Innovation Manager
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLohja, Finland
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Innovation Manager does
Innovation Manager Finland Oy is a Finland-based funding consultancy founded in 2010, headquartered in Lohja with 1-10 employees. The firm helps startups, SMEs, research organizations, and nonprofits secure both public and private financing through three service lines: EU funding (Horizon Europe, EIC Accelerator, Eurostars, Erasmus+, EIT RawMaterials), Finnish public funding (Business Finland, ELY Centre, Finnpartnership), and private investment matchmaking. The company claims 800+ approved Finnish applications at a 90% success rate and 60+ approved EU applications at a 60% success rate, serving 400+ clients cumulatively.
Its core technology layer consists of an AI-driven investor matching capability referencing a network of over 100,000 investors across 100 countries and 40 sectors, a Dealflow investment marketplace platform, and a Fundraising Quiz assessment tool that scores startup readiness. These tools augment rather than replace the underlying human advisory work of grant writing, consortium building, pitch deck preparation, and investor introductions.
The business model is pure success-fee professional services: no upfront fees, no equity dilution, no retainers. The firm only earns when the client successfully secures funding. Customer acquisition is content-led via blog, podcast (Fundraising Without Borders), webinars, and workshops, with founder-led direct sales closing engagements. CEO Jerri Laine is the named principal; Kristian Lehtinen serves as Special Advisor. No outside institutional capital, parent company, or M&A activity is disclosed.
Innovation Manager firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Innovation Manager
- Legal name
- Innovation Manager Finland Oy
- Website
- https://innovation-manager.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Innovation Manager industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Funding Advisory Services
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Project Finance Capital Raising Intermediation (FSAEALAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager) (FSANAGAF), Emerging Managers / Seeding Platforms (FSAHAKAI), Infrastructure & Project Finance Advisory (BPAHADAO), SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE)
Keywords
Where Innovation Manager is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lohja
- HQ country
- Finland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Innovation Manager business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations
Revenue model
- Success Fee / Performance-Based Consulting: Innovation Manager charges a success fee as a percentage of all final funds secured for clients. There are no upfront costs, no equity dilution, and no retainer fees. The company only succeeds financially if the client successfully raises funding.
- EU Funding Application Services: Grant writing and consulting services for EU funding programs (Horizon Europe, EIC Accelerator, Eurostars, Erasmus+) and Finnish public funding (Business Finland, ELY Centre, Finnpartnership). Revenue is generated through successful grant applications.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Private Investment Success Fee |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Innovation Manager product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Innovation Manager is a Finland-based funding consultancy that helps startups, SMEs, and organizations identify, apply for, and secure both public (EU and Finnish) and private financing. Core offerings include EU funding application support (Horizon Europe, EIC Accelerator, Eurostars, Erasmus+), Finnish public funding advisory (Business Finland, ELY Centre, Finnpartnership), and private investment matchmaking connecting clients with investors across pre-seed, seed, and Series A+ stages. Services are delivered through AI-driven investor matching, pitch deck development, grant writing, consortium partner sourcing, and ongoing project management.
Product overview
Innovation Manager offers a portfolio of funding advisory and investment matchmaking services. The core offerings include EU Funding Services (covering Horizon Europe, EIC Accelerator, Eurostars, and Erasmus+), Finnish Public Funding Services (Business Finland, ELY-keskus, Finnpartnership), and Private Investments Services (pre-seed/seed capital connections and Series A+ funding). The company also operates a Dealflow marketplace platform connecting startups with investors across 100,000+ investors in 100+ countries. The Fundraising Quiz serves as an assessment tool for startup readiness.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% success rate on 800+ Finnish/Business Finland applications
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Innovation Manager
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Innovation Manager technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Innovation Manager partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Avempace (Belgium)minorBelgian company leading EUYOUTH4HEALTH Erasmus+ project. Innovation Manager helped the international consortium secure Erasmus+ funding for VET training in health promotion.
- Slovak Innovation and Energy Agency (SIEA)minorSIEA leads the Industry 4.0 Upskilling for SMEs (I4U) Erasmus+ Alliance for Innovation project with a €1.5M grant. Innovation Manager supported the Finnish partner's participation.
- UNICEF SomaliaminorUNICEF Somalia is a local partner in Logonet's Finnpartnership-funded birth and baby aid kit project in Puntland and Somaliland.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Innovation Manager competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- PNO Consultants: European innovation consultancy with strong EU funding (EIC, Horizon, LIFE) application support and investor-readiness services. Overlaps with Innovation Manager on EU grant writing, consortium building, and project management.
- Hezelburcht: Dutch funding advisory firm specialising in EU grants (Horizon Europe, EIC, LIFE), national subsidies, and tax incentives. Mirrors Innovation Manager's combination of EU and national public funding advisory for SMEs and research orgs.
- Spinverse: Finland-based innovation funding consultancy helping Nordic startups and corporates secure EU (Horizon Europe, EIC) and national grants. Spinsverse is the closest geographic and service-line competitor to Innovation Manager's EU funding advisory practice.
- FundingBox: Pan-European funding platform that runs EU-funded accelerator programmes and connects startups with grants and equity. Highly comparable to Innovation Manager's mix of grant consulting and investor matchmaking across multiple EU instruments.
- EurA Consult: Large German-headquartered European grant-writing and project management consultancy focused on Horizon Europe, EIC, and similar EU programmes. Compares directly on the EU funding advisory service line, though at materially larger scale.
- Inventya: UK innovation and grant funding consultancy supporting startups and SMEs to access UK and EU innovation funding. Comparable business model and target customer segments to Innovation Manager.
Emerging players
- F6S: Global startup network connecting founders with accelerators, grants, and investors across geographies. Comparable as a discovery-and-matching platform competing with Innovation Manager's dealflow and investor campaigns.
Broad incumbents
- Crunchbase: Major global investor and startup intelligence database with premium matching tools. Represents the incumbent data and discovery layer that competing investor-matching offerings, including Innovation Manager's 100,000+ investor network, must differentiate against.
- Wellfound (formerly AngelList): Large global startup-investor matching and talent platform. Comparable as a competing investor matchmaking channel that Innovation Manager's Dealflow portal and AI-driven investor campaigns are positioned against.
- Dealroom.co: European-focused startup and investor intelligence platform widely used by funds and corporates. Comparable data/ecosystem layer in the startup-investor matching space that Innovation Manager's tools compete against for mindshare.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Innovation Manager social profiles
Digital presenceInnovation Manager financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Innovation Manager leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Innovation Manager funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Innovation Manager M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Innovation Manager
What does Innovation Manager do?
Innovation Manager is a Finland-based funding consultancy that helps startups, SMEs, and organizations identify, apply for, and secure both public (EU and Finnish) and private financing. Core offerings include EU funding application support (Horizon Europe, EIC Accelerator, Eurostars, Erasmus+), Finnish public funding advisory (Business Finland, ELY Centre, Finnpartnership), and private investment matchmaking connecting clients with investors across pre-seed, seed, and Series A+ stages. Services are delivered through AI-driven investor matching, pitch deck development, grant writing, consortium partner sourcing, and ongoing project management.
Is Innovation Manager a public or private company?
Innovation Manager is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Innovation Manager founded?
Innovation Manager was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Innovation Manager based?
Innovation Manager is headquartered in Lohja, Finland, in the Europe region.
How does Innovation Manager make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Success Fee / Performance-Based Consulting is the primary driver. The others are EU Funding Application Services.
Who are Innovation Manager's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are PNO Consultants, Hezelburcht, Spinverse, FundingBox, EurA Consult and Inventya. F6S is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Crunchbase, Wellfound (formerly AngelList) and Dealroom.co.
Does Innovation Manager have an API?
No public API is recorded for Innovation Manager.
What industry is Innovation Manager in?
Innovation Manager's product category is Funding Advisory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEALAJ, Project Finance Capital Raising Intermediation, with a secondary code of FSANAGAF, Emerging Manager / Seeding Platforms (Multi-Manager). Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.