Runko.us acts as the local operational engine and experienced strategic advisory for Finnish companies in the United States. For small stretched teams entering the U.S., we handle the ongoing day-to-day execution, administrative management, and strategic communications management required to run and grow your U.S. presence during your first 1–3 years—filling the critical operational gap so your leadership can focus on sales, strategy, and product delivery until your U.S. team is fully self-sustaining.
Establishing a thriving, permanent U.S. presence requires continuous day-to-day execution, local relationship cultivation, and operational oversight over several years.
Finnish companies naturally lead with world-class science and engineering, operating under the belief that superior products win on their own merit. In the U.S., decision-makers buy from people and networks they trust. Active local relationships get you in the room; world-class quality closes the deal.
A small team or single U.S. representative sent from Finland cannot simultaneously manage vendor logistics, HR, local banking, state compliance, marketing, and client relationships while trying to close technical sales.
Runko.us provides the structural chassis to your engine—delivering the operational muscle, daily management, and local credibility needed during your first few years in-market, ensuring a smooth transition to full autonomy.
We handle the four key operational pillars required to run and maintain a high-growth U.S. enterprise.
Closing deals is only the visible tip. Below the surface lies the multi-year operational backbone required to keep your U.S. presence running smoothly.
Vendor logistics, banking, payroll, contractor management, insurance, import/export processes.
End-to-end booth presence, client dinners, internal retreats, conference management.
Colorado-Finland MoU alignment, state liaisons, Business Finland & Embassy coordination.
Human-centric onboarding, U.S./Finland team alignment, high-trust operational structures.
We built this team and venture because we care deeply about the success of Finnish companies in the ultra-competitive U.S. business environment.
We, the three partners listed below, are the direct people who will manage, execute, and take responsibility for your day-to-day U.S. operations. We do the work, we go to the conferences, we engage with the people, and we directly deal with the unexpected challenges that come with operations. There is no one in between. We work with professional lawyers, accountants, experts and service providers of your choosing the way you would need to if you were here in local time zones with the advantage of knowledge, experience and understanding of both U.S. and Finnish culture.
Background: Dual Finnish/U.S. citizen with an engineering degree, an MBA (Aalto University), U.S. Corporate experience at Bosch, ADIC, and General Motors. 25 years living and operating inside the Finnish corporate and startup ecosystems. CEO/COO of multiple Finnish and U.S.-based startups.
Leading: Directs day-to-day U.S. operational strategy and execution, corporate communications, engineering management, vendor integration, and strategic positioning including developing communication and processes between Finnish leadership and U.S. operations.
Email: steve@runko.us
Phone: +1 303 261 7895
Background: Honorary Consul of Finland in Colorado with over 26 years of U.S. business development experience, including Novo Group's market entry operations and 20 years of program and project management at Boeing/Jeppesen. Key driver behind strategic bilateral initiatives, including the landmark Finland-Colorado Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which established strategic cross-border collaboration in key sectors such as quantum and high-performance computing, green economy and clean energy, and aerospace technology.
Leading: Leads ongoing public affairs, institutional alignment, business development support, and high-level corporate and state-level partnerships—leveraging extensive political and economic networks across Finland and the U.S. to build key trust-based relationships and navigate regulatory landscapes.
Email: juha@runko.us
Phone: +1 303 478 1028
Background: Program and project management with a proven track record across Dolby Laboratories, RealEyes Media, Denver Health (Public Hospital) and Northwestern Mutual. Paula’s approach to Team Success centers on the human side of business execution—going far beyond routine administrative oversight to build environments where individuals feel empowered, valued, and aligned with company goals. Her work has focused on fostering personal growth and ownership, and creating high-trust workplace structures that allow growing teams to perform at their best.
Leading: Daily operational execution and details, team logistics, payroll coordination, internal corporate gatherings, client and team offsites, trade show presence, insurance, banking, vendor relations, and process compliance.
Email: paula@runko.us
Phone: +1 303 908 1173
Reach out directly to Stephen, Juha, and Paula. Send a message to contact@runko.us using the form below.
Direct Email: contact@runko.us
Colorado, USA