Redefining the buzz around startups and telling the stories that need to be told
“Kutsuvat Sitä Pöhinäksi: Tositarinoita Kasvuyrittäjyydestä” [approximate English translation: “They call it a buzz: Real-life Stories about Growth Entrepreneurship”] is as much of an acknowledgement as a celebration of the startup ecosystem in Helsinki and the people who drive it: the entrepreneurs. In Spring 2016, inspired by the optimistic world view and can-do attitude of the people around them via their work with Slush (the world’s leading startup event), friends Annaleena Kuronen, Katariina Helaniemi and Venla Väkeväinen took it upon themselves to document several of these unique journeys in entrepreneurship in order to open up the oftentimes misrepresented and exclusive-sounding phenomenon to the masses. The book was published by Otava and launched in March 2018 to much acclaim, even making it into the top ten books of the month at Finland’s renowned academic bookshop Akateeminen Kirjakauppa.
“Over the last few years in Finland, the word “pöhinä” [~ “buzz” in English] has been used to describe the scene, which from our point of view really simplifies the whole thing and makes it sound like some trendy phenomenon that will pass by quickly; we also think it really undermines the work of these entrepreneurs because you don’t really found or build a startup by ‘buzzing’ around,” says Venla, a co-author of the book and current COO of Slush Helsinki. The word was becoming a great source of irritation and its pompousness was side-lining the general public, pushing them away; that’s why they decided to use it in the title of their book, “we wanted to reclaim the word “pöhinä/ buzz” through revealing the stories of these founders and showing what their lives are really like and what it actually means to start a company and grow it, what kind of difficulties they have and what the true motives behind these companies are” affirms Venla.
Driven by the misinformation around startups and the lack of literature on the topic, the first-time authors decided to make the most of their eight-month window of opportunity they had before Katariina would leave Finland to pursue a career abroad. A balanced representation of all the stages of entrepreneurship was important criteria for them when selecting interviewees; “we wanted to have older entrepreneurs that had already sold their companies as much as we wanted to have companies who had just started out or which were founded a couple of years ago. We wanted to include companies which were at different phases, from a variety of different industries so as to not focus too much on one type of company, we wanted to be able to also include stories that haven’t gone so well (yet , at least).”
The interview stage proved taxing but equally rewarding, and despite the participants’ hectic schedule, they made it work, “some of the interviews were done at the airport or during the time when the founder was driving their kids to the kindergarten,” Venla smiles, “but we felt that they all talked about their lives really openly which was something that we really appreciate.” Another thing these entrepreneurs share, besides their busy schedules, was a topic or subject for which their “inner flame” burns for, something that they can’t let go of without doing something about it as well as a marked humility about their achievements, “it may be that some people on the outside might see these people as really successful and think that they have already come so far with their company, they themselves however often feel like their project is not yet ready, they always feel that they need figure out how to take it further.”
Ok, but why would the average person want or need to know what startups are about? Venla stresses the universal influence of up-and-coming high growth companies and why they are relevant to virtually everyone, “growth companies and technology have already changed the way we communicate (Slack, Facebook etc.) and in the future, they will influence the way we live, eat etc. more and more. Even if you wouldn’t want to become an entrepreneur yourself, there is not a single industry that can completely turn a blind eye to tech and startups,”
A theme that came up in the interviews that resonated with Venla was emphasising the value of trying over the fear of failure, one response that illustrated this particularly well came from Marja Ritola, co-founder of Iris. AI, (a virtual research assistant that can read research papers much more efficiently than the human brain which could ultimately speed up the process of solving the world’s biggest problems like climate change and cancer, for instance), where she stated that if Iris. AI can even just push the topic she’s passionate about a little bit further, or if it can even push their competitor(s) to solve the issues she wants to solve, then she feels that she has done something that matters even if the company doesn’t succeed. Venla muses, “I think that’s a really beautiful thought, that the mission of the company is much bigger than the company itself.” Because after all, “We need test-rounds, and some of the tests fail but that doesn’t mean that the whole mission is set to fail”. — well said, Venla!
Helsinki tech-startups today are not just focused on building the next successful games company, they are working to solve the world’s problems, big and small, and it is becoming ever clearer that a wider range of skills are increasingly in demand as “if we only have similar people, they see similar problems and we lose a lot of potential from the people who are left outside.” In this environment, a variety of professional and personal backgrounds is coveted and sometimes required when it comes to potential recruits; Venla adds, “I think that we need the effort from much more diverse groups to be part of building these companies.” Nowadays, there are numerous ways for people from all walks of life to get involved, Venla urges startup novices: “I highly recommend attending any of the gatherings or events that are open to everyone — not just students — and are organised by, for example, Helsinki Think Corner, Aaltoes, The Shortcut (a sister organisation to Slush whose main mission it is to integrate people into Finnish society through startups), there is basically something every week to go to, and even though you may not want to put all of your time into it, you should come and find out what it’s all about and you may even find a project that you are really interested in.”
You can find “Kutsuvat Sitä Pöhinäksi” in most large Finnish bookshops or order it online here: https://bit.ly/2IiEnWB
An English translation of the book is not currently available — they are working on it! — but if this blog has whet your appetite for either getting involved in Helsinki’s vibrant startup-scene or imparting your wisdom as an active entrepreneur to inspire others to do so, The Shortcut is both the ideal entry-point and place to give back to the community, check out current opportunities here: http://theshortcut.org/getinvolved/
