School is over, but the business continues: three young entrepreneurs from Põlva turn a student company into a real business

Coop Pank aims to support Estonian entrepreneurship and people who dare to turn their ideas into reality. That is exactly what three ambitious young women, Agathe Ojasaar, Isabella Puusepp and Eliisa Villako, did when they founded the student company Blouit, which grew into a real business in less than a year.

The business idea was sparked by candle wax dripping onto a birthday cake: what if there were a candle that could simply be eaten after being blown out? Developing a viable product took around two months. The hardest part was creating an edible wick that would actually burn. The recipe was developed with the help of Kairi Parson, a chemistry teacher at Põlva Gymnasium.

In spring 2025, the edible candles reached Coop stores, and in April Blouit was named Estonia’s best student company from among nearly 400 participants. Throughout the journey, the young entrepreneurs were supported with advice and encouragement by Kaia Tamm, entrepreneurship teacher at Põlva Gymnasium. It was customer interest and reaching the shop shelves that gave them the confidence not to say goodbye to the school project when the student company programme ended.

“Winning awards at different fairs and hearing customers’ reactions gave us growing confidence that our product had potential. Reaching the shop shelves was especially important. We had created an innovative product and did not want to let it go,” says Eliisa.

Setting up a limited company brought practical business lessons

In August 2025, Agathe, Eliisa and Isabella founded Blouit Tordiküünlad OÜ. Setting up a limited company meant taking a closer look at accounting and the company’s finances.

After comparing the options, they chose Coop Pank as the company’s main bank, as it seemed the best choice for a new business. “Coop Pank was already familiar to us, as two of the three founders were already customers of the bank. Of course, we also compared the prices of banking services to keep costs down,” Isabella explains.

One of the most important lessons came from pricing the product. At first, the young entrepreneurs calculated the price so that it would cover raw materials and leave a profit, but one major cost, their own working time, was left out. “That meant we did a lot of work, but the income remained small. After about six months, we raised prices, but with the limited company came taxes as well. We are still learning how to price everything correctly,” says Isabella.

For now, all the money earned remains in the company to cover day-to-day expenses, maintain a buffer for unexpected costs and prepare for hiring the first employee. “When it comes to finances, it is worth setting the rules from the start: who is responsible for accounting, who has access to the company’s money and what it may be used for,” Isabella advises.

The next question: how to grow?

Blouit candles are currently sold in five Coop stores in Põlva, Tartu and Võru. The next goal is to reach more shop shelves, but production capacity limits growth when the candles are handmade. “To grow, we need to automate production further so that it is faster and more sustainable,” says Eliisa.

Autumn will bring another challenge. Agathe will begin her studies at Tallinn University of Technology, Isabella at Estonian Business School and Eliisa at Tartu Health Care College. Production, however, will remain in Põlva, and one solution the young entrepreneurs are considering is hiring their first employee. Management, marketing and finances would still remain in their own hands.

Running a student company gives young people an entrepreneurial spark

Blouit has also changed the founders’ plans for the future. Before creating the student company, they say they knew very little about entrepreneurship. Now, two of the three are going on to study a business-related subject. “When you start young, there is not as much to lose as later in life, and in our experience young entrepreneurs receive a great deal of support. You just need to dare to ask and seize the opportunities,” says Agathe.

She also encourages other student companies considering whether to continue after the programme ends to give real entrepreneurship a chance. “Getting started, the hardest part, has actually already been done. If the product is good enough and the motivation is still there, it is worth carrying on while the momentum is strong,” says Agathe.

The next milestone on the young entrepreneurs’ journey now lies ahead: how to keep growing Blouit when the three founders’ paths take them further away from their home town and from one another. One thing, however, is clear: a successful company can be born at school.