About Linda
M.Sci.(Econ.) · B.Soc.Sci.(Sociology) Founder, Balthén · Co-Founder, West Coast Sauna Summit
I grew up Finnish, which meant I grew up in a sauna.
Not as a wellness ritual. Not a luxury. Just — the sauna. The one my father renovated at our family cottage was not anything fancy. But that space, the wood he chose, and the design elements he chose to bring felt important. They still do.
We'd spend hours in that hot room, smelling of wood and tar shampoo. I would whisk my mother’s back, all of us siblings talking about whatever needed saying. Or just staying quiet.
Rather Finnish — sharing a space without filling it. And not even feeling awkward about it.
I didn't think much of it at the time. But that's where I first learned something I've spent the rest of my life coming back to: that when the noise stops, you end up getting something true.
And that something true is always worth building from.
I joined a startup after university — turning down a PhD in customer understanding for the crash course instead.
In our second year, my team and I grew sales by over 4000%. Not through volume or speed. But through knowing exactly what we had and who it was for. And communicating that crystal clear.
I am immensely grateful for that chapter. And yet — something no longer fit. My body started yelling what my mind wasn't ready to admit.
At this point, you must be scratching your head, thinking: "Why is this woman going on and on about this? I came to an About page to distill information quickly."
But if you are even thinking of working with me, I owe you respect of your time. And I think this monologue, essay, reflection — whatever you may call it — will be a valuable piece of information, whether I am the right person to help you to build something special.
Through auspicious coincidences and scarily good timing, just before the world paused and all the borders shut down due to a global pandemic, I found myself quitting my job, leaving Finland, and moving into a trailer on a small island in the Pacific Ocean, just outside Vancouver.
The startup job I had loved so dearly had became a box.
And you know the thing about boxes, right? There is something bigger waiting for you outside them.
Despite my pushing harder and harder to find ease in the job, my body started yelling at me with such intense emotions and sensations that I could no longer convince myself that I was happy and satisfied with the life we had created.
Funny story: I was actually picking up weeds from a flower bed when it all came to me. A knowing in my body. And a clear voice: “Stay or leave, but do something.”
And so we did. We followed a dream of ours to start a life in Canada. And so we did.
We owe death a fully lived life.
Candace Pert wrote that the body is the subconscious mind. I think she was right. Bringing together body-mind and business is a personal passion of mine. Great leaps can only come through a sense of safety.
And that is something we feel.
The kind of work I do — brand building, positioning, cultural translation, storytelling — takes presence. And presence takes space.
This is why I only work with a selected group of clients who find that our values align.
If you have a project, a property, or simply a feeling that something is calling to be created — and you don't yet have the words for it — I'd love to hear from you.
It would be my pleasure to see if I’m the right person to help turn your vision into reality.