The question every scaling company wrestles with is what actually separates the ones that break into global markets from those that stay invisible? It’s rarely the product. It’s rarely the technology. More often, it comes down to how early and how boldly companies invest in making themselves known.
Aurea Agency hosted a fireside chat with Mikko Karjanlahti, Finland Country Lead at Kustom, one of the Nordics’ most recognised fintech scale-ups and a Klarna spinoff. The conversation explored what Finnish startups can learn from Sweden’s approach to marketing, positioning, and international growth.
The audience brought more questions than we had time to answer, so we decided to continue the conversation in this blog.
Three things we took away from the conversation
1. Invest in marketing and communications earlier than feels comfortable. In Finland, marketing and communications are often activated reactively, whereas in our neighbour Sweden, they are built into the company from day one. The difference isn’t ambition, but timing.
2. Consistency beats variation. Startups change their messaging too often in search of improvement. But clarity comes from repetition, not reinvention. The same story, told consistently across every touchpoint, is what builds recognition.
3. References are your strongest growth lever. When entering a new market, they become your most powerful form of leverage. Use them consistently in your marketing and communications to build trust and accelerate growth.
The questions the audience asked and our honest answers
1. How do you build a strong brand in a B2B category where it’s hard to stand out?
The strongest B2B brands are not defined by how entertaining they are, but by how clearly they solve a real problem. They communicate a specific value, repeat it consistently, and avoid unnecessary complexity in how they present themselves.
This matters even more in B2B because buying cycles are long— most of your market is simply not ready to purchase today. Brand consistency is what keeps you in the room when the moment to buy finally arrives.
Kustom is a good example of this. The company does not lead with technology for its own sake. Instead, it focuses on a clear commercial outcome: helping merchants increase checkout conversion and expand into new markets. The product story stays anchored in measurable business impact rather than feature depth.
The same clarity is reflected in the visual identity. The bold use of yellow is not decorative — it is functional. It creates immediate recognition in a category where most brands visually converge. In a space where many B2B companies try to signal sophistication through subtlety, Kustom chooses visibility and distinction. It shows that clarity itself can be a competitive advantage.
2. Can Finnish founders learn the Swedish approach to positioning?
Yes, but it does require a mindset shift first.
Most founders treat positioning as something that happens after success. In reality, it’s one of the tools that creates it.
The key shift is moving from precise, product-focused descriptions toward clearer category framing: being bold about the problem you solve, not just what you built.
Kustom arrived in Finland with a clear story and a strong global track record, but with limited local brand awareness. That clarity was what opened the first Finnish doors, and the local references followed.
Working with brands such as Scandinavian Outdoor, Musti & Mirri, Adlibris, and Caia Cosmetics has given Kustom the credibility that opened doors, because in a new market, a recognisable local name is worth more than any international credential. Visibility is not vanity. It is part of growth.
3. What role does brand play in building trust, and how does it evolve?
Before someone buys from you, books a meeting, or even replies to your email, they’ve already made a judgment about your credibility. Brand is what shapes that judgement.
Early on, it’s about clarity: do people immediately understand what you do and why it matters? Over time, it becomes a reputation. And reputation is built through consistency.
This is also where the 95-5 rule becomes critical. In B2B, most buying cycles are long — at any given moment, only around 5% of your market is actively looking to buy. Brand consistency is what ensures that when the other 95% do move into a buying situation, you are already familiar, credible, and top of mind — not a name they are encountering for the first time.
Brand is not only your logo. It is what people say about you when you are not in the room.
4. What’s the first thing a company should do before expanding internationally?
Kustom arrived in Finland with a strong global track record, a Klarna spinoff with 24,000 merchants across 170 markets, and almost zero local brand awareness. Navigating that gap is where brand and communications became critical.
Entering a new market is a deliberate choice, not a default next step. And as Mikko put it, it isn’t just about campaigns. “The companies that build trust fastest are the ones that show up in person, make the calls, and do the unglamorous work of building relationships one conversation at a time,” he said.
Before investing heavily, talk to potential customers first. What resonates at home rarely translates automatically, and those insights are far cheaper to uncover in ten conversations than in six months of marketing activity.
Final thoughts
Growth is rarely limited by product quality alone. The companies that break through are the ones that treat marketing and communications not as a cost or an afterthought, but as a growth engine, paired with product excellence and the courage to be visible before everything feels perfect.
Thank you to Mikko Karjanlahti, and Kustom, Finnish Startup Community, and everyone who joined the conversation. If you’re a Finnish merchant looking to grow beyond borders, Mikko and the Kustom team would love to hear from you. kustom.co/fi
About the Authors
Vera Kröger and Laura Lindholm are the co-founders of Aurea Agency, supporting tech and innovation startups with strategic marketing, communications, and PR.
If this resonated, or if you have marketing, communications, or PR needs and are wondering if Aurea Agency could help, we’d love to hear from you. vera@aurea-agency.com & laura@aurea-agency.com