Members of Finland’s startup community include a variety of companies aiming to create a better future through entrepreneurship. One of these is ValueMatcher, which is creating a new recruitment revolution by striving to solve the matching problem in the labor market. We interviewed the company’s co-founder and CEO, Anssi Pakkanen.
Where did ValueMatcher originate, and what do you do?
ValueMatcher originated from the need to solve the mismatch problem in the labor market—specifically, how to match the needs of job seekers and employers as quickly, cost-effectively, and accurately as possible, both now and in the future.
Our goal is to revolutionize both the internal and external recruitment process by shifting the focus from narratives to objective, measurable, and verifiable data about both job seekers and employers’ needs. The multimodal, research-based model we have developed helps recruiters assess candidates’ true suitability for open positions.
How did it all begin?
Before transitioning to startup entrepreneurship, I was involved in building the cloud services revolution. This experience was the spark that led me toward the startup world. Moving into the recruitment industry revolution felt like a natural next step.
The foundation for ValueMatcher was laid during a six-month nurturing process, during which I interviewed 70 business leaders about the fragmentation of careers and the future demands of recruitment. Initially, I was exploring my own interest in interim management and its effectiveness, as well as how leadership models could be scaled in situations requiring change management.
One of the people I interviewed was our current co-founder, who was doing doctoral research on the same topic. Our discussions quickly intensified, and from those conversations, the foundation of the company emerged. Even before the company had a business ID, we had already created a detailed business plan and defined our goal: to solve the global labor market mismatch problem. This vision became the mantra of our expanding team and the guiding principle of ValueMatcher.
From the outset, we understood the growing significance and benefit of AI. We also realized that securing funding would not be easy for first-time entrepreneurs, so we needed paying customers right from the start. That’s why we initially focused on the executive team work and change management we knew well, through the interim management market. Along the way, we gained more expertise, candidates, and testers for our platform, and expanded our customer base to include executive search firms with great results. Now, ValueMatcher is a scalable, AI-ready product with roots firmly in Finland and a vision to execute a global recruitment revolution.
What are your future prospects?
I believe that recruitment is now at a turning point where AI services will begin to add value to platform-based solutions. However, this requires addressing bottlenecks and, especially, changing people’s mindsets with effective solutions, which is why we have built ValueMatcher to operate on existing platforms and leverage market growth. We already have a research-based engine ready to solve recruitment-related problems for our customers. We believe the next phase, visible in the near future, is Service as a Software models that genuinely add value and efficiency by accelerating, simplifying, and streamlining the process. After that, nothing will remain the same in the recruitment process as we experience it today.
What surprised you as a startup entrepreneur?
As a first-time startup founder, the biggest surprise has been the support from other startup entrepreneurs and investors. We entered the market at a challenging time, right at the lowest point for securing funding. At times, I questioned whether this made sense—why are we doing this from Finland when there is demand elsewhere? The problem we are solving is global. Ultimately, the support we received helped us stay on the chosen path.
Startup entrepreneurship requires a spirit of adventure and resilience in the face of challenges. I believe the challenges we have encountered have also been essential for the team’s mental growth. It has been surprising to realize that in Finland, startup entrepreneurship is not always appreciated—people often ask why you’re doing it if it’s so difficult. Difficult things feel hard at first, but often it is from them that something great develops.
I’m deeply concerned about how little attention is currently being paid to the brain drain from Finland. We are a small country, but we have an immense amount of expertise for our size. I personally feel that I have led a privileged life, having had the opportunity to be educated in a peaceful society and to build meaningful networks—I want to give back from my expertise, even if it requires some sacrifices.
What lessons have you learned along the way?
I believe the timing of when I became a startup entrepreneur was right for me. I had built a strong network and understanding of business, and I knew what questions I wanted answers to before we began implementing them. We divided responsibilities within the team according to our strengths—this is how we built a model that reflects our vision.
As a startup entrepreneur, support from the background is essential. Vision, will, and determination are not enough if the foundation is not solid. Creating something new is tough, and it requires a stubborn desire to do things differently. Every startup entrepreneur has a larger agenda they want to advance, even though the chances of success may be small.
What is your life wisdom?
It’s better to fail at something you want to succeed in than to succeed at something meaningless.
Anssi Pakkanen, ValueMatcher, Co-Founder & CEO