Askel Ventures

Acquiring boring businesses.
Building compounding value.

Operator-led family PE  ·  Finnish small business acquisitions  ·  Micro-cap focus
The Opportunity

A wave of succession transitions
no one is equipped to handle.

The silver tsunami is here. Across the Nordics, essential small businesses are profitable and resilient — but founder-led and approaching succession transition.
Structural gap in the market. These businesses are too small for traditional private equity and too operationally demanding for passive investors.
Modern tools, untapped. Many lack data visibility, scalable processes, and modern systems. AI and software now create practical efficiency gains in admin, sales, reporting, and operations.
Attractive entry multiples. Stable, cash-generative businesses available at 3–4× EBITDA — a pricing dynamic unavailable at scale in any other asset class.
The Model

We buy, operate, grow, and selectively exit —
then reinvest the proceeds.

Acquire
3–4× EBITDA entry
debt + equity
→
Apply Playbook
Systems, AI,
commercial dev
→
Grow
Target 3× EBITDA
over 5 years
→
Sell at Premium
6–8× EBITDA
to passive buyers
→
Redeploy
Fund next acquisition
or return capital
We sell when the Askel effect is fully realized — not because investors need liquidity, but because the next euro of value creation happens elsewhere. Portfolio exits fund future acquisitions and create natural investor liquidity.
Barbell strategy: boring but profitable businesses with a systematic tech and operations layer on top.
Our Edge

The Askel effect: a documented playbook
for transforming small businesses.

Two dedicated operators, always. Each business needs four hands. Ours are already there — and they can run 3–5 businesses simultaneously without adding headcount.
AI sourcing agents. Proprietary scrapers that monitor online signals — listing activity, job ads, owner interviews, trade press — to identify businesses approaching succession before they hit the market.
Selective automation applied where the return is clear: admin, reporting, scheduling, sales pipeline. Not automation for its own sake.
Modern systems and tech stack replacing ad-hoc processes and spreadsheet operations.
Commercial development: pricing discipline, customer mix, revenue quality — areas previous owners typically left untouched.
Proven once at Melers. The playbook is documented, tested, and improving. We're at the start of the curve.
The Askel Effect in Numbers

Same businesses.
Two very different outcomes.

Without intervention
Company
Entry FCF
Year 3
Exit ×
Co. A
€180k
€175k
3.5×
Co. B
€240k
€230k
3.2×
Co. C
€310k
€295k
3.4×
Co. D
€130k
€125k
3.0×
Co. E
€200k
€190k
3.3×
Avg FCF growth
−4%
Avg exit multiple
3.3×
Askel playbook applied
Company
Entry FCF
Year 3
Exit ×
Co. A
€180k
€390k
7.0×
Co. B
€240k
€530k
6.5×
Co. C
€310k
€650k
7.5×
Co. D
€130k
€290k
6.0×
Co. E
€200k
€450k
7.2×
Avg FCF growth
+118%
Avg exit multiple
7.0×
Illustrative figures based on Melers benchmark and modelled portfolio assumptions. Actual results will vary by business and sector.
The Team

Founders who've done it.
Operators who stay.

Niklas Slotte CRO
Capital & Portfolio Discipline
Serial entrepreneur and capital allocator. Structures deals, manages financing relationships, and keeps portfolio governance tight. Has operated inside businesses — not just advised them.
Varia Wahlroos-Kaitila CEO
Acquisition & Commercial Value Creation
Built and scaled international businesses from zero to €8M ARR. Leads sourcing, deal origination, and commercial transformation post-acquisition. Knows what it takes to grow revenue in markets where you have no name.
Mikael Ylinen Board
Integration & Operational Control
Experienced across both VC-backed and traditional business environments. Brings operational depth in infrastructure, systems, and risk — the unglamorous work that determines whether an acquisition actually holds together.
Mike Solomon CTO
Digitalisation & Systems
PhD in mathematics. Full-stack engineer and AI architect. Builds the tools that give Askel an information edge — from sourcing agents to operational dashboards. The reason our playbook scales without headcount.
10 companies founded
Stanford · Hanken × 2 · PhD Mathematics
VC-backed & traditional businesses
0 → €8M ARR scaled internationally
AI & full-stack engineering
7 languages spoken
Niklas and Vária are full-time operators — the four hands every acquisition needs from day one. This is not a side project. It is the only thing we are doing.
The Investment

Preferred equity in Askel.
Raising up to €1M.

Instrument
Preferred equity in the Askel holdco via private placement.
What you're buying
Layer 1: current asset value (Melers).
Layer 2: earnings power at 4–6× EBITDA.
Layer 3: two full-time operators.
Layer 4: proprietary AI stack and a growing dataset of Finnish SME valuations, pricing benchmarks, and operational metrics — a compounding information advantage.
Use of funds
Next 2–4 acquisitions + operator costs to reach compounding scale (3–5 businesses).
Financial target
3× EBITDA growth per portfolio company over 5 years. Exit at 6–8× EBITDA. Target holdco IRR of 25–35%.
Liquidity
Portfolio exits generate holdco liquidity. Secondary transfers always available with company consent (ROFR). Strategic acquisition of holdco exits all shareholders.
Minimum ticket
€150,000. Closing on a rolling basis.