Iranian entrepreneur set to enter Finland’s top tax rankings

Iranian entrepreneur Saber Kordestanchi is poised to become the first immigrant from outside Europe to reach the top of Finland’s income and tax rankings, Yle reports.

Kordestanchi came to Finland 15 years ago to study communications engineering. He is now a co-founder of Hostaway, a software company valued at more than one billion euros.

His 2023 income placed him 11th on Finland’s tax list. He earned about 21 million euros and paid more than 7.5 million euros in tax. His income was significantly higher last year, but he does not know the exact taxable amount until the tax authorities release the figures on Thursday.

The income stems from a funding round in which Hostaway raised nearly 350 million euros from a US private equity firm. The company’s founders also sold some of their shares to investors.

Hostaway was founded in 2015 by Kordestanchi and Finns Marcus Räder and Mikko Nurminen. Its software helps businesses manage short-term rentals, including listing properties on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com, setting prices, coordinating bookings and arranging cleaning.

More than 99 per cent of the company’s market is outside Finland. Kordestanchi says less than half a per cent of its revenue comes from Finland, with most generated in countries including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom.

The company has about 350 employees in roughly 45 countries, all working remotely. Kordestanchi says he has never visited the United States or Canada, partly because travelling on an Iranian passport makes it difficult to obtain permission to enter North America.

Hostaway came close to collapse in 2020, when the pandemic halted travel and about half its revenue disappeared within weeks. The founders kept the core team together and overhauled sales and marketing. Kordestanchi moved from the role of chief technology officer to lead sales and marketing, despite having no previous experience in either field.

After travel resumed, the company began growing rapidly. In 2023, it secured 163 million euros in funding from US private equity firm PSG Equity.