Founder’s Associate

VAELLA; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

VAELLA is seeking a finance and operations lead to build the backbone of a growing startup in Helsinki. You’ll work with the CEO across strategy, finance and operations, shaping business models, pricing, and funding programs.

You’ll manage the financial model, prepare investor materials, coordinate with EU funding bodies, and oversee bookkeeping, benefits, and health programs. If you enjoy simplifying complexity and moving fast in a hands-on environment, this is for you.

Qualifications

• Strong grasp of business modelling and pricing
• Experience with public funding such as Business Finland or EU programmes
• Organised and precise with good attention to detail
• Able to switch between strategic thinking and hands-on execution
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment

Responsibilities

• Keep our financial model up to date (revenue, costs, unit economics and forecasts) and use it to shape our pricing strategy as we scale
• Prepare presentations and materials for investors and our board
• Help organise events across Europe to meet customers, partners and the wider industry
• Handle reporting and administration for our public funding institutions
• Work with our bookkeeper on monthly bookkeeping and financial statements
• Look after our employee benefits, insurance and occupational health
• Bring order and simple routines to everything above

Skills

Finance modelling

Pricing

Funding reporting

Administration

Education

Master's degree

Job description

About VAELLA

An operational brain that turns fragmented data into real-time decisions for the world's busiest spaces.

Why this role is important
VAELLA is on a mission to make cities more livable. Our Vision AI gives metro stations, airports, ferry terminals, offices and shopping centers a real-time understanding of how people move through their spaces, without identifying anyone. We're building toward a future where the world's busiest places are run on real understanding, not assumptions.

Big ambitions need strong foundations. As we scale from a new startup to a global company, every part of the business has to scale with us: funding reporting that’s right and on time, finances in order, benefits, travel and occupational health that work for a growing international team. This role builds the operational backbone that lets everyone else move fast.

VAELLA launched in June 2026 as KONE’s first spin-out company. Many of our routines are still being created, which means you won’t just follow processes, but you’ll design them, and shape how a fast-growing company runs from the inside.

Our culture

We're a young, fast-growing company with global ambitions, and everyone here plays a part in building it. We think like owners, move quickly and take responsibility for making things work, not just for our own to-do list.

We share information openly, trust each other to organize our own time, and give people real responsibility from day one. Many of our processes are still being created, so you'll help shape how VAELLA runs as it scales.

If you're ambitious and entrepreneurial, and you enjoy building strong foundations for something bigger, you'll find plenty of room to grow here.

About the role

As an early-stage startup, we have a wide variety of work, and no two weeks look the same. You will work closely with our CEO, supporting him and the rest of the team across strategy, finance and operations. We're looking for someone who is as comfortable building a business model or a pricing strategy as they are bringing structure to the day-to-day running of the company. It’s a perfect role for someone who wants to experience startup life first-hand, right at the heart of the company.

What you’ll do

• Keep our financial model up to date (revenue, costs, unit economics and forecasts) and use it to shape our pricing strategy as we scale from pilots to recurring deployments

• Prepare presentations and materials for investors and our board

• Help organise events across Europe to meet customers, partners and the wider industry

• Handle reporting and administration for our public funding institutions

• Work with our bookkeeper on monthly bookkeeping and financial statements

• Look after our employee benefits, insurance and occupational health

• Bring order and simple routines to everything above

Who you are

You might be coming straight out of a master's degree, or you may already have a couple of years of experience behind you. Either way, you have a solid grasp of business modelling and pricing, whether from your studies, a startup, consulting, finance or B2B tech. You enjoy switching between strategic thinking and hands-on execution, you're organised without being bureaucratic, and you like making things simpler for the people around you.

You will be a great fit if

• You have experience in finance or administration, ideally at a start-up or small company

• You've worked with public funding such as Business Finland or EU programmes, or you're keen to learn

• You're organized, precise, and you like making messy things simple

Finnish, French, German or Chinese language skills are a plus.

This might not be the best fit if

• You prefer to follow established processes rather than create them

• You're looking for a remote position. We're building for the physical world, and we move fastest when we're together, whether that's at the whiteboard, in the lab or on-site with a customer

Good to know

This role is based in Helsinki. You need a valid right to work in Finland or the EU, as we're unable to offer visa sponsorship or relocation support.

Depending on who we find, this role can be either part-time or full-time.

Hiring process

1. Intro call with our CEO

2. Group interview

3. Meeting with our whole team

4. Offer

The start date of this role is flexible, and we're screening applicants ongoingly. The role will be closed as soon as we find the right person. We'll get back to every applicant by the end of the first week of December 2026.