Opening Silicon Valley to female founders from Finland
Insights|June 30, 2026
Across Europe, female-founded startups receive just 2.3% of all venture capital: not because of lack of talent but due to a shortage of role models, peer community, and entrepreneurship rarely being presented as a real option. The Female Fellows Project, run by SILTA, the Finnish founder house in San Francisco, set out to change that.
This spring, SILTA brought a cohort of seven Finland’s most promising female founders and founders-to-be to San Francisco for an intense three-week program to test ideas, meet world-class experts, and take concrete steps toward building globally competitive companies.
Inside the Program
The founders got direct access to the Valley’s top leaders, including Erica Brescia, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures and former COO of GitHub; Ann Miura-Ko, co-founding partner of Floodgate; Grey Baker, visiting partner at Y Combinator and many others. These conversations were impossible to replicate anywhere else.
Oona Linna, founder of ReEmber shares: “Being inside the Silicon Valley way of working lifted my execution pace and my ambition almost immediately. The conversations with founders and investors were the real shift”.
The founder also pointed out something less obvious: “Living in a house full of other female founders gave me peer support I didn’t know I was missing, and rebuilt my confidence along the way. I arrived as an app founder and left building a category.” A peer community of women building at the same pace, with the same goals, and who understood exactly what one another was going through is the reason why the Female Fellows Project is special.
Iara Dias, founder of IKKIO, echoed the same energy: “Being in that environment reminded me of the ambition, speed and boldness needed to build something truly meaningful. I returned to Finland more ambitious, more focused and with renewed drive, as well as meaningful connections that will continue to matter as we grow.”
From Iara’s words SILTA is already building a strong reputation in Silicon Valley: “Many people I met have heard of the program or connected with founders from previous cohorts. That says a lot about the quality of the founders SILTA brings to San Francisco.”
Why Roschier got involved
Our support for the Female Fellows Project reflects its broader belief that strong companies are built by diverse teams. Backing initiatives that widen access to the industry is a natural part of our ambition to support companies throughout their entire growth journey and contribute to the growth and success of the ecosystem as a whole.
What’s next
Three new companies were founded during just three weeks spent in San Francisco. The founders are back home but continue building full-time. Initiatives like Female Fellows truly bring us closer to seeing more globally successful companies led by female founders.
Read more about the cooperation:
Roschier joins forces with SILTA to promote entrepreneurship through startup ventures