Founders
Build like a Camel. Real problems, real metrics and real progress.
Gorilla works with founders who are building real companies, not only headline stories.
Founders who start from a concrete problem, make deliberate choices, and care about resilience as much as learning.
We back teams who treat capital as a tool, not a goal and who understand that progress is earned through focus, learning, and discipline.
Most startups are taught to raise early, raise big, and scale fast — and many die because of it.
We advise differently — the Camel Way — grounded in how companies actually have a better chance to succeed.
Valuation focused model
- Scales rapidly before the business model is proven.
- Uses large funding rounds to accelerate growth.
- Measures success mainly through valuation growth and funding round size.
- Prioritizes growth metrics, headcount, and narrative.
- Takes concentrated bets that require continuous funding.
Camel model
- Scales only after the model and demand are proven.
- Uses the right amount capital to force focus and discipline.
- Measures success through profitability and realistic exits.
- Prioritizes cash flow and sound unit economics.
- Founder preserves flexibility, ownership, and independence.
Lauri Sulanto
https://www.raxalle.com/
Kristi Hakkaja
https://moderansolutions.com/
Jacob Pichna
https://sommify.ai/
Gorilla matchmaker
Answer 6 quick questions to see if you're ready for investment
Investment scope
We back founders solving real problems with technology, growing sustainably, and staying laser-focused on customers. We value curiosity, conviction, integrity, and true entrepreneurial spirit. No egos, no shortcuts, just real work.
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1. You’re Capital Efficient
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2. Your focus is on the Business rather than your Product
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3. You’re in the Market Now
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4. Your team has the Competencies needed to execute your Business
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5. You understand the Customer Problem
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6. The valuation of your company is in line with your progress
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7. Your company is controlled by those who execute daily
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8. You are based in Finland, Sweden, Denmark or Estonia
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Angel and pre-seed — when founders are already testing a real problem and learning from customers.
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It means building companies that can survive long enough to deserve an outcome. Progress comes before scale, learning before hiring, and optionality before optimization.
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We don’t run companies and we don’t disappear. We stay close to execution through structured cadence, milestone-based progress, and honest reporting. Decisions remain with founders. Accountability is shared.
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Teams that optimize for fundraising instead of customers. Companies that confuse activity with progress. Founders who want capital to replace discipline rather than reinforce it.
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Not always, but revenue is the strongest signal. What matters is evidence that customers experience the problem strongly enough to change behavior, ideally by paying.
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Our model is probability-based and disciplined. We always build with a realistic positive exit in mind, regardless of size.
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Founders based in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Estonia. Geographic focus supports closer collaboration and shared operating context in the early stages.
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Be clear about what you’re solving, what you’ve tested, what you’ve learned, and where uncertainty remains.
The Founder Journey: A Practical Guide to Building With Discipline
Each article breaks down a core principle of early-stage execution drawn from patterns across hundreds of startups.