What Shirute does

Shirute is a Helsinki-based customer experience (CX) consulting and training firm, founded in 2013 by Sirte Pihlaja. The firm serves enterprise clients across Finland and internationally — including brands such as Elisa, Verkkokauppa.com, Sokos Hotels, Marimekko, Rovio, TeliaSonera, Kesko, Nordea Life, Veikkaus, and Sanoma — across telecom, retail, hospitality, healthcare, finance, gaming, transportation, media, and government verticals. Shirute's core technology is methodological rather than software-based: the flagship is the CEM Benchmark, an annual maturity assessment conducted since 2013 that evaluates organizations across five dimensions (scope of operations, organization and leadership, culture, processes, and tools) against a longitudinal peer dataset. Supporting methodologies include the trademarked "Customer Experience Path," the CEM Audit and CEM Analyysi diagnostic products, and the CX Play / TosiLeikki workshop format built on LEGO Serious Play facilitation.

The product portfolio spans three layers: assessment products (CEM Benchmark, CEM Audit, CEM Analyysi), training programs (CX Masterclass with international speakers such as Ian Golding, Shaun Smith, and Kieran Gilmurray; Asiakas Ensin / Customer First; LEGO Serious Play workshops), and thought-leadership content (the CX1–CX5 book series, with CX2 reaching #1 bestseller status on Amazon globally, and "The AI Experience Podcast"). Recent strategic emphasis has expanded into AI & CX integration, including a dedicated AI & Customer Experience service line, AI & CX Masterclass events, Hands-On AI Masterclasses, machine customer readiness research, and the deployment of AI Twins as a post-event engagement mechanism.

Revenue is generated through professional-services engagements (consulting and audits), annual CEM Benchmark subscription cycles, event ticket and replay sales, multi-day training programs, and book royalties sold primarily through Amazon. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. With 1–10 employees, Shirute operates as a boutique expert consultancy rather than a scaled platform, leveraging the CXPA Finland community (which the firm leads) as a captive demand-generation channel and leveraging Sirte Pihlaja's international reputation to anchor enterprise credibility.

Name

Shirute

Legal name

Shirute Ltd.

Website

https://shirute.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shirute is a Helsinki-based boutique customer experience consulting and training firm serving Finnish and international enterprises through CEM Benchmark assessments, CX Masterclass and Asiakas Ensin training, and AI-CX advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Customer Experience Consulting

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Customer Experience (CX) & Service Excellence (EDABACAB)

Keywords

• Customer experience consulting
• CX training programs
• CEM benchmarking
• Customer journey mapping
• CX strategy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Advisory Services: Shirute provides direct consulting engagements where experienced CX consultants (including CEO Sirte Pihlaja) coach and spar with client organizations to improve their customer experience capabilities. Engagements are structured as personal trainer programs with a fitness assessment, plan, and ongoing support.
2. Training and Certification Programs: Shirute runs structured training programs including CX Masterclass (with international speakers), Asiakas Ensin (Customer First) training, customer journey mapping workshops, and voice-of-customer programs. These are sold as multi-day or multi-session engagements to enterprise clients.
3. CEM Benchmark Assessment: Organizations pay to participate in the annual CEM Benchmark survey and receive a benchmarking report. This provides a recurring revenue opportunity tied to annual assessment cycles (CEM2023, CEM2024, CEM2025).
4. Book Sales: Shirute's team members (notably Sirte Pihlaja) co-author customer experience books (CX1 through CX5) published on Amazon. These are sold as one-time digital or print purchases. CX2 became a global bestseller ranking #1 in multiple Amazon categories.
5. Event Revenue (CX Masterclass): Shirute organizes CX Masterclass events with tickets sold to attendees. Recordings and replays of sessions are available for purchase, creating a secondary revenue stream from each event.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Shirute is a Finnish customer experience (CX) consulting and training firm that helps organizations design, measure, and improve customer experience across the customer lifecycle. The company delivers CX consulting, CX audits (CEM Audit), benchmarking services (CEM Benchmark), training programs (CX Masterclass), and thought leadership content (books, podcast) for B2B clients. Its offerings center on proprietary CX methodologies and frameworks, including the CX Play (TosiLeikki) approach and the AI & CX framework.

Product overview

Shirute is a Finnish customer experience (CX) consulting and training company, offering a portfolio of advisory services, professional training programs, and creative facilitation tools. The core offering centers on CEM Benchmark, CEM Analyysi, and CEM Audit — three structured assessment and advisory products that measure and improve customer experience management maturity. These are complemented by training programs including CX Masterclass (an intensive CX professional program), Asiakas Ensin (customer listening and data-driven CX), and TOSILEIKKI/CX Play (a LEGO Serious Play-based workshop methodology). Shirute also provides AI & Customer Experience consulting, helping organizations develop AI-powered services for both human and machine customers. Supporting service lines include customer listening and reputation management, customer experience leadership, customer relationship management, customer data management, and personal CX coaching. The company also publishes the internationally best-selling Customer Experience book series.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CEM Benchmark: Global Customer Experience Management benchmark index and assessment tool for evaluating organizations' CX capabilities
• CX Play (TosiLeikki)
• CX Masterclass
• Asiakas Ensin (Customer First)
• Customer Experience Path

Products and services

• CEM Benchmark Annual customer experience management benchmarking service that evaluates and ranks organizations across CX dimensions, providing subscribers with comparative performance insights against peers in Finland and beyond.
• CEM Analyysi Customer experience analysis service that diagnoses an organization's CX maturity, capabilities, and gaps to inform a CX improvement roadmap.
• CEM Audit Customer experience audit service that systematically evaluates an organization's CX practices against defined standards and benchmarks.
• CX Masterclass Training program covering the Customer Experience Path methodology and practical CX management skills for professionals and leaders.
• TOSILEIKKI (CX Play) LEGO Serious Play-based workshop format co-developed by Shirute and partner Micael Buckle, used to facilitate customer experience design and strategy sessions.
• Asiakas Ensin (Customer First) CX consulting service line focused on putting the customer at the center of an organization's strategy, operations, and culture.
• AI & CX (Tekoäly ja asiakaskokemus) Consulting and advisory service helping organizations integrate artificial intelligence into their customer experience strategy and operations.
• Customer Experience Book Series Published collection of CX-themed books authored by Shirute's founder Sirte Pihlaja, sold via Amazon and other book retailers.
• AI & CX Podcast Podcast series produced by Shirute covering artificial intelligence and customer experience topics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations that participated in CEM Benchmark consistently improved their CX maturity scores in subsequent years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Shirute's CEO Sirte Pihlaja is the founding member and Executive Director of CXPA Finland, the Finnish chapter of the global Customer Experience Professionals Association. CXPA Finland organizes events, supports CCXP certification, and builds the CX professional community in Finland. Shirute collaborates with CXPA on CX Masterclass events and other initiatives. The relationship is mutual: Pihlaja both leads CXPA Finland and uses it as a platform for Shirute's services.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Experience Dynamics: Boutique CX and UX consultancy that delivers journey mapping, CX research, and customer-centric design services. Comparable in scale and approach to Shirute's design-led CX consulting offerings.
• Strativity Group: Customer experience strategy consultancy offering CX assessments, training, and implementation support to enterprise clients. Overlaps directly with Shirute's CEM Audit, CX Masterclass, and customer experience management consulting.
• Beyond Philosophy: Boutique CX consulting firm founded by Shep Hyken that delivers CX strategy, customer culture, and customer service training to enterprises. Directly comparable to Shirute in offering CX advisory, training programs, and thought-leadership content to enterprise clients.
• The CX Company: European CX consultancy that helps large organizations operationalize customer experience programs, including CX maturity assessments, training, and customer journey work. Comparable to Shirute in combining CX advisory with structured maturity benchmarking.
• Heart of the Customer: US-based CX consultancy specializing in customer journey mapping, Voice of Customer programs, and CX strategy engagements. Closely aligned to Shirute's customer journey, customer listening, and CEM Analyysi service lines.

Broad incumbents

• Walker (Kantar): Long-running CX research and benchmarking firm, now part of Kantar, known for the Customer Experience Index. Directly comparable to Shirute's CEM Benchmark on benchmarking, and to Shirute's broader advisory practice on consulting.
• Medallia: Customer experience and voice-of-customer platform with professional services. Competes with Shirute for enterprise CX budgets by bundling technology, benchmarking-style analytics, and advisory into a single contract.
• Qualtrics: Enterprise experience management platform offering CX, EX, and survey tools with accompanying advisory services. Overlaps with Shirute where enterprises seek integrated platform + advisory support for CX programs.
• Forrester Research: Global research and advisory firm with a large CX practice covering research, consulting, and events. Comparable as a CX advisory competitor, but operates at much larger scale and breadth than Shirute.

Others

• CXPA (Customer Experience Professionals Association): Global professional association for CX practitioners. Shirute's CEO Sirte Pihlaja is a founding member and leads CXPA Finland; CXPA provides the certification (CCXP), community, and event infrastructure that underpins much of Shirute's go-to-market motion.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sirteace
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ShiruteLtd
• Facebookfacebook.com/shirute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shirute-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/sirteace

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Shirute