Marianne Lehikoinen
Marianne Lehikoinen is a globally-minded entrepreneur, speaker, and founder of Smart Mentoring—one of the fastest-growing personal brand-driven expert businesses in Northern Europe.
Named Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 in Espoo, Finland, Marianne built a six-figure-month company in her twenties, entirely from scratch. Today, she leads a movement of bold, mission-driven founders who are scaling their expertise into powerful, purpose-led empires.
Raised by a single mother in a small town in Northern Finland, Marianne learned early what it means to create opportunity where none exists. Her journey, from outsider to industry leader, is proof of what’s possible when vision meets relentless execution.
Her bestselling debut book “Sivubisnes” eng. Sidehustle (Otava, 2021) received national media coverage and helped spark a new generation of entrepreneurs in the Nordics.
Marianne’s mission is to help one million women become too wealthy to be silenced—so they can confidently build financial power and unapologetically chase ambitious goals. Because when women have real money, they make real change.
Her long-term vision is clear: to become one of the most influential business voices of her generation, impacting millions globally and reshaping what leadership looks like.
If you’re building something big and looking for someone who sees where you’re going—even before you do—you’re in the right place.
“Marianne has done an incredible job building the Career Girl community—a one-of-a-kind space in Finland created for ambitious, passionate women.
I’ve been following her career and bold new ventures for years, and it’s been truly inspiring to witness her turn her dreams into reality and bring her ideas to life.”
— Pinja K, Ping Helsinki
“She champions young people’s ability to shape their own path in working life. That alone would be more than enough reason to praise or thank her.
But my praise goes deeper—it's about the way she talks about people.
Many successful individuals forget to acknowledge those who helped shape their journey—their role models, supporters, or communities. Marianne Lehikoinen could easily do the same and still be seen as credible. But she doesn’t.
Marianne is a good human being. She shares credit generously and is driven by a desire to help others live with more agency and freedom.
That’s what I’m applauding her for today: Marianne knows how to give thanks, and she knows how to uplift others. She’s the perfect person to celebrate this Monday.
Thanks to her—and people like her—we don’t need to highlight gender to speak of great role models. We can simply speak of great role models for young people.
Thank you, Marianne—you’re making the world more equal.”
— Jarkko Repo, Partner FREE!
“I joined Marianne’s online course to learn more about entrepreneurship. During the introductory webinar, I got the sense that Marianne’s teaching style was engaging and inspiring—and that drew me to this particular program.
One of my goals was to build the courage to explore entrepreneurship. Even though I haven’t officially started a business yet, the coaching helped me gain clarity about my dreams and move from “maybe someday” thinking to “I’m going to make this happen.” I think this program is perfect for those just starting out, but even more experienced entrepreneurs would find fresh inspiration here.
What made the biggest difference for me was the one-on-one coaching session. It helped dissolve a lot of self-doubt about my own skills. Marianne guided me through my situation in a holistic way and helped me realize that I’ve already done a lot of work on my path toward starting a side business. The session gave me the confidence to keep going—and to stay committed to my vision.”
— Veera Mäenpää, client
