We're a non-profit fixing the mismatch between international talent and the jobs Europe needs.
Europe is full of highly educated international talent, yet too many end up stuck without work. At the same time, cities and companies struggle to fill roles. That mismatch is what we set out to fix.
Our mission is to connect people to real jobs faster, fairer, and smarter - with open tools, community support, and a model that scales. We're not just another program. We're building a system that proves itself in results.
Today Herizon connects thousands of international professionals to real jobs in Europe. From tech graduates to career changers, from remote roles to company site visits, we've built a practical system that matches skills with opportunities.
992
Employed
2,446
Community members
€35.7M
Annual salaries generated
€13.7M
Annual taxes generated
Every euro matters. With roughly €800K in funding so far, cost per employed person is €806.
Behind the numbers, we're a group of people who believe employment should open doors, not close them.
We like experimenting, breaking old models, and proving that real change doesn't need to be slow or complicated. We measure success in jobs, impact, and futures built - not vanity metrics.
Because at the end of the day, it's simple: people want to work, companies want to hire, and societies need both to thrive. We're here to make that happen.
Herizon approach
Herizon was built as a non-profit because employment isn't a product to trade - it's a public good. Our structure makes sure the mission can't be flipped, sold, or diluted. Every resource we raise goes straight back into creating jobs, building technology, and supporting our community.
We also hold ourselves to the same standards we ask from cities and companies: accountability. That's why we publish clear numbers on employment, salaries generated, and ROI. Real people, real jobs, real impact - all in the open.
How Herizon works
Herizon is built as a non-profit. Instead of creating returns for shareholders, everything we do loops back into impact.
Cities & companies pay
When international professionals get employed
Revenue funds growth
Our team and technology development
Better tools & programs
Faster, fairer employment process
Sustainable cycle
Success funds the next wave of employment
Herizon non-profit team
We build impact the same way we built startups. Our team brings experience from fast-scaling companies and venture capital, including Freska, Supermetrics, Yousician, icebreaker.vc, identity.vc, and Slush.
Herizon journey
- Herizon founder Mari Luukkainen worked as the solo cross-functional growth operator at Freska, a Nordic home cleaning company. She scaled it from €200K to €13M revenue in just two years. Freska also built rapid upskilling programs to train home cleaners from the Philippines to the Nordics in just six weeks — with high cleaner satisfaction and strong client engagement.
- While working in early-stage VC at Icebreaker.vc, Mari designed a rapid upskilling program to help B2B startups expand internationally. One of the first participants, a U.S. teacher unemployed in Finland for two years, joined a Finnish edtech startup, led their U.S. expansion, grew MRR from €100K to €400K, and supported a €10M+ Series A. Mari trained 100 individuals during this period with 94% employed immediately.
- Herizon Association was founded to scale the upskilling and employment model into its own standalone program.
- Herizon received its first grant of €100K.
- Viivi Marttinen (ex-Supermetrics) joined to build community and talent programs, creating weekly activities for international talent. Viivi had scaled Supermetrics headcount from 10 to 300, managing HR, hiring, and operations.
- 133 people employed through Herizon.
- Herizon piloted the University of Applied Sciences internship program and secured €500K+ in additional grants. The team began building proprietary software with Martti Laine, a former SaaS founder and software consultant for global companies.
- 335 community members employed.
- 1,605 community members in total.
- €1M+ in monthly salaries generated.
- Sini Ågrén (ex-Slush, and an alumna of Mari's early growth hacking internship program) joined as COO.
- Daria Galina (12+ years in executive and people operations) and Elina Seppälä (ex-Stora Enso) joined to scale operations across Europe.
- Herizon migrated core operations to its own community portal and piloted an on-demand internship program for all international students in collaboration with partner schools.
Supporting Herizon
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