Kim Väisänen, founder of the data erasure company Blancco, has joined Takeoff Partners, a Finnish team of experienced growth advisors and private investors. Väisänen sold Blancco in 2014 and has since been an active investor and coach for many aspiring Finnish startups.

Takeoff Partners specializes in internationalizing B2B software and service businesses. Kim Väisänen who during his Blancco career received numerous export and growth entrepreneurship related awards in Finland, further solidifies the Takeoff Partners team in its core area of expertise. Under Väisänen’s leadership, Blancco grew from a small software company in the hinterlands of Finland into a global market leader in data erasure. Blancco was sold to the UK-based Regenersis (LON: RGS) in 2014 in a 60 MEUR acquisition.

”I have worked with ambitious Finnish growth companies for a while already, bringing to the table my experience and networks for them to utilize, and also investing in some of them. The experience and interests of the Takeoff Partners team align nicely with those of my own, and it’s great to be able to help Finnish companies go abroad together”, says Väisänen.

”Kim Väisänen is an excellent addition to our team whose focus is already heavily on internationalizing B2B software and services”, says Markko Vaarnas, Managing partner of Takeoff Partners. ”The most valuable thing that we can give to the companies we work with is our own experience and hands-on support, and Kim can offer plenty of both. Growth and internationalization obviously require financial resources as well, and our roles as investors and arrangers of finance coincide nicely. Finally, we share a keen interest to help raise new international success stories out of Finland that is currently going through a major transition in its industrial structure”, Vaarnas continues.

The entrepreneurial experience of the rest of the Takeoff Partners team stems mainly from the market intelligence company Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA) that was grown from a small Finnish startup into a global leader in its field. GIA was sold to M-Brain Group in 2014.

Additional information:
Kim Väisänen, tel. +358 (0)50 585 2885
Markko Vaarnas, tel. +358 (0)40 540 3390

About Takeoff Partners

Takeoff Partners is a Finnish team of experienced growth advisors and private investors. As entrepreneurs, Takeoff Partners’ experts have built pioneering businesses from the ground up into global leaders, working successfully with Fortune 500 customers and venture capital investors alike.