Finnish startup investments break new record €383M in 2016

Year 2016 in review:

Finland is becoming a strong startup nation in Europe. The total amount invested in Finnish early stage companies in 2016 was 383 million euros made in over 400 startups. Investments in Finnish early stage companies grew 42 % in 2016 and records were broken also in business angel investments.

Aboa Advest Oy and Timo Ketonen personally reported 6 new startup investments in the period.

For more information please refer to the FiBAN report.

Inspirational Butterfly Feeder enlivens your garden and supports butterflies

Belightful Butterfly Feeder brings nature closer to our everyday lives by attracting butterflies, and this way enhancing the wellbeing of both people and butterflies. Belightful Butterfly Feeder combines form and function into unique design and user experience providing innovative decorative element for any outside space.

Belightful Design is a design company specializing in wildlife feeder products and ecological design. Founded in Finland by two friends, Belightful Design seeks to bring happiness and positivity to outside spaces with ‘belightfully’ designed products. The first product of Belightful portfolio is a Butterfly Feeder, which can be placed outdoors to attract butterflies with its’ nectar, resulting in opportunity of embracing the the delight of butterflies. “We want to offer people an easy and visual way to experience something beautiful and support the nature at the same time”, says Miia Liesegang, CEO of Belightful Design and the Designer of Belightful Butterfly Feeder. There is a variety of different butterfly feeders on the international markets. “Our Belightful Butterfly Feeder differentiates with its’ design; it is designed for butterflies only with its’ enclosed nectar source.” Liesegang adds.

Belightful Design highlights the desire to use materials that enhance our environments. Many studies are showing the health benefits of the nature for people, and Belightful Design aims to bring nature closer. The world’s butterfly population keeps decreasing due to narrowed habitat and challenging environmental conditions, like urbanization and air pollution. “In Europe alone, the butterfly population has gone down by 50% during our lifetime. With Belightful we want to support biodiversity and enable a fun way of supporting butterflies” says Taina Tallala, Head of Sales and Marketing.

Recently Belightful Butterfly Feeder was awarded by Formex (Stockholm, Sweden) for Best Sustainable Business Idea. Formex is the largest yearly interior design event in the Nordics. Company will also represent Finland in International finale of Creative Business Cup.

The female founder duo has ambitious goals to conquer international markets with their delightful design. The feeders are on pre-order at IndieGoGo 

Belightful Design is showcasing next week in UK’s biggest garden and outdoor living tradeshow, Glee (Birmingham, UK) at Stand 20A19.

For more information, please contact:

Outside US:

Taina Tallala

Head of Sales & Marketing, Co-Founder

taina(a)belightfuldesign.com

+358 40 169 6722

US only:

Annina Pierson

annina(a)belightfuldesign.com

Belightful Design company website

Belightful Butterfly Feeder to Win Boost Turku Startup Journey

Congrats Belightful! It’s been a real pleasure to work with your team 🙂

Belightful is a co-winner of Startup Journey 2015 by Boost Turku, the awarded best accelerator programme in Finland.

Belightful is a design butterfly feeder – a beautiful accessory to gardens, balconies and other outdoor areas. The Belightful concept includes a ready-to-use nectar capsule and a global digital community, which provides fun and educational content about butterflies.

Nine teams out of 30 applicants were selected to the awarded Boost Turku Startup Journey 2015 programme. In the course of summer, the teams participated in boot-camps and coaching and attended in networking events together with experienced startup advisors. The winners were announced yesterday in the Demo Day finale in Turku. For the first time the jury decided to give the main prize to two ideas, Belightful and Identio application.

Miia Liesegang, CEO at Belightful comments: “To win this tough competition gives us great opportunities to find investors and to network globally more quickly.”

Green values and a desire to leave a better environment for future generations are rising trends among consumers.

Taina Tallala, CMO at Belightful explains: “There has been a 50 % decline in the European butterfly population in the past 25 years. In the worst case scenario our future grandchildren will see butterflies only in pictures. Belightful provides an aesthetic and easy way to support butterflies, and to enjoy a nature experience in your own back yard.”

The product can be pre-ordered on www.belightful.fi and will hit the markets next year. Belightful is first launched in the UK, where gardening is a popular activity and a huge business. Caring just the birds is estimated to be a £200 million business per year. This is one of the main target groups for the Belightful concept.

More information

CEO, Belightful, Miia Liesegang, +358 40 7415006 , miia@belightful.fi
CMO, Belightful, Taina Tallala, +358 40 1696722 taina@belightful.fi