Business Advisor

Your role As a Business Advisor, you will coach and support a diverse portfolio of startups and research-based project teams, including companies in the Business Generator accelerator program, ESA BIC and Aalto University’s Research to Business projects. Your focus will be on helping teams become commercially and financially ready for their next major milestone. This may include customer discovery, market entry strategy, business model development, investor readiness or team development. You will also design and deliver workshops, tools and frameworks that help teams develop their commercial thinking, funding readiness and ability to execute. Your team and network You will join the Aalto Startup Development team, working closely with other business advisors and the wider Aalto ecosystem. The team is led by Niko Downie, Head of Aalto Startup Development. What we are looking for We are looking for someone who is inspired by helping founders succeed and who understands the specific challenges of building deep tech companies. The ideal candidate has First-hand experience founding, leading, funding or scaling a deep tech or science-based startup. Strong understanding of commercialization paths for research-based technologies. Experience with startup fundraising and/or investor readiness. Ability to challenge and support founders in areas such as business model, market focus, go-to-market strategy and financial modelling. A strong network in the startup ecosystem. A practical, founder-friendly coaching style and genuine desire to help early-stage teams grow. Ability to work independently and as part of a team. Fluency in English. Experience with venture capital, Business Finland/EU funding, corporate partnerships, industrial sales or university spinouts is considered an advantage.