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Buy a Company – Start Your Journey as an Entrepreneur!
Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur by buying a company? The Start Workshop shows you the way!

Business Joensuu is organizing the Buy a Company - Start Your Journey as an Entrepreneur! Start Workshop twice with identical content:

Tuesday, September 2nd, 4:30–7:30 PM (evening session)
Friday, September 5th, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM (morning session)

Would you like to become an entrepreneur but don’t have a business idea of your own? Good news - you don’t need one to get started. Buying a company is a smart and fast-track way into entrepreneurship: you’ll get an existing customer base, products or services, resources, and operating models that you can develop further.

Purchasing an already operating company could be your ideal route to entrepreneurship – and in this free Start Workshop, you’ll learn how to do it!

Who is this Workshop for?

This workshop is designed for anyone considering entrepreneurship but who doesn’t want to start entirely from scratch with their own business idea. You might be a student, a jobseeker, or currently employed – but curious whether entrepreneurship through buying a company could be the right fit for you. You live in Business Joensuu’s operating area, which includes the following municipalities: Heinävesi, Ilomantsi, Joensuu, Kitee, Outokumpu, Polvijärvi, Rääkkylä, and Tohmajärvi.

You don’t need prior entrepreneurial experience – just a genuine interest in exploring whether buying a company could be your path forward!

What you’ll learn:

Why acquiring an existing company is a practical and low-risk path to entrepreneurship.
How and where to find companies for sale and assess your own readiness as a buyer.
What financing options are available and what legal agreements in company acquisitions mean in practice.
What kind of support Business Joensuu offers during the company acquisition process and your journey as a new entrepreneur – including acting as an employer.

When and where? Sign Up!

You can attend either session (identical content in both): on Tuesday, September 2nd, 4:30–7:30 PM or Friday, September 5th, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM.

Both sessions are suitable for Finnish and English-speaking participants.

Location: Business Joensuu, Joensuu Science Park (Building 3B, 4th floor), Länsikatu 15, 80110 Joensuu.

Please use the registration form below to sign up for the Friday, September 5th session.

Remember to register by Wednesday, August 27th, 2025, at 4:00 PM.

Workshop Program – Friday, September 5th, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM:

09:00–09:25: Opening Session: Starting a business and the basics of buying a company - Lasse Immonen (Finnish) & Heli Saario (English), Business Joensuu

09:25–09:30: Transition to small groups

09:30–11:15: Small groups rotate through four guidance points (25 minutes per point):

Readiness to buy a company – Jouko Piirainen, Business Joensuu
Where can you find companies for sale? – Introduction to Yrityspörssi – Heli Hirvonen, Business Joensuu
Learn how to search, read listings, and what to pay attention to when looking for companies on Yrityspörssi.
Financing for company acquisitions – Laura Kotipohja, Finnvera
Company acquisition agreements – Juha-Pekka Vatanen, Surakka Law Office

11:15–11:20: Small groups gather back together

11:20–11:45: Company acquisition wheel – Individual reflection exercise – Heli Saario

11:45–12:00: Open discussion and questions. You’re welcome to schedule a follow-up discussion or plan the next steps in your entrepreneurship and company acquisition journey with Lasse, Heli, or Jouko from Business Joensuu.

12:00: End of event

We warmly welcome you!