According to the latest results (Q4) of the Finnish Startup Community’s barometer, startups’ assessment of their own financial situation has dropped to a historically low level. Sentiment has been declining for more than a year, and the latest drop is significant. In practice, startups still report their own financial situation as positive, but clearly weaker than before. Survey results always involve some random variation, which makes it difficult to interpret changes over short time periods.
“The results are surprising and somewhat concerning. The startup field has received a lot of positive, well-deserved visibility recently, and we have all heard many great news stories, including historic record-high funding rounds. The reason for the particularly weak quarter is still unclear at this stage. It is, however, good to remember that startups still report their financial situations as positive and growing”, comments Amir Hassan, economist at the Finnish Startup Community.
Figure 1: Time series of balance figures reflecting the confidence of Finnish Startup Community members in the startups’ financial situations. A negative figure indicates a pessimistic view, while a positive figure reflects optimism. The balance figure can range from -100 to +100.
The surrounding economic situation is also seen as weaker than before
Figure 2: Time series of balance figures reflecting the confidence of Finnish Startup Community members in the surrounding economic situation. A negative figure indicates a pessimistic view, while a positive figure reflects optimism. The balance figure can range from -100 to +100.
“Startups assessed the surrounding economic situation as having weakened slightly in the latter half of 2025. Unfortunately, 2026 appears to have started with greater uncertainty, especially driven by the rapidly changing foreign policy of the United States and geopolitical uncertainty factors”, says Riikka Pakarinen, CEO of the Finnish Startup Community.
No major change is visible in near-term hiring however, realized headcount appears to have been grown slower than expected
Figure 3: Time series of balance figures reflecting the estimation of Finnish Startup Community members in their hiring pace. A negative figure indicates a pessimistic view, while a positive figure reflects optimism. The balance figure can range from -100 to +100.
“It is clear that during 2025, the realized pace of headcount growth among startups declined significantly. In other words, in the average startup, employee numbers have increased, but more slowly than before. This likely reflects their financial situation and the broader political uncertainty in the world around them. The same message is also repeatedly heard in concrete discussions in the field: uncertainty is slowing down hiring. However, near-term recruitment needs are still strongly on the positive side and even increased slightly”, says Maija Lindeman, Growth and Community Director at the Finnish Startup Community.
The survey was conducted during the last quarter of 2025 as a web survey, and there were 109 respondents from the Finnish startup community.
Link to the full analysis.
Amir Hassan
Economist
Amir@startupyhteiso.com