# Sakari Pihlava

> Sakari Pihlava is a seed investor at Vendep Capital (Helsinki) backing SaaS and Software. See 6 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Vendep Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/vendepcapital)
- Location: Helsinki, Finland
- Total investments: 6
- Last investment: Apr 2024
- Lead investor: 33%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sakaripihlava/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/spihlava
- Website: https://www.vendep.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spihlava

Sakari Pihlava is a seed investor at Vendep Capital in Helsinki focused on SaaS and Software. Sakari has worked in Boston, Massachusetts and Munich, Germany as a member of TVM Capital’s ICT investment team. Sakari began his career at F-Secure, where he led the creation of F-Secure’s new product lines and the transformation of the products into “security as a service”. Sakari was a member of the management team that led F-Secure’s IPO in1999. Sakari came to Vendep from Efecte, where he was responsible for the European Channel and Products.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SaaS | 2 | 33% |
| Software | 2 | 33% |
| Information Technology | 2 | 33% |
| B2B | 1 | 17% |
| Banking | 1 | 17% |

12 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 2 | 33% |
| Series A | 2 | 33% |
| Venture - Series Unknown | 1 | 17% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Estonia | 1 | 17% |
| Finland | 1 | 17% |
| United States | 1 | 17% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| HappySignals | HappySignals develops an experience management platform that helps improve employee experience. The company helps businesses improve their internal services by shifting the focus to employee experience by measuring and analyzing employee happiness and productivity. The right balance between service costs, lost worktime, and satisfaction translatesinto a happier bottom line. | $12.8M | Venture - Series Unknown | Apr 22, 2024 |  |
| Xolo | Xolo is focusing on 40 million professionals globally who have chosen to run their business independently. Its aim is to reduce time spent on business administration to near zero by offering an incredibly simple online platform that merges company formation, banking, accounting, and other services. Xolo is the quickest and easiest way to launch andrun a one-person freelancing business in Europe. Xolo has customers from 140 countries through it's global product line and has localised solutions in Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. Xolo's typical customers are software developers, management consultants, designers, and other independent professionals. | $3.9M | Series A | Feb 15, 2021 |  |
| HappySignals | HappySignals develops an experience management platform that helps improve employee experience. The company helps businesses improve their internal services by shifting the focus to employee experience by measuring and analyzing employee happiness and productivity. The right balance between service costs, lost worktime, and satisfaction translatesinto a happier bottom line. | $5.6M | Series A | Sep 17, 2020 |  |
| Xolo | Xolo is focusing on 40 million professionals globally who have chosen to run their business independently. Its aim is to reduce time spent on business administration to near zero by offering an incredibly simple online platform that merges company formation, banking, accounting, and other services. Xolo is the quickest and easiest way to launch andrun a one-person freelancing business in Europe. Xolo has customers from 140 countries through it's global product line and has localised solutions in Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. Xolo's typical customers are software developers, management consultants, designers, and other independent professionals. | $6.4M | Series A | Jul 15, 2019 |  |
| HappySignals | HappySignals develops an experience management platform that helps improve employee experience. The company helps businesses improve their internal services by shifting the focus to employee experience by measuring and analyzing employee happiness and productivity. The right balance between service costs, lost worktime, and satisfaction translatesinto a happier bottom line. | $1.1M | Seed | Mar 25, 2019 |  |
| Brella | Brella is a networking tool for events, conferences and livestreams. It helps professionals to find the most interesting people and make new high value contacts.Their goal is to make networking as easy and efficient as possible. They are dedicated to provide the most valuable, easiest and functional networking experiences at every event. Theynavigate the professionals to their opportunities by helping them connect with the right people, at the right time, at the right place. | $1.3M | Seed | Aug 23, 2017 |  |

6 of 6 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Karma Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/karma-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Nauta Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/nauta-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Specialist VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/united-angels-vc) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Contriber Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/contriber) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Id4 ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/id4-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Leap Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/leap-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Vendep Capital

VC Fund · Espoo, Finland

Vendep Capital is a B2B SaaS specialist VC operating in Nordics and Baltics. We invest in the best early-stage software entrepreneurs. Our first ticket is 0.1–3M euros depending on the company’s stage. e support the brilliant startup founders by leveraging our extensive SaaS expertise and global networks to expedite their growth.

5 contacts available at Vendep Capital.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Jupe Arala | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jupe-arala |
| Sakari Pihlava | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sakari-pihlava |
| Sami Ahvenniemi | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/sami-ahvenniemi |
| Timo Felin | Principal | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/timo-felin |
| Hannu Kytölä | General Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/hannu-kyt%C3%B6l%C3%A4 |

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### Similar stage
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- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Sakari Pihlava invest in?

Sakari Pihlava invests primarily in SaaS, Software and Information Technology startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 6 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Estonia. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Sakari Pihlava last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Sakari Pihlava closed in Apr 2024. Shizune tracks 6 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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