hera

What hera does

Hera is a sub-brand and standalone community initiative of LahtiES (Lahti Entrepreneurship Society Ry), a non-profit student association registered in Finland and founded in 2024. Functionally, Hera is an entrepreneurship community for women in the Lahti region, providing networking, peer support, mentorship, and skill-building through events run under the LahtiES umbrella. It operates alongside LahtiES's other projects: Synergy (business case competition), B.A.L.L.S. (coding hackathon), and Startup Fest (a week-long festival). The initiative has no proprietary technology, no app, no API, and no digital product surface; its delivery is events- and community-driven, promoted through Instagram, LinkedIn, the Luma events platform, and the LahtiES website. The organization is led by a volunteer student board (13 board members and officers listed) with 6 named staff contributors, and is supported by a coalition of partners including the City of Lahti (core), Ladec, Crazy Town, and Starthub. The business model is non-commercial: as a non-profit association under Finnish law, Hera is funded through membership sign-ups, grants, and partner sponsorships rather than pricing or revenue contracts. There is no disclosed pricing, no disclosed revenue, and no funding rounds. The primary customer segment is women entrepreneurs and aspiring founders in the Lahti region, with engagement channeled through events, community projects, and a Project Application Form that converts member ideas into structured initiatives.

Name

hera

Legal name

Lahti Entrepreneurship Society Ry

Website

https://lahties.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hera is a non-profit community initiative under LahtiES that supports women entrepreneurs in the Lahti region of Finland through networking events, peer support, and mentorship. It is volunteer-run, member-funded, and backed by municipal and regional entrepreneurship partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Community Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAFAK

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Community & Public Education Programs (Libraries, Community Centers)

SECONDARYEDAMAHAI

Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Entrepreneurship & Business Enrichment

SECONDARYBPAGABAA

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/International Development & Poverty Alleviation

Keywords

• Women entrepreneurship community
• Peer support networks
• Startup community events
• Entrepreneurship mentorship programs
• Founder community building

Headquarters

HQ city

Lahti

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Non-profit funding model: As a project under LahtiES (a non-profit association), Hera likely operates through membership contributions, grants, and partner sponsorships rather than commercial revenue streams.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hera is a community-driven initiative providing networking, peer support, mentorship, and collaborative growth events for women entrepreneurs in the Lahti region. It operates as one of four named projects under LahtiES (Lahti Entrepreneurship Society Ry), a non-profit student association, and is the only LahtiES initiative specifically focused on women founders and aspiring entrepreneurs. The offering is delivered through community events, partner-supported programming, and the broader LahtiES entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Product overview

Hera is a single core product — an entrepreneurship community for women — operating under the Lahti Entrepreneurship Society (LahtiES) umbrella. It is one of four named project initiatives, alongside Synergy (business case competition), B.A.L.L.S. (coding hackathon), and Startup Fest (week-long festival). Hera is the only offering focused specifically on fostering connection, support, and growth among women entrepreneurs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hera: An entrepreneurship community for women, fostering connection, support, and growth.

Products and services

• Hera Hera is a community-driven initiative for women entrepreneurs, offering networking, peer support, mentorship, and collaborative growth events within the LahtiES entrepreneurship ecosystem. It is intended for aspiring and early-stage women founders in the Lahti region.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• LadecminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLadec is a partner of LahtiES, the parent organization of Hera. Ladec (Lahti Development Centre) supports regional entrepreneurship and innovation in the Lahti area.
• City of LahticoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Lahti is a key partner supporting LahtiES and its initiatives including Hera. The municipality backs entrepreneurship development in the region.
• Crazy TownminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrazy Town is a partner of LahtiES, providing ecosystem connections and support for startup-related initiatives in the Lahti region.
• StarthubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStarthub is a partner organization supporting LahtiES's entrepreneurship programs and initiatives like Hera.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Crazy Town: Lahti-based entrepreneurship hub and startup community. Already a strategic partner of LahtiES, but also serves overlapping audiences (founders, early-stage startups) in the same Lahti micro-ecosystem where Hera operates.
• Starthub: Finnish startup community and pre-acceleration program targeting early-stage founders. Partner of LahtiES and materially overlapping in mission (supporting aspiring entrepreneurs) — a natural adjacent or competing channel for the same founder persona.
• Aalto Entrepreneurship Society (AaltoES): Finnish student-led entrepreneurship society based at Aalto University in Espoo. The closest comparable organization to LahtiES/Hera — same model (student-run non-profit, community + events for student entrepreneurs) but operating at Aalto's larger scale; even referenced as a benchmark in LahtiES's own reporting.

Broad incumbents

• Women Who Tech: Global nonprofit community supporting women in technology and entrepreneurship through events, mentorship and grants. Operates Hera's exact thesis (women-empowerment in tech/startups) but at international scale — the archetypal incumbent Hera aligns with in mission.
• Astia (formerly Astia Foundation/Astia Innovate): Global nonprofit dedicated to advancing women innovators and founders via programs, networks and capital access. Closest global mission peer to Hera, with substantially more developed programming and capital pathways.
• Startup Grind: Global startup community running local chapters and events for founders. Comparable because both operate 'community → events → education' GTM for entrepreneurs; Startup Grind offers a battle-tested blueprint Hera could emulate at Lahti scale.

Regional players

• Women in Tech Finland: Finnish chapter of the global Women in Tech movement, focused on women in technology and entrepreneurship. Same national geography and women-empowerment mission; complementary more than competitive to Hera at the community layer.
• Ladec (Lahti Development Centre): Regional development agency for the Lahti region supporting SME and startup growth. Already a LahtiES partner and comparable in mission (regional entrepreneurship development), but more established and broader in scope than Hera.

Others

• Antler: Global early-stage VC and founder program. Featured as a benchmark visit in LahtiES's reporting — relevant ecosystem ally more than competitor; represents the kind of downstream accelerator Hera's community members could feed into.

Emerging players

• Junction (Helsinki): Helsinki-based student hackathon platform and ecosystem. Same era and demographic (student founders), same community-building energy, and a sibling presence in the broader Finnish student entrepreneurship circuit — a partial overlap.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heraforentrepreneurship
• Instagraminstagram.com/lahti_es

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 hera