Startup Summit Kuopio 2026 brought more than 150 people together in Kuopio

On 18 August, Startup Summit Kuopio 2026 brought more than 150 founders, investors, researchers, business professionals and startup ecosystem builders together at Savonia University of Applied Sciences’ Kampussydän.

For Hub Panostamo, the event was an opportunity to do what sits at the heart of our work: bring people together, create useful connections and strengthen the environment for startups and entrepreneurship in Kuopio and Eastern Finland.

Hub Panostamo was the main organiser of Startup Summit Kuopio 2026, working in close collaboration with regional ecosystem partners. The event was built together with a broad network of companies, universities, public organisations, investors and startup support organisations.

And Startup Summit was more than just the afternoon programme. Activities around the event had already started days earlier, with pitching preparation for the finalists, and continued on the morning of the Summit with a research commercialisation workshop at Hub Panostamo.

Preparing startups before they step on stage

Five days before Startup Summit, the pitching finalists came together for a dedicated pitching workshop, where Noora Tuikka from Nostetta Ventures sparred with the teams alongside Juhamatti Huusko & Mikko Komulainen from Hub Panostamo and Business Center Pohjois-Savo‘s Matti Laitinen, and helped them sharpen their pitches from an investor and business perspective.

The purpose was not simply to rehearse presentations. The companies had an opportunity to clarify their message, challenge their assumptions and think more critically about what an investor, customer or potential partner needs to understand in just a few minutes.

That preparation is an important part of the pitching competition. A three-minute presentation forces founders to make choices: What problem are we really solving? Why does it matter? Why is our approach different? And why should someone believe that this can become a meaningful business?

With Noora’s sparring and feedback, the finalists were able to work through those questions and strengthen their presentations before taking the main stage five days later.

The day started at Hub Panostamo

Startup Summit itself began well before the doors opened at Kampussydän.

On the morning of 18 August, Hub Panostamo hosted the Research Commercialization Workshop: From Research to Business – Building Better PoC & R2B Applications, organised by Business Joensuu as part of DeepTech Startup Joensuu.

The practical workshop, led by Mikko Juuti and Juhamatti Huusko, brought researchers and academic innovators together to look at one of the most difficult steps in innovation: turning promising research into something with a credible path towards commercialisation.

The morning focused on topics including customer problems and value creation, Proof of Concept and Research to Business funding, commercialisation plans, team building and common mistakes in funding applications.

This was particularly relevant for Hub Panostamo because research commercialisation is an increasingly important part of the startup pipeline in Eastern Finland.

Strong research alone does not automatically lead to a company. Researchers also need to understand the customer, market, commercial opportunity and team required to take an innovation forward.

By hosting the workshop at Hub Panostamo immediately before Startup Summit, the morning also created a natural bridge between research commercialisation and the wider startup ecosystem.

From there, participants could continue directly into an afternoon surrounded by founders, investors, entrepreneurs, business development organisations and potential partners.

45 applications, six finalists and one winner

This year’s pitching competition attracted 45 applications, from which six companies were selected to pitch on the Startup Summit stage:

Invest AIQ
TrustNow
Biopallo Systems Ltd.
SURGERIX
INCIGHT medical
Nordic Intelligence Labs

Each finalist had three minutes to present their company, followed by three minutes of questions from the jury.

The jury consisted of Jari Osmala, Vesa Lehtinen and Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen, bringing experience from angel investing, entrepreneurship and business development.

At the end of the afternoon, Tero Puustinen and Invest AIQ were announced as the winners of the Startup Summit Kuopio 2026 pitching competition. The winning team received a support package including a €1,000 cash prize, expert services, workspace, mentoring and access to startup and investor networks.

The pitching competition was part of Hub Panostamo’s Kipinä Program, which supports early-stage startups and teams in developing their business, validating their ideas and preparing for growth. The Kipinä Program is co-funded by the European Union and the Economic Development Centre of Eastern Finland.

“Don’t scale your first product”

One message from Antti Väänänen of Vireum captured an important part of early-stage entrepreneurship particularly well:

“Don’t scale your first product.”

The idea is straightforward: get something in front of customers early, listen to what they actually need and develop the product based on real feedback before focusing too heavily on scale.

That mindset is closely connected to the work we do at Hub Panostamo.

Early-stage companies rarely need more theory. They need customers, honest feedback, experienced people around them, practical support and opportunities to test their assumptions.

Startup Summit creates one environment for those conversations to happen.

The programme also included perspectives from Petri Kalliokoski, Minna Hendolin, Vilma Torstila and Timo Antikainen, covering entrepreneurship, investment, research, innovation and commercialisation.

A panel discussion on From Research to Business explored what is needed to move expertise and research beyond universities and towards commercially viable companies.

Together with the research commercialisation workshop held at Hub Panostamo that morning, it made the connection between research and entrepreneurship one of the recurring themes of the entire day.

Connecting startups, research and investors

One of the main reasons Hub Panostamo organises Startup Summit is simple: ecosystems only work when people actually meet.

Kuopio and Eastern Finland already have universities, research organisations, established companies, public development organisations, investors, entrepreneurs and a growing number of startups.

The challenge is often not a lack of expertise.

It is connecting that expertise.

A researcher may need a commercially minded co-founder. A startup may need its first pilot customer. A founder may be one introduction away from an investor, advisor or partner. An established company may be looking for exactly the kind of solution an early-stage startup is developing.

These connections are difficult to create through organisational charts or strategy documents. Often they begin with a conversation.

That is the role Hub Panostamo wants to play in the region: providing a meeting point for entrepreneurs, startups and the wider ecosystem and making it easier for people to find the knowledge, networks and opportunities they need.

Startup Summit Kuopio is one visible part of that work.

Investors need to be part of the conversation

Strengthening connections between startups and investors was also an important part of the day.

An Investor Lunch was organised before the main programme, and FiBAN – Finnish Business Angels Network was represented during the event.

For startups outside Finland’s largest cities, access to investor networks remains particularly important.

Capital matters, but an experienced investor can also bring industry knowledge, strategic perspective, introductions and experience from building companies.

At the same time, promising companies and research-based opportunities are being developed across Finland. Bringing investors to Kuopio and creating stronger connections between regional companies and national investment networks is therefore an important part of building a functioning startup ecosystem.

We were also pleased to welcome Finnish Startup Community and Uliana Ivanova to Kuopio, bringing a national startup perspective into the discussion.

Part of a wider week of activity in Kuopio: Health Insights Week 2026

Startup Summit also marked the beginning of Kuopio Health Insights Week 2026, connecting the event with a wider week of activity around health, technology, innovation and business in Kuopio.

For us, this is an important direction.

Rather than treating startup events, research commercialisation, investor activity and ecosystem development as separate things, the aim should be to connect them.

In the space of five days, Startup Summit-related activities moved from pitching preparation, to research commercialisation at Hub Panostamo, to investor meetings, and finally to more than 150 people gathering for the main Summit.

That wider process is ultimately more valuable than any individual programme item.

Built together with a broad partner network

Hub Panostamo was the main organiser of Startup Summit Kuopio 2026, but an event of this scale is only possible through collaboration.

We want to thank all of the organisations that supported the event, contributed expertise, brought people into the programme, provided prizes and services or otherwise helped make the day possible:

Business Kuopio · Business Joensuu Oy · University of Eastern Finland · Nostetta Ventures · Savon ammattiopisto Sakky · Savon Yrittäjät ry · Novapolis Oy · Aspia Finland Oy · Hallituspartnerit Itä-Suomi ry · Kuopio Health Osk · Savonia University of Applied Sciences · FiBAN – Finnish Business Angels Network · Business Center Pohjois-Savo · Falling Walls Lab Eastern Finland · Economic Development Centre of Eastern Finland · North Savo Entrepreneurship Society ry · Lapland Hotels · Scandic Hotels · Original Sokos Hotel Puijonsarvi · Pohjois-Savon Ekonomit ry · Istekki Oy · City of Iisalmi · Olvi Oyj · Luoto Kuopio Oy · Kupla Social Oy · Kespat Oy · Asianajotoimisto Edelle Oy · Finland Lakeland · Yrityskeskus INNOCUM · Kuopion Yrittäjät ry · Gallant Oy.

Thank you also to Saara Närä of Kupla Social for hosting the main event, as well as our speakers, jury members, pitching companies, exhibitors, volunteers and everyone who joined us at Kampussydän.

Thank you to everyone who was part of Startup Summit Kuopio 2026!