Nat Burgess on Gorillacast – raising the right amount of capital, and building toward a successful exit

Nat just returned from Finland with jet lag, a full notebook, and something more important—clarity.

In a whirlwind three-day trip that included a keynote at Arctic15, private investor breakfasts, startup hall wanderings, and a podcast recording in a Helsinki studio, he rediscovered the joy of entrepreneurship on human scale.  Not the roulette wheel of Silicon Valley venture capital, but the basic blocking and tackling of building value on small capital.

Let’s not forget that only 7 years after WWII decimated the region, the Finns managed to host the Olympic Games, and then went on to create Nokia, one of the great success stories of the modern tech era.  The talent that emerged from Nokia and its offshoots is now represented in a robust peer to peer angel culture that is exemplified by Gorilla Capital and its accomplished LPs.

Nat appeared on the Gorilla Cast, with Ami Rubinstein, in a studio designed for deep thought—black velvet curtains, moody blue lighting, pro mics, and zero distractions—where he spoke about how real companies get built: one customer, one partner, one product iteration at a time. The theme was simple: raise only what you need to hit your next milestone. Sound obvious? It is. But it’s also frequently ignored.

The Nordic startup scene has something rare: a sense of proportion. Startups are built with intention. And the people? Smart, collaborative, focused—not trying to be the next unicorn, just trying to be indispensable.

What can U.S. founders learn from Finland?
A lot, to be honest – from how risk is measured, to how teams are built, to how success is defined. Nat  came back energized—reminded that bigger isn’t always better, and that momentum doesn’t always mean speed. Sometimes it just means clarity.

 The podcast dropped on June 11.  Check it out here: https://youtu.be/vklUB7PYseA