Finland’s entrepreneurial spirit is vibrant, energetic, and creative. However, the 2025 Startup Finland media survey by Startup Finland, in collaboration with the Finnish Startup Community and Aaltoes, reveals that this energy is still struggling to find a shared rhythm. The voices of founders, investors, and student entrepreneurs echo a clear message: there’s an abundance of information, but it’s scattered. There’s interest, but a lack of trust. There are many platforms, but no central hub. The 2025 media habits survey tells us one thing loud and clear: the country’s entrepreneurial community is no longer just a network — it’s a living organism thirsty for knowledge and demanding a meaningful infrastructure.
ArcticStartup has established itself as a key media source within the Finnish startup ecosystem. According to the survey results, Helsingin Sanomat’s Visio section is the most widely followed news source, though international and local media outlets like TechCrunch and Kauppalehti also boast significant followings. ArcticStartup, with an 18% followership, is shown to be an important part of Finland’s startup ecosystem.
These results highlight that ArcticStartup plays a critical role in curating regional and global startup news, feeding the information flow for entrepreneurs, investors, and other ecosystem players, and it holds the potential to reach an even broader audience. By offering in-depth content on entrepreneurial news, innovative companies, and global startup trends, ArcticStartup continues to be an indispensable media platform for all stakeholders in the industry.
With a staggering 92% dominance, LinkedIn tops the list of social media preferences—signaling that entrepreneurs now expect much more from the platform than just networking. Meanwhile, the dramatic fall of X (formerly Twitter)—with 70% of users either quitting or no longer active—is striking. It seems that meaning has taken precedence over speed, and connection over mere visibility.
“It is rather interesting to see some indications of the decline of X.”, comments Youssef Zad, Chief Economist at the Finnish Startup Community. “The Finnish Startup Community as an organisation has become much more passive on X due to negative content that has increased on the platform.”
According to the survey, one in four people do not regularly follow any startup media content. This suggests that news and insights are circulating more through events, casual conversations, and WhatsApp groups. It’s also a moment of self-reflection for us in the media. While brands like Startup100 have high recognition, they struggle with trust and consistency. Yet founders are looking for clear, fast, and reliable answers to basic questions like: “Who raised funding?”, “Who’s hiring?”, and “When is the next event, when does the application close?”
The same applies to podcasts. Apart from a few strong examples like Startup-ministeriö, the listener base remains fragmented. This is both a warning sign and an opportunity for content creators. It’s clear that in-depth storytelling and expert audio content haven’t yet reached their full potential.
More than half of respondents are not part of any entrepreneurial community. This suggests that Finland’s startup scene may still be exclusionary to those not already “inside.” Organizations like FiBAN and Suomen Yrittäjät are widely known, but participation rates are low. There’s a need for more open, accessible, and functional models.
Constructive criticism aimed at platforms like Startup100 — which are well-known but limited in impact — points the way forward. The community wants more than a ranking list. It wants a living resource, a central roadmap. A hub that offers an event calendar, job openings, funding guides, even special software discounts — a home base that founders can rely on throughout their journey.
“It was interesting, especially seeing how many people were not a part of any specific association in Finland,” says Juhani Polkko, Chairman of Startup Finland. “Information sources are fragmented, and there’s an obvious need to have a central place for members of the ecosystem to find relevant information for whatever stage their business may be.”
The role of media in this is crystal clear: not to break information into fragments, but to connect it with context. To go beyond interviews and produce insight-driven analysis. To offer not just updates, but guidance with every step the ecosystem takes. Because this ecosystem no longer needs just information — it needs structured information. And the ones who can deliver it aren’t just platforms — it’s us, the media.
Finland’s startup culture is growing and diversifying, but its fragmentation is holding back its true potential. Now is the time to gather these voices and demands into one collective media strategy.
Reach out to Johann Young from Startup Finland for the full survey report.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/2025-startup-finland-media-survey/
