Sherpa

What Sherpa does

Sherpa, legally Oy Kultainen Sherpa AB, is a Helsinki-based independent creative agency founded in 2009 that operates as a "Creative Intelligence Company" serving enterprise and mid-market clients primarily in Finland. The firm is structured around six service sub-brands — Sherpa Creative (concept development), Sherpa Shift (behavioral science and anthropology), Sherpa Strategy (brand positioning), Sherpa GenAI (AI consulting), Sherpa Design (visual identity and packaging), and Sherpa Studio (film, animation, and photography production) — and operates under a sales-led B2B go-to-market in which CEO Pauli Waroma personally leads new business development.

The agency's underlying technology stack combines generative AI tools with human creative judgment and behavioral science, and includes proprietary methodologies such as Expert AI Talent Leasing (embedding AI practitioners inside client organizations), the AI Design Sprint (a workshop format for AI integration into creative processes), and a GenAI Style Tuner for consistent AI-generated brand imagery. AI modalities applied include text, image, video, and multimodal output, used across engagements for clients such as Reima, Berner, OnniBus, Siili, House of Lapland, and Puuilo.

Sherpa generates revenue through project-based and retainer professional services engagements with a custom pricing model that is not publicly disclosed. Customers are diversified across retail (Sokos, Puuilo, Rosso), education (Aalto University), healthcare (Berner, A-Klinikkasäätiö, Lääkärit Ilman Rajoja), fashion (Reima, Rukka), technology (Siili), transportation (OnniBus), and public sector (Helsinki City, HSY, House of Lapland). The firm is privately held, founder-owned, and currently employs between 11 and 50 people, with no subsidiaries, external funding rounds, or public listing.

Name

Sherpa

Legal name

Oy Kultainen Sherpa AB

Website

https://sherpa.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sherpa is a Helsinki-based independent creative agency founded in 2009 that delivers brand strategy, design, content production, and AI-integrated marketing services to enterprise and mid-market clients across retail, healthcare, fashion, education, technology, and public-sector verticals in Finland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Data, AI/ML & Analytics Staffing (BPACADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services (BPAEAHAF)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Generative AI marketing
• Visual identity design
• Advertising campaign production

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Sherpa operates as a full-service creative agency offering strategy, branding, design, video production, and marketing services. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements and ongoing client relationships with B2B and B2C companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sherpa is a Finnish creative agency that sells integrated creative agency services to enterprise and mid-market clients, organized across six service verticals: Sherpa Creative (brand storytelling and creative concepts), Sherpa Shift (anthropology and behavioral science), Sherpa Strategy (brand strategy and positioning), Sherpa GenAI (generative AI consulting and implementation), Sherpa Design (visual identity, packaging, service design), and Sherpa Studio (film, animation, photography). It also offers two specialized services — AI Design Sprint workshops and Expert AI Talent Leasing — that embed AI expertise into client organizations.

Product overview

Sherpa is a Creative Intelligence Company that operates as a unified creative agency rather than a software product company. Its offering portfolio consists of six integrated service verticals: Sherpa Creative (brand storytelling and creative concepts), Sherpa Shift (behavioral science and anthropology), Sherpa Strategy (brand direction and positioning), Sherpa GenAI (AI strategy and implementation), Sherpa Design (visual identities and packaging), and Sherpa Studio (film, animation, photography production). On top of these core offerings, Sherpa provides specialized services including AI Design Sprint (client-challenge workshops using diverse AI tools) and Expert AI Talent Leasing (embedded AI consultants). The services are offered as consulting and creative agency engagements, not as standalone software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sherpa Creative: Brand storytelling and creative concept development
• Sherpa Shift
• Sherpa Strategy
• Sherpa GenAI
• Sherpa Design
• Sherpa Studio
• Expert AI Talent Leasing
• AI Design Sprint
• AI-kiihdyttämö
• CampAIgn

Products and services

• Sherpa Creative Brand storytelling and creative concept development: identifies the story a brand has not yet told and the role in customers' lives it has not yet filled, then turns it into a creative concept that sticks and crosses channels. Sold to enterprise, mid-market, and nonprofit clients as part of Sherpa's integrated creative agency offering.
• Sherpa Shift Anthropology- and behavioral-science-led research and insight service that combines human sciences with creative problem-solving to identify what actually drives customer decisions — including unconscious purchasing drivers and the gap between liking a brand and buying it. Sold as a research and strategy input to brand engagements.
• Sherpa Strategy Brand strategy development providing clear direction, unique market positioning, and actionable pathways for brand expression. Provides clients with "something true to say, a place only it can occupy, and a path that delivers under pressure."
• Sherpa GenAI Generative AI consulting and implementation services that help client leaders navigate the intelligence age with vision, tools, and transformation. Applies the same AI principles used in Sherpa's own creative process to ensure differentiation and avoid low-quality AI output.
• Sherpa Design Visual identity design, packaging design, and service-experience creation that expresses the brand with precision — every detail earning its place. Includes brand updates such as Oxygenol's complete brand and packaging redesign and XZ's 70th anniversary refresh.
• Sherpa Studio Film, animation, and photography production using generative AI where it adds something real and real people where nothing else will do. Produces brand campaigns, AI-enhanced video content, and AI-generated campaign imagery (e.g., Only in Lapland GenAI winter-light and aurora visuals).
• AI Design Sprint Tailored workshop service for client challenges that merges diverse AI programs with Sherpa's creative and strategic expertise for joint problem-solving. Phases include AI tool introduction, collaborative practice, brainstorming, and implementation. Sold to innovation-focused brands (e.g., Reima) as a discrete engagement.
• Expert AI Talent Leasing AI expert placement service in which Sherpa's AI consultants become part of a client organization for an extended engagement to identify AI opportunities, train internal teams, and implement AI-driven projects tailored to specific business needs. Combines deep integration with organizational priorities rather than technology-first implementation.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI proficiency increased from 3.2/10 to 7.04/10 during 3-month Berner pilot
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• OnniBuscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025OnniBus selected Sherpa as their creative agency partner for new brand concept development and marketing communications. This is the first time in OnniBus history they're undertaking such a comprehensive brand refresh. Campaign launch scheduled for September 29, 2025.
• BernercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Expert AI Talent Leasing pilot where Sherpa's creative director Tommi Kortesniemi was embedded at Berner for 3 months. Identified 50+ AI development projects, significantly improved AI proficiency from 3.2 to 7.04/10, and delivered measurable business value across the organization.
• ReimacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership for AI Design Sprint - Reima, as a pioneer in children's clothing design, partnered with Sherpa to integrate AI into marketing campaign planning and execution for the award-winning Osteri Jacket. The collaboration included AI education, brainstorming, and implementation, resulting in distinctive campaign creative with 'Shell Yes' tagline.
• House of Lapland / Only in LaplandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Lapland's international marketing brand update. Sherpa developed new visual identity with AI-generated image style tuner and updated brand positioning from tourism to lifestyle brand.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Valve Helsinki: Independent Helsinki creative agency providing brand, design, and campaign services to enterprise clients in Finland, with similar scale and pitch landscape positioning.
• Bob Helsinki: Helsinki-based independent creative agency offering brand strategy, creative concepts, and integrated campaigns for Finnish and Nordic enterprise clients in similar verticals to Sherpa.
• 2050 Helsinki: Finnish creative agency based in Helsinki delivering strategy, creative, and content services to enterprise brands, competing in the same Finnish agency pitch landscape as Sherpa.
• Hasan & Co: Independently owned Helsinki creative agency competing for the same Finnish enterprise and consumer brand briefs, with comparable scope across strategy, creative, design, and integrated campaigns.
• TBWA\Helsinki: Finnish creative agency arm of the TBWA global network, operating in Helsinki with comparable brand strategy, creative campaign, and integrated marketing services for enterprise clients across the Nordic market.
• Drama Helsinki: Helsinki creative agency offering brand and campaign work with a similar boutique positioning and enterprise client roster, operating in overlapping Finnish marketing services categories.

Broad incumbents

• Publicis Groupe Finland: Global agency network with Finnish operations (Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett) competing for the same Finnish enterprise marketing briefs as Sherpa but with broader media and production capabilities.
• WPP (Finland): Global advertising holding company with significant Helsinki operations (including GroupM, Ogilvy, VMLY&R) offering end-to-end creative, media, and data services — overlaps Sherpa's enterprise creative and AI services but at much greater scale.

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/sherpa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sherpaagency
• Instagraminstagram.com/sherpa_finland
• Xx.com/sherpa_finland
• Facebookfacebook.com/sherpacreativeagency

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sherpa