From CEO to homestead

For years my life looked successful on paper — the company, the title, the income, the pace of the startup world. But the more efficient modern life became, the more fragile it started to feel. Everything depended on a single thread: one job, one income, one system that had to keep working perfectly.

The moment it changed

I got tired of the hamster wheel — it leads nowhere. If the only purpose in life is to earn money and spend it, it's an empty shell. Before long, just chasing money takes all your time, energy and soul. The world feels unstable and fragile these days, too, when everything is built on tech. I realised that if the supermarkets stopped for a week, most people — me included — would have food for a few days and no idea what to do next. That thought didn't leave me. I didn't want a life I couldn't stand on with my own two feet. <a href="/why-self-sufficiency">The full reasoning, and the numbers behind it, are on the self-sufficiency page</a>.

The leap

So I walked away. My wife Kristiina and I left the city and started rebuilding an abandoned homestead in rural Finland — learning to grow, build, fix, and provide, mostly from scratch. I have almost no skills whatsoever, but I will learn. It's the freest I've ever felt. It's also the hardest thing I've ever done, and nobody warns you how brutal the first year is.

What I'm building

A slower, self-sufficient life with less dependence on fragile systems — a working homestead, and a small rental business at an old school lodge to support the lifestyle. And, step by step, a smoke sauna and smokery, built partly with the people who follow along. I film all of it honestly: the doubt and the money fears as much as the sunsets.

Why "Loop of Freedom"

Because freedom isn't a single escape — it's a loop you keep choosing: build, learn, fail, grow, and keep your feet on your own ground. If that pull to leave is in you too, follow along — or come be part of it, and even visit us. You can contribute and take part; the farm work never ends — just ask Jani what to do.

"Fall down seven times, get up eight." Perseverance — my motto.