WE ARE BEYOND THRILLED AND GRATEFUL
VIBAe founders Kalle, Minna and Hannu have won Startup of the Year in the Finnish 2026 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year competition.
THE FACTS, AS WE UNDERSTAND THEM
EY’s annual competition recognises entrepreneurs who inspire others with their vision, entrepreneurial spirit and growth. This year, 58 Finnish growth companies took part. The 10 finalists and the winners of each category were chosen by a jury independent of EY, chaired by Risto Siilasmaa, founder and chairman of WithSecure.
The winners were announced at a gala at Wanha Satama, Helsinki’s old harbour. Presenting the prize for Startup of the Year, the juror joked that listening to company after company make its case during the auditioning process had been a bit of an arduous task at times. But this company was anything but dull. This company had made the jury laugh.
So a group of very experienced people took a good look at these three and gave them a prize anyway. Good vibes, it turns out, work on a room of prestigious judges too.
Kalle, Minna and Hannu collected the prize for Startup of the Year and were then asked to pose with it. The evidence is below.
BACKGROUND FOR THE CURIOUS
VIBAe began in a snowstorm on top of Finland’s tallest mountain, where four friends and a camper van were having an adventure. Ludo started sketching a shoe. Minna, Kalle and Tammy got excited. Hannu joined soon after. Their friends invested actual money, and they asked themselves how hard running a company could be.
The first shoes reached the streets in summer 2020. Since then, more than 50,000 people in over 150 countries have bought a pair. Six years later, a prestigious award in hand.
A STATEMENT OF THANKS
Three people are in the photos. It took many more to get them there: everyone in Helsinki, Barcelona, Malibu and Sydney, and the family-run factory in Portugal that makes every pair.
It also took you. Perhaps you bought a pair, told a friend about them, or just read these emails all the way to the end. A startup doesn’t get far without someone taking a chance on it. Thank you for taking a chance on us.
ABOUT VIBAe
VIBAe is a Finnish-Californian company making handmade, vegetable-tanned leather shoes in Portugal. We are run by friends and family. We have no HR department. We have group therapy. And good vibes.
Photos: Julius Konttinen for EY
