I used to call myself an explorer of life — but over time I’ve realized that my journey is not about exploration. It’s been a series of Peregrinaggios — pilgrimages of the mind and heart. Life is far too sacred to be wandered through as a tourist. Better to travel it as a pilgrim, open to what unfolds, humbled by what reveals itself along the way.
Over the past decades, I’ve walked many paths — founding or co-founding seven companies since 1984, often at the crossroads of innovation, community, and creativity. Some might call me a serial entrepreneur, but I’ve always seen myself more as a lifelong experimenter. My path rarely followed a straight line, yet it has always carried a clear direction — toward deeper meaning, not just success.
I live with my wife in the Finnish countryside, surrounded by forests and lakes that remind me daily how close to nature true wisdom resides. For a once-nomadic soul, this quiet middle-of-nowhere has become the perfect home base. I still enjoy fishing, picking mushrooms and wild berries, going to gym and keeping fit — habits that have carried me through two marathons and countless reflective moments in beauty of Finnish nature.
My greatest adventures, however, have been intellectual and human. I hold deep respect for the beauty of serendipity — those unsought discoveries that reveal life’s hidden logic — and for people who think with their own minds, choose their own paths, and live with curiosity and courage.
Professionally, my focus today is on Sensemaking Institute Oy, including its affiliate Serendipity Research Institute. Through this work — and initiatives like Jesterhood and Oasis Seychelles — I explore how creativity, collaboration, and serendipity can be cultivated intentionally in our ecosystems and communities.
I’m the author of Oasis Way and the Postnormal Era – How Understanding Serendipity Will Lead You to Success (2014), and my forthcoming book, Serendipity Unleashed – Hidden Wisdom of the Jesters (out December 2025), the Jester book continues my lifelong inquiry into how integral humor, wit, playfulness, insight, and serendipity can reshape the way we work, think, and live.
