On Tuesday 9th May at the startup hub A Grid had an open house event A Grid Open for anyone who wants to network with A Grid’s entrepreneurs and ecosystem. The event was attended by well over 100 participants – startup entrepreneurs, operators, investors, and other important stakeholders of A Grid. A Grid Open was organized together with BusinessEspoo, Aalto Startup Center, Finnish Startup Community and A Grid.
The Finnish startup network is valued around the world
Riikka Pakarinen and her team from Finnish Startup Community talked about the importance of networking. Riikka stated that Finland is the best place for rising talents and the best place to establish and grow startup companies. Startups are an important element of the growth of Finland’s national economy. It’s expected that in the future many of the world’s leading technology companies will come from Finland and the Finnish Startup Community will help platform economy to clear the rules of play and also influence the decision makers.
Venture capitalists pay attention to the exit potential of the company
The event’s second keynote speaker Ilkka Kivimäki, a long-time expert in investment and for example Wolt’s first investor and a developer of the Nordic startup ecosystem, spoke at the event about the importance to define the roles of startup owners and their impact on investor relations. Venture capitalists are looking for startups with high exit potential and ability to execute depends heavily on the characteristics of the team. Messy cap table can destroy otherwise lucrative investment case. Very few companies have everything in their possession from the very beginning, and for this reason it would be good to keep the investor involved.
A Grid’s startup entrepreneurs on display
In addition to the keynote speakers, the most important part of the event was getting to know the startups and the ecosystem of A Grid. Before and after the speeches, there was inspiring discussion at the stands, and we can assure you that collaboration between stakeholders grew even more!
The next A Grid Open event will be held in September 2023.
More information about the event organizers:
A GRID
A Grid is enabling the growth of startups by offering not only good facilities on the Aalto University campus but also the opportunity to network with inspiring community. Check A Grid’s office and event facilities here >>
BUSINESS ESPOO
Business Espoo supports the vitality of businesses by offering the best, continuously developing services in one place. Business Espoo operates in A Grid and offers companies business advice and training, funding and networking. See here more about Business Espoo’s operations >>
AALTO STARTUP CENTER
Aalto Startup Center is a hybrid accelerator offering its own incubator and accelerator services, as well as several partnership programs. Its focus is on sustainable research-based and innovative deep-tech startups. Aalto Startup Center also participates in and leading international partnership incubator and accelerator programs such as Urban Tech Helsinki, EIT Urban Mobility, and ESA BIC Finland. Check more about Aalto Startup Center here >>
FINNISH STARTUP COMMUNITY
The Finnish Startup Community acts as the central voice for the Finnish startup ecosystem. The community consists of Finnish growth companies from all different stages, all the way from early-stage startups to the ten biggest Finnish growth companies. The Finnish Startup Community aims to reinforce the cooperation between startups. Our members have helped each other out, found new ideas, and improved their companies’ course of action. We believe in positive collaboration, which is visible in our internal and external activities. Read more about The Finnish Startup Community here >>