From a love letter to a movement: The story behind TalentAdore

“Before founding TalentAdore, I was guilty of all that too,” admits Saku Valkama, CEO and co-founder of TalentAdore. “Not because I didn’t care, but because I didn’t have time. It always disturbed me, and I want not only to change how I do it but also to enable others to do it much better as well.”

Years ago, while working in recruitment, Saku realized a painful truth: candidates were spending, on average, four or more hours on applications and interviews, only to be met with silence or a copy-paste response. It felt deeply unfair—a complete lack of human touch. Simply wrong.

And it stuck with him.

That simple, overlooked injustice, how we treat people when we say “no”, became the starting point of something much bigger.

“The moment I knew something had to change”

The turning point came in 2013, at a philosophical seminar in Paphos, Cyprus. Over dinner at a local tavern, Saku met Joni Latvala, then a student, the future co-founder of TalentAdore. They started talking about recruitment.

“We realized recruitment was broken. And the more we talked, the clearer it became: we wanted to fix it.”

Joni had just finished a summer job where he made a habit of giving personal feedback to every candidate. It wasn’t part of his duties – he simply felt it was the right thing to do. Some candidates even sent him postcards from abroad as a thank-you for the human warmth he had shown.

That conversation hit a nerve. “We realized recruitment was broken,” Saku recalls. “And the more we talked, the clearer it became: we wanted to fix it.”

The first idea failed – and that was a good thing

The original plan was modest: a tool to send personal feedback to every applicant. It was called a “feedback box.” People loved the idea, but it wasn’t scalable. It didn’t connect with any recruitment systems, and without proper integrations, it couldn’t survive.

That early failure turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened.

Instead of giving up, Saku and Joni took a bigger leap. They started building an end-to-end recruitment system from scratch, one that would make human communication a priority, not an afterthought. One that would cater to the basic human need to be heard and understood. A tool for the heart.

Long before AI became a buzzword, they were already pioneering natural language processing (NLP) to make candidate messages smarter and more meaningful. Just a few years later, their approach earned them a U.S. patent.

Technology should serve people, not replace them

 

From day one, TalentAdore wasn’t about automating recruitment. It was about making space for the human moments that matter.

The vision was clear: free recruiters from repetitive tasks so they could focus on what truly counts – meeting people, having real conversations, and building trust.

“At its core, recruitment is about communication,” Saku says. “And most problems, whether in hiring or in life, start when communication breaks down.”

That’s why AI features built by TalentAdore add and bring back the human touch to recruitment. Today, candidates can receive personalized feedback generated with the help of AI, clearly marked and transparently delivered. What once took hours and days, now takes minutes. Without losing empathy.

Values aren’t posters on a wall. They’re the people you choose.

At TalentAdore, culture isn’t a buzzword, it’s a commitment.

“During these years, we’ve welcomed many talents to our team, though not every hire has turned out to be the right match for a fast-paced growth environment. Saku admits. “As a result, we have learned a great deal and identified the steps needed to do better. It has been a journey. What we have achieved today is a culture so strong and meaningful that protecting and nurturing it is our top priority. Many people say that customers are a company’s most important asset. And yes—they truly are. But it is our own people who make the customer experience a reality, and we must take equal, if not greater, care of them.

The company runs on a simple principle: we look out for each other, celebrate each other’s successes, and tackle challenges together. It’s a “One Family” mindset where everyone helps each other, and where support doesn’t stop at the office door.

“The company runs on a simple principle: we look out for each other, celebrate each other’s successes, and tackle challenges together.”

 “The company offers a wide range of wellbeing services, from massages and group training with a personal trainer to holistic insurance coverage and access to Auntie’s services. In addition to this, “when someone faces a tough moment in life – a breakup, a broken car, financial stress – the team steps in and gives a helping hand,” says Saku.”

Growing people is the real business plan

In addition to his business leadership in Finland and abroad, Saku also has a background in teaching, and it shows. During his engineering studies and before founding TalentAdore, he taught everything from elementary school subjects to university-level courses and EMBA-level strategy. That passion never left.

“At some point, I realized: if I had learned certain things ten years earlier, I would have made better decisions,” he says. “So now, I try to make that learning possible for others, and earlier than I did.”

TalentAdore invests in people’s growth – both personally and professionally. This includes self-leadership and reflection sessions, access to coaching certifications, domain-specific trainings, and even seminars with world-class professors for immersive learning experiences. “We do this not because it looks good on a company slide deck, but simply because it’s the right thing to do,” Saku says.

Mental capital, as Saku calls it, can’t be taxed, and no one can take it away from you.

Where we are – and where we’re going

TalentAdore started with two people and a shared frustration. Today, the team consists of nearly 50 top-notch professionals with their whole hearts in the game, and the goal is clear: grow fivefold in the next five years. But growth for growth’s sake isn’t the mission.

“We’re not just aiming to win regionals,” Saku says. “Our goal is Olympic gold.”

That means building not just a bigger company, but a continuously better one. Expanding across Europe. Creating technology that reflects European values – privacy, transparency, and trust. And making sure every new hire joins not just a company, but a movement.

“We’re not here to win regionals. We’re aiming for Olympic gold.”

Because at the end of the day, TalentAdore is not just fixing recruitment. It’s changing how people are treated when they are at their most vulnerable. When they are putting themselves out there, hoping to be seen and heard.

Want to build something that actually matters?

If you believe people deserve more than a generic rejection email, if you believe technology should bring us closer, not push us apart, then you’ll feel at home here.

TalentAdore is not a typical tech company. We’re builders, coaches, idealists, and doers who share the same passion towards bringing the human touch back to recruitment.

Do you resonate with our mission and team culture? Take a look at our career site! 

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