conferences in Scandinavia and internationally. She is a master of law from the University of Helsinki and holds an Executive MBA at Aalto University.


Elina Koivumäki

Lawyer, entrepreneur, business angel

After 17 years in large Finnish law firms, Elina Koivumäki quit her partnership and founded her own law firm experience in 2016. Elina specializes in legal issues related to sales, marketing, communication, social media, copyright, and data protection. In 2018 she started also as a co-founder of Growpolis, a new one-stop-shop platform, and ecosystem for B2B services, simplifying companies’ growth journeys. Since 2016 Elina has been an angel investor with e.g. Kyrö Distillery Company, Naava, and GraphoGame & Claned in her portfolio, and joined FiBAN in 2020. Elina works also as a professional speaker, moderator, and host, and is the author of the awarded “Marketing law” book series. Elina’s registered trademark is “It’s all about people” and she strongly believes in the importance of communication skills.