Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Radiša Kričak
The third local Slush competition in Belgrade, organized by the Embassy of Finland in the Republic of Serbia and the Fund for Innovative Entrepreneurship, selected the startups that will participate in the Global Impact Accelerator 2017 program and the Slush 2017 conference that will be held in Helsinki in November and December. One of the experts from Finland who selected the best ideas in the field of sustainable innovation was Kaspar Suomalainen, director of community Startup Sauna from Finland, the most successful program for early entrepreneurship acceleration in northern Europe. In addition, Kasper shared his experience in building the world’s most successful community, and motivated the participants to fight for their ideas, noting that Serbia has a strong innovation potential.
We talked to Kasper about his impressions of the startup scene of Serbia, the preconditions for building a strong startup community and the SLUSH conference, which gathers around 15,000 visitors every year in Helsinki.
What can you tell us about the Finnish startup model?
Kasper Suomalainen: In my opinion, this model is largely linked to Finnish culture. In Finland, there is even a word for that, “talkoot”, which in essence means “a group of people who come together to work for free towards a common goal”. This is the cornerstone of our ecosystem, where people don’t do things for personal gain, but for the benefit of the community. It is interesting to note that this is one of the assets that make our ecosystem stand out from all others around the world.
How much does Finland invest in innovation?
Kasper Suomalainen: Investments in Finland are on a steady rise. This growth was clearly visible a couple of years ago when EBAN (European Business Angels Network) named the Finnish Business Angels Network (FIBAN) as the most successful in Europe in 2014. In addition, last year, foreign direct investment in startup projects in Finland exceeded those in other Nordic countries, with 27 percent year-on-year growth rate.
Startup Sauna is a project largely led by twentysomething year-olds. What contributed to such great interest of youth for entrepreneurship?
Kasper Suomalainen: At the end of the last decade, students, and youth in general, began to be more interested in startups. The Alto entrepreneurial association was founded in 2009, and over the years the activities of this associations gave birth to Startuplifers, Startup Sauna and Slush. One of the factors that contributed to this change among young people, and the country in general, was the sale of Nokia’s mobile division to Microsoft. Suddenly, we lost a few percentage points of GDP and realized that this company was responsible for a large percentage of our country’s exports. That was a wake up call, and we realized that the small and medium-sized companies are those who will create jobs in Finland in the future. In addition, entrepreneurship implies solving problems and finding new challenges. Overall, this developmental way of thinking was accepted by youth. When we talk about the future labor market, it will only be more fragmented than it already is. There will no people who work for 40 years in the same company, so adopting a broad spectrum of skills will be of utmost importance for work. Entrepreneurial initiatives and activities are a great way to adopt such a set of skills.
You’ve visited Serbia two times so far. What do you think about Serbia’s startup scene?
Kasper Suomalainen: The first time I was in Serbia was a few years ago when we organized an event at White Palace. Last year I came for the second time and was sincerely thrilled to see the great growth which this startup ecosystem achieved in just one year. This can be seen, for example, from the growing number of events that are organized in Serbia and the increasing number of people who launch their own startups or organize supporting events. Still, we can always do better, and we should strive to do more, so we have a lot of work ahead of us, both in Finland and in Serbia. Finally, entrepreneurship implies that we never really finish what we are doing; we are always looking for new challenges, we are solving great problems, which ultimately leads mankind to progress. I’m certain that the dynamic style of entrepreneurship can be one of the key assets of countries in the future, and I am happy to be back in Serbia where we will share the experiences from our startup scenes.
How can we increase popularity of entrepreneurship in Serbia?
Kasper Suomalainen: Building the startup community cannot be forced, and every country needs to build its own ecosystem rather than copy aspects of another system. Serbia needs to discover the model that suits her, the knowledge it can apply and, most importantly, the strengths that can separate its startup scene from the sea of others. We began building the startup scene with the idea of inspiring people to become entrepreneurs, instead of just telling them “be entrepreneurs.” You can’t tell people what to do; they must feel the passion for it from within.
How do you see the role of state in this process?
Kasper Suomalainen: Opinions on this issue still differ. One say the state needs to empower the scene. Others believe the state should stand aside from the development path of the startup scene. I personally disagree with either, and I think the real formula is in the combination of the two. I have noticed that things work best when the state is there to support, but not to direct. In this way, the ecosystem grows organically, driven by passionate people, while the state provides the best support it can, for example by setting up entities for technology financing.
Helsinki will once again be the epicenter of technology and startups. Why is the Slush 2017 a must-see event?
Kasper Suomalainen: Slush is really something special. It is the world’s largest gathering of the tech scene that is organized completely on volunteering basis. Two thousand volunteers from 100 countries are engaged in organizing this nonstandard conference. It’s hard to describe it, you simple have to see it, and the best explanation I’ve heard so far is “It’s like a mash of Burning Man and TED.” This is not a typical tech conference, which can be seen in last year’s photos. The main Slush event is held every year in Helsinki, as a supplement to the global Slush events that attract around 45,000 visitors annually.
What message would you send to entrepreneurs, how would you encourage them not to give up on their ideas?
I don’t like being the “party breaker”, but it is true that entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Same as flying an Airbus A350 or being a neurosurgeon isn’t for everyone. In addition, it is sometimes better to estimate when to shelve a prototype – instead of spending all the money and make something that no one wants to buy. I have one simple message for all those who have ideas: if you like the path, continue. In entrepreneurship, the road to discovery is more important than anything else. The thing is, you have to do what you love, what drives you. If you can make a living doing it, even better. But, if you start an entrepreneurial project to make money, I suggest you rather become an investment banker.