Shining through the years:
The Journey with Outshine
2018: Lights On
Outshine was founded at the beginning of the year, around Jani’s kitchen table. The first digital advertising screen went up in Helsinki. During the very first year, digital screens appeared at locations such as the corner of Stockmann and the side of Svenska Teatern. The first financial year closed with a profit: our revenue in 2018 was €716,000.
2019: First Steps of Growth
We finally moved from the kitchen to a real office at Helsinki Central Railway Station. The core team began to take shape: Vitali and Kasper joined the team. Growth accelerated, and revenue exceeded the one-million-euro milestone for the first time.
2020: Turning Challenges into Opportunities
The pandemic slowed us down but didn’t stop our vision. We developed our own inventory; for example, the Northern Finland deal brought about 50 large digital advertising screens to Outshine. Our ambition to build a strongly digital service concept gained momentum when, with Business Finland’s support, we started developing a new digital planning tool. That was the beginning of the tool we use today.
2021: A Year of Investments
The first version of the planning tool, implemented with an external software partner, received positive feedback from customers. We decided to invest over €700,000 in software development and built our own dev team: Heikki, Henry, and Aapo joined, along with Jyrki as graphic designer. At the same time, ownership expanded: Outshine was no longer owned by one person but by five experts. We signed major partnerships, including with Nokia Arena and Tampere Hall. Revenue €1.1M, EBITDA 2.6%.
2022: Visibility and Impact
Ahead of the World Championships, one of the largest advertising screens in the Nordics was installed on the façade of Tampere Hall. Local sales strengthened, and inventory grew: Oulu’s Rotuaari, Jyväskylä city center.. Media agency clients also began to join us. Revenue €2.3M, EBITDA 9.2%.
2023: Adding More Shine
Jenny joined the team, the dev team grew stronger, and development investments continued. We won Finland’s largest outdoor advertising tender in Helsinki – one of the absolute highlights! We also revamped our material delivery model by introducing safety margins familiar from TV media, making campaign execution even smoother. Revenue rose to €3.1M, EBITDA 17.9%.
2024: Taking Over Helsinki
The Helsinki agreement brought massive preparations: permit processes, field surveys, electrical infrastructure, factory visits, and much more. Construction began on August 1 – and on the very first day, we launched 14 screens. By year-end, we had built over 200 digital surfaces, forming Helsinki’s most comprehensive outdoor advertising network. We became the first Finnish company to join the industry’s international WOO organization and participated in a standardization project. Revenue €4.8M, EBITDA 35.2%.
2025: On the Threshold of a New Chapter
The year is just getting started, but revenue has already surpassed last year’s total. In terms of construction and client relationships, we’ve moved to a new level – the dynamics of growth are visible in every decision and every digital screen.