Dean Petri Varsta from Aalto University School of Engineering introduced the school. – We have about 3000 students and our school is about 15 % of Aalto University. One of our biggest challenges is ambitious enough in the technical science. We try to publish 150 peer reviewed articles in the best academic journals yearly. This is the very important target to us and it focused on our everyday work. We have to be good enough in the international competition, Dean Varsta summarized his schools future. – We are now in Design Factory, which is very famous and popular environment in the present life of Aalto University. We have established the place more than 20 years ago. So it has some history – maybe the present use is little different than earlier, Petri Varsta described the conference place.

Peter Tapio continued the story of the Design Factory. – There is a cool place for students and we have many activities here which focus is in addition to learning very business oriented. There are the people with good ideas and they have serious plans to establish new, very innovative companies.

A successful business needs failures

Director Will Cardwell from Aalto Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) continued about the meaning of the entrepreneurship in Aalto University. – We try to create the growth in the community of Aalto University. We have versatile tools supporting and pushing the new and innovative teams in their way to the serial businesses. Our vision is to be the best innovative growth business training program in Europe. And we are in this path just now. We have about 300 business proposals yearly and 10 – 15 % of them get our funding. It means 15 – 20 new start-up companies from the Aalto University and it is a remarkable achievement, Mr Cardwell emphasized the role of ACE.

– The other big issue in our work is to courage the innovators open their ideas. It is not typical of the Finns but if they open their ideas for colleagues and other students, they get real feedback and are able to improve their plans. And the failures are acceptable, too, Will Cardwell told. - Our concept works and there is a good example for the Russian universities.

A big incubator supports the Aalto University

Marika Paakkala introduced the Aalto Start-Up Center business incubator. – We are the essential part of the innovation system in Aalto University. We have about 80 young and brave companies in and all of them are seeking the growth, internationalization and a strong foothold in their markets. We focus on our training in their sales processes, sales content and in the first appointments with their real, potential customers. This is not the easy task, but necessary, Marika Paakkala introduced the role of the incubator in Aalto University innovation structure.

– And before all – we had a great success! We found about ten interested specialists who were keen on helping our teams in their business development. And more – our teams presented their starting businesses and they were really promising startups. All of us were enthusiastic, Ahtikoski and Rantalainen continued.

Finland needs more entrepreneurship

Director Pekka Pellinen from TEK has many tasks and memberships in the Finnish governmental and official groups thinking and planning the future of our country. – The entrepreneurship and tools like the Protomo-projects are very essential in growing new firms in Finland. The entrepreneurship is a vital and interesting alternative of many people’s future careers. Protomo is a big booster of business ideas and we are very happy to see the progress here in Aalto Protomo Helsinki. It has got a big interest in a few weeks, Pellinen summarized his message about the starting entrepreneurship.
– And our four presented cases were impressive examples of Pellinen’s taught.  We heard absolutely different business ideas and everyone is good enough in the markets. But this is very clear that they have to work really hard getting their positions in their potential customer’s life. The good thing is that they are ready for it, Seppo Rantalainen assured.  

New technical opening      

The event was streamed on the Internet and we had some audience outside the “stage”. We used three classrooms in this purpose and everyone could hear and see the program from their own seats. It worked quite well – we and our guests were satisfied. Of course as always, we found many things to improve the next time production but still – everything worked. Thanks to Aalto University technical people, Ahtikoski and Rantalainen said in one voice

 – We have had now two firms from Aalto Start-Up Center and in its ecosystem in foreign stages, one in Vilnius in March and Tribe Studios Ltd in London. Our aim is to increase the amount of Finnish start-ups in Seed Forum seminars. In the autumn we bring 2-4 companies in London and try to push the first ones in the United States and in Asia. Seed Forum is the only and very professional organizer of the international investor seminar especially for the young start-up companies. And in addition to these seminars we can offer the exceptional high quality training in Finland for those who are interested and ready seeking the foreign investments, Rantalainen continued.

EBRD finances the knowledge economy

- Knowledge economy is the key issue in the programs of European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. We have studied the problems in progressing the idea and EBRD offers 100.0 m€ funding for investments in young and newly established, knowledge intensive companies in the Eastern Europe. It is first time the bank establish the fund and its use is based on the co-operation with existing venture capital companies acting in the area, Mr Allain Pilloux, managing director Industry, Commerce and Agribusiness in the EBRD opened the London seminar in the very high level board room of the bank he is representing.

The City of London global finance centre 

-London is the real heart of the global finance industry. In our Square Mile, the core of London City, there are working more finance professionals than in Frankfurt, New York and Hong Kong together. This is the working environment of 1,3 people. We have here more than 300 different languages and huge amount of foreign banks. In addition to that in Square Mile we have over 16.000 small and medium size firms working in the financial industry. This is the place in the whole world and we are glad to have Seed Forum investor seminar just here, in the middle of the globe, Mr Nick Anstee proudly presented the City of London. He has been Lord Mayor City of London 2009-2010. – Our future looks bright. The industry is recovering from the depth crises and we are going to the growth, Mr Anstee ended his key-note speech and wished every company warmly welcome in the City of London.

Seed Forum is a part of the activities belonging to the Home Market project financed by the Central Baltic Interreg IV A-program. Aalto University Small Business Center is the Finnish partner in this project.

– Some days ago I had a speech in a high level meeting with foreign bankers and company leaders. I asked them four main issues they have in their minds about Russia. They listed corruption, vodka, bureaucracy and prostitution – absolutely the same topics we have almost everywhere. The audience did not mention the fact that Russia has been a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for three months. This is more relevant than those four everywhere existing features, Viljakainen continued. – We have layd Skolkovo Foundation like Tekes in Finland – all processes for new innovative firms are similar and their applications will be handled in the same timeline like Tekes use in Finland. Please, Russian markets are so close to us and now it is the time in going there, Viljakainen hurried the seminar participants up.

Nordea's high quality services to startups

Nordea hosted the very successful seminar and the Old Bank Hall is the most valuable place arranging events of this kind. Area Director Jussi Mekkonen emphasized the willingness of the bank to offer very good and solid service to their corporate customers including new startups.

New investor incentives

The Member of the Parliament Lasse Männistö from the National Coalition Party opened the very essential reforms the Finnish government decides in its budgetary frame meeting on Thursday. – The government wants to support growth companies and investors to find each other. Seminars like this Seed Forum can really be effective tools creating contacts and clarifying investment possibilities for both sides. The government offers new incentives to investors. As an example there are the tax reliefs when investors put their capitals in a new, unlisted firm. This will partly help young companies finding money in their growth efforts, Lasse Männistö explained the plans the Finnish society tries to offer to the newly established companies with interesting ideas.
The ambassador, HE Leidulv Namtvedt opened the Seed Forum Helsinki seminar and invited the whole audience in his residence in the evening reception.

Five Start-Up Center firms at the stage

After keynote session eight firms presented their very well practiced sales pitches for investors. Five Finnish companies were trained in Aalto Start-Up Center-incubator. In addition we had one firm from three different countries: Sweden, Norway and Latvia. – This was the first Seed Forum Seminar in Helsinki from 2008. The next one takes place in October and before it we have the very effective training program for companies willing to join the educational process of Seed Forum. The start was good with big audience and the interest in the autumn event is growing – we have already now several serious taken contacts waiting for the possibility. This is the only well planned training program focused on seeking investment in newly started companies, Seppo Rantalainen, the Seed Forum representative in Finland summarized the results of the seminar.

- When the firm has the picture of its activities on the canvas, they collect the information about its partners. After this stage, the firm has a clear idea about its business environment. The canvas is very colourful and it is easy to interpret the results. Naturally, the final result needs many thinking and yellow or other colour post-its on the canvas, but finally the firm has a reliable base writing their business plan for starting real business, Seppänen convinced the Protomo-people.

We start immediately

-Aalto Protomo Helsinki starts immediately the Business Model Canvas-use. – We implement the model in our everyday work with starting teams and start-ups, Laura Ahtikoski and Seppo Rantalainen told in one voice. – The model is simple enough and it is a very clear method clarifying the ideas and its business reality. There have to be some potential and easily foundable customer segments with the need which can be seen. Our own training takes place on Wednesday 18th April. The researcher Mervi Rajahonka and her colleague go through the model together with our Protomo-teams. And we do the first canvas round with them. In this way, they get a real clear example of the model use.   

- Protomo-project is a good addition to the existing Aalto University entrepreneurship program. We have Aalto Center of Entrepreneuship, the very innovative organization for our students. Aalto Entrepreneurship Society with its Venture Carage-premises and its versatile events, programs and other content is at least well-known in Europe. Small Business Center with its very professional trainings for entrepreneurs is a strong player in this field. Aalto Start-Up Center is the biggest and best-known business incubator in Finland and in this entity Protomo Aalto is the very useful tool for the different people with their ideas, Vice-President Hannu Seristö introduced the whole offering of entrepreneurship in Aalto University. – We are not still any Stanford with its very wide and globally best-known business environment inside the university, but our aim is to go towards their position, Seristö added and described the targets of Aalto University.

Immediately to your customers

- When we started our first firm in 1999 we decided to meet our potential customers, immediately and without any serious-taken prototypes. “Slide ware” was enough! In those contacts, we got very fruitful and the best feedback for developing work. After some years very pragmatic and effective sales work we found an American partner and they bought our firm named Smartner Oy. It has created the system which delivers e-mails to the mobile phones. This was a cool thing over ten years ago, entrepreneur and CEO Jussi Räisänen lightened their start-up path. – Now we have HeiaHeia.com – service for people interested in moving. We have had nice start and the future looks promising. But there is a lot of work in front of us. We have learned something in the previous businesses. Perhaps, the biggest things are some kind of un-professionalism and the quick start of sales.In our case, the unprofessionalism meant the listening and the hearing what our potential customers really need and want to buy. We do not have the perfect knowledge from markets and we have to trust on this uncertainty, Räisänen continued his very interesting presentation.

Aalto Protomo successful in Espoo

Project Manager Marja Juvakoski emphasized their results in Otaniemi. – We started 1.5 years ago and now the program has its fourth group in developing their ideas. The spirit is strong and the same issue were told by three teams from Otaniemi which presented their ideas in the opening event in Arkadiankatu.

Fifteen teams in Arkadiankatu very soon

Laura Ahtikoski and Seppo Rantalainen, the organizing team in the Arkadiankatu Protomo-shop, tried to recruit 15 teams until the end of March. – Now we have got seven and we started the marketing just now. We are seeking students from universities in capitol area. The second target group is experienced, maybe just retired experts able to start their businesses here with very supportive people.  

Aalto University Small Business Center is an official representative of Seed Forum International Foundation in Finland. – We arranged the training camp and we got 11 start-up companies as participants. Everyone was really impressed and they got very relevant content in improving their presentations. The most important issue was the thinking model of venture capitalists – it has differences between potential and real customers. When start-ups are seeking needed capital in securing their growth, internationalization and expansions in new market areas, they have to speak directly and on right way to investors. It is not easy task – to be clear and short at the same time, Seed Forum Finland contact person Seppo Rantalainen from Small Business Center says.  – This was the main message we shared in our training camp in our premises on Friday. And the feedback was really good – next time the training session takes place in October. In the training content the Seed Forum International and its managing director Steinar H. Korsmo are at their own level – very experienced, enthusiastic and professional. Many of our participants have been involved in several investor events in Finland and their experience after Friday teaching was common – much better than the previous ones.

Start-Up Center has direct connections to international investors

In the Friday training camp there were eight companies from Aalto Start-Up Center-incubator.
- Our incubator is a unique place in the Finnish incubator network – it is the biggest one and its services are very wide and versatile. Now we have really started with international investor network. Seed Forum International and its global series of events are very strong addition in our service portfolio. As an example, many of Friday participants we are able to send in London, Oslo, Palo Alto and Moscow Seed Forum events. This is an excellent possibility, project director Marika Paakkala emphasizes the services Aalto Start-Up Center is able to offer.

Home Market project behind the Seed Forum Finland concept

The managing director of Seed Forum International Foundation, Mr Steinar H. Korsmo is a very experienced trainer and the chairman of global investor events. – His energetic and very supporting feedback in addition to his absolute professionalism helps all of us to develop our business idea, the ways of its presentation. We learned here very much and if we have to buy the whole training session from the markets, the price would be thousands of euros, all the participants convinced their satisfaction.
- Aalto University Small Business Center has defined as a main target of its Home Market-project to create or import high level, professional investor organization in Finland. We found Seed Forum International in Latvia in the first meeting last September, project manager Anne-Marie Salmi told the program of the backround Home Market project. Now Small Business Center is an official representative of the organization in Finland.

In March the first Seed Forum event in Helsinki

- Seed Forum investor seminar takes place 20.03.2012 in Helsinki hosted by Aalto University Small Business Center. – We are working with Nordea Bank Finland Oyj and they offer us the beautiful and most valuable bank hall in Finland for presentations. We have chosen there eight Finnish companies – the others are coming from Estonia, Lithuania and maybe from Sweden. All of them present their business in seven minutes pitch session and in addition to this all companies can meet the investors the whole day and also in the night reception, Seppo Rantalainen introduces the coming seminar.

Aalto University Small Business Center is a domestic partner of Home Market project. It is a part of Central Baltic Interreg IV A program 2007-2013 (ERDF). Its lead partner is Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Riga (LV). 

– Aalto University Small Business Center is a partner of Home Market EU-project belonging to the Central Baltic Interreg IV A-program. In the project, the main target is to seek and offer business opportunities for firms in Baltic countries and Finland and Sweden. We had a lesson about sales in Liepaja University. The main aim of this two hour session was how we can use very practical tools in seeking and finding customers in foreign markets. The students were really interested in practicing sales methods and we had fruitful and eager discussions about several features of sales activities and their content, Seppo Rantalainen from Aalto University Small Business Center summarized the lesson he kept in Liepaja on the last Thursday. – The students listed the strengths of Latvia and Latvian sme's. As a result of our learning morning, the student group had facts selling possibilities for Finnish and other foreign companies to invest in Latvia. At the same time, we tried to create the sales presentation for Latvian SME's to export their knowledge and products abroad, Rantalainen describes the content of the lesson. - Finnish Marinetek Oy, for example has opened their new manufacturing unit in Latvia some times ago . The company has had previous activities also there. Marinetek Oy is satisfied with the business environment and Latvian people. This was an example in the lesson which we discussed about, Rantalainen continues.

New co-operation between Liepaja University and Small Business Center

Mrs Agita Auza, Head of Foreign Affairs Department in Liepaja University, was interested in developing co-operation with Small Business Center. – We have as small university limited resources and only a few students abroad. We have the exchange program with some Finnish universities and universities of appliance science. Just now we have no Finnish student here but we have had and we are very happy to get more of them here in Liepaja, Mrs Auza says after the lesson.

Vice-chancellor Janis Rimsans is ready to build common EU-projects together with Small Business Center. – We have a good co-operation with many universities in Russia and Belarus in addition to other units too in the old Sovjet area. We need some experienced partners in the application process and we are very willing to continue the discussions with Small Business Center in the near future. In the Home Market project the internationalization of firms, incubators and universities is one target, vice-chancellor Rimsans explains. – The other issue is the co-operation with university and Kürzeme Business Incubator. We know that our students and start-up companies of the incubator can establish common projects, several other activities and the firms can be employers for our students, too. But we have not found any well working co-operation model.

We need sales!

The member of the board in Kürzeme Business Incubator, Mr Girts Kronbergs opened the Friday sales seminar in Liepaja. – We have had several sales courses and training sessions but it is a so essential part of developing the business, that days like this are very important for all us, Kronbergs emphasized the meaning of the training seminar. – We went through all phases between sales and there were more than 20 entrepreneurs discussing the obstacles they have met in their sales calls. At the end of the day, two firms presented their sales pitches and both of them got good and useful feedback in their coming sales projects, Seppo Rantalainen condensed the results of the day. – Now we have four companies in Liepaja which really are seeking customer potential in Finland. At the same time, I can ask some of Start-Up Center-firms in Helsinki to start negotiations about partnership with Liepaja-companies. The seminar was very dynamic and all participants were very well involved in discussions and interaction, Rantalainen rejoiced about the happening.

Home Market-project belongs to the Central Baltic Region Interreg IVA-program and the lead partner is The Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA). Aalto Unversity Small Business Center is the only partner in Finland.