“Everyone can learn from everyone”
Places like The Shortcut only work because there is a whole community of people and support behind them. It wouldn’t be possible to pull off the events that we do if it wasn’t for all the passionate and generous people in the startup community.
Daniel Bailo and Xavi Magrinyà are great examples of that kind of people. Neither of them is from Finland, they went through the challenges of finding work, got acquainted with the startup community and are now both employed in Finnish startups. They both came here six years ago from Spain on Erasmus exchange and got introduced to Finland and the Finnish startup community, and they both ended up returning here after their studies. They say that they wouldn’t have gotten to where they are without the networks, support and events, and they want to give back.
“It was exactly events like Digital Prototyping Weekend that got me started and introduced me to the startup community, so I feel I owe something, to all the people organising this kind of things and also to share with others what I’ve learned, during these years working in startups.”
Xavi has a degree in computer science and works as a software engineer at Matchmade. He has had a diverse experience working in different startups and he even started his own company.
Daniel was working as a software developer and later product manager at Kiosked but just started a new position as a product manager at Startum.
“I got to know about The Shortcut from a friend, he told me that I was the right profile for this organisation, international, university educated and not Finnish speaking. So I came here to learn more and got to know about the Digital Prototyping Weekend. I really like the concept of these kinds of events, bringing many different perspectives together and people pushing themselves to create something in just one weekend.”
Xavi and Daniel were both coaches at The Shortcut’s Digital Prototyping Weekend this March. They spent their weekend at the Yousician offices helping, challenging and supporting all the teams. The role of a coach included sharing their own experience with developing products, helping to identify the unique value proposition of the ideas and challenging the assumptions of the teams.
“I think one of the main challenges the teams were facing, was testing their ideas and figuring out the revenue stream, would someone actually pay for a product or service like that? Is it providing enough value for somebody to pay that price? It happens all the time that we fall in love with our ideas without testing or challenging them.”
They both see a huge value in events like the Digital Prototyping Weekend. Especially for people who are trying to get their foot in the door of the startup community. Events are great opportunities to network, learn, connect and they can give you the right contacts for your future job.
“You can talk to the speakers and learn more about their companies. It is much more useful to make a personal impression than just being another resume in the pile. At the same time you find a support system, all the other participants are in the same situation as you and that can help you understand that you are not alone”, says Daniel.
Xavi agrees and also mentions that the network is so crucial for getting into the companies you are interested in. He also emphasises that a key element of these events is to learn and that the things you learn are something you’ll never lose.
But why should people like Xavi and Daniel spend their weekend coaching and supporting aspiring entrepreneurs?
“You get so motivated and energised by the people. They are doing it in their free time, it is really rewarding to be surrounded by people like this. For me, I gained a lot of energy, met many really nice people, and got super motivation. It is great seeing people having fun and at the same time learning and doing what they love to do.”
Daniel agrees:
“I would definitely recommend being a coach to anyone, you don’t need to be an expert in anything, the most important thing is to be able to look for solutions and figuring out ideas. You don’t need to be an expert to be useful to someone, everyone can learn from everyone.”
Would you like to share your own experience? The next Digital Prototyping Weekend is happening on 13 and 14 October so this is your chance! For more details on the upcoming event check this page! You can also get in touch with us here!
