About the Company.

San Francisco is a global comms & partner for Nordic growth companies

Our Story.

Communications & PR partner for building global media relations.

Our clients thrive in the fast-changing world, constantly seeking new opportunities and challenging the status quo. We believe every company is a media company, and every company is affected by global trends such as digital transformation.

San Francisco Agency was founded in 2009 as a strategic marketing and social media agency. Our first clients were venture-funded technology companies, which taught us agile, efficient and goal-oriented working culture.

Starting from 2019, San Francisco has evolved into a boutique-sized PR and communications agency, known for achieving global reach for Nordic growth companies and venture organizations.

Company | San Francisco Agency - Marketing & PR for Global Growth

Founder & CEO: Juhani Polkko

Juhani founded his first company at the age of 18. After 7 years working in consumer electronics and entertainment software distribution, he moved to Silicon Valley to help the first wave of Finnish mobile content companies conquer the U.S. market. He founded his first technology startup in San Francisco in 2005 – a venture that ultimately failed.

Back in Finland, he consulted several early-stage companies and also experienced working in a big corporation – heading Nokia’s mobile advertising sales in the Nordic countries. From 2009-2012, Juhani taught marketing to Swedish entrepreneurs in San Francisco Oy’s first major growth success story, advertising technology company Freespee AB.

In addition to supporting the growth of both San Francisco and its clients, Juhani is an advisor and shareholder in several growth companies. He is also a member of the Finnish Business Angel Network (FiBAN) and coaching entrepreneurs at the Founder Institute, Vertical, Startup Sauna and Kasvu Open.

Getting things done together.

The San Francisco team consists of an international network of professionals and a core team based in Helsinki, Finland.

John Cozzi
Communications Director
john@sanfrancisco.fi

Stephen Lee
Director, Comms Strategy
steve@sanfrancisco.fi

Reetta Ilo
PR & Communications Manager
reetta@sanfrancisco.fi

Timothy Gilbert
Senior Communications Specialist
tim@sanfrancisco.fi

Kristiina Nieminen
Head of Media & PR, Finland
kristiina@sanfrancisco.fi

Juhani Polkko
Founder & CEO
juhani@sanfrancisco.fi

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Ruslan Gainutdinov
Technical Lead, Software Development
ruslan@sanfrancisco.fi

Oona Colliander
Creative Director
oona@sanfrancisco.fi

Nina Enroth
Chief Business Officer, Bay Area
nina@bayarea.fi

Our Code of Conduct.

We treat our clients, team members, and journalists with equal respect.

We give everyone a chance to be themselves, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion, color, age, or body build.

We work with transparency and trust without jeopardizing sensitive information. We expect our clients and the journalists we work with to do the same.

We don’t pursue personal or short-term gains at the expense of integrity.

We only do business with clients that match our values and who don’t engage in any illegal or unethical practices.

We believe in openness and truth. We are not afraid to speak up when things go wrong, and we praise and celebrate when things go right.

We always aim to share information that is validated and true.

We want our clients and team, as well as journalists to succeed by encouraging them to test the boundaries of their own abilities.

We don’t walk over people – we give everyone an equal opportunity to be the best possible version of themselves.

We have zero tolerance for assholes. We condemn any shape or form of harassment.

We stand by our work. When mistakes are made, we take responsibility, correct them to the best of our ability, and help our clients to do the same.

Client portfolio.

Corporate Development & Venturing