From 21 October 2026, Kätlin-Carolin Noormägi takes over as Managing Director of the EstBAN, succeeding Jana Saastamoinen, who is moving on to lead the Estonian Founders Society.
Kätlin-Carolin previously worked as Community Manager at Tehnopol Startup Accelerator and has nearly five years of experience working in a startup (Fienta). Now having spent years supporting founders, she is looking forward to discovering the investor side of the ecosystem.
“I’ve spent quite a few years in the startup world, and I felt it was time to challenge myself again. The investor world is still relatively new to me, and I’m excited to learn more about it,” says Kätlin-Carolin.
EstBAN board is excited to welcome a new managing director and hoping for a new chapter for EstBAN too.
“I’m very happy to welcome Kätlin-Carolin to the EstBAN team! I believe her experience, energy and fresh ideas will help EstBAN continue to grow and bring even more value to our members. I would also like to extend a big thank you to Jana for her contribution and all the work she has done to develop EstBAN,” says Lauri Antalainen, board member and president of EstBAN.
Plans to take angel investing closer to more people
Kätlin-Carolin hopes to strengthen EstBAN’s community and make angel investing more approachable for newcomers. Having worked closely with founders, she also hopes to see more startups receive support at the earliest stages.
“I’d love EstBAN to be a community where people feel welcome, share experiences and are excited to do things together. I also want to bring more people into angel investing and make this world easier to understand for those just starting out. Estonia has an incredibly supportive startup community, but raising that first investment can still be challenging. There are so many great ideas and ambitious founders out there, and I’d love to see more of them get a chance.”
She hints that EstBAN has already taken some steps in this direction, with more news hopefully coming soon.
Outside work, Kätlin-Carolin enjoys cooking, baking, painting, pottery and crocheting. Her famous 400-gram pastries and cheesecakes have even been requested for weddings. And for a little extra excitement, she has been practising various styles of boxing for over five years.
