Dialogue over pizza – monthly Startup Meetup kicked off to a promising start
27.2.2019
Startup scene is all about technology and funding, right? Well, it’s even more about people and dialogue. The first of the monthly Startup Meetup events brought different people together over pizza in an unofficial, relaxed atmosphere – and created some good exchange of thoughts. If you missed it, check the next one with Vendep Capital in March 14th!
Tampere startup scene is really making a splash, and the monthly Startup Meetup concept is one of the events to send waves throughout the country. The idea is simple enough – bring both a startup entrepreneur and a funding professional to share their stories. In this case, the entrepreneur was Jaakko Männistö from Feedbackly and the funding side was represented by Bert Farrel of Zoosh Ventures. What made this Startup Meetup interesting was the relaxed and open atmosphere that sparked a lot of discussion. And, of course, some Valentine’s day pizza and beer.
Business Tampere Startup Meetup Tribe event. Photo: Laura Vanzo
Jaakko’s funding funnel
In his opening note, Jaakko Männistö had some good insights about startup funding. He reminded the audience that getting funding is essentially sales work – you are selling your company. So the concept of sales funnel works for funding as well: 512 prospects become 200 calls that can lead to 70 pitches, 30 negotiations, 10 deep conversations and finally 2 offers. Of course, that was just a part of his well-thought presentation, complete with jokes about traditional rivalry between Turku and Tampere as well as dialogue with the audience.
Farrel strikes back
Bert Farrel from Ireland was up next. He opened by taking some of Jaakko’s points and presenting his own view on them. This demonstrated the value of spontaneous atmosphere, where the views can conflict or complement each other. Bert told about his long history in the field as well as how Zoosh Ventures came to be. He reminded us that venture capital company is a startup as well, and every startup solves a problem. In their case, the problem is the promising people without funding. So far, they have risen 10 million’s worth of capital, so he has done his share in solving the problem.
The big announcement
As promised, Zoosh also had some big news concerning Tampere. They announced their early seed fund – Zoosh Investment Partnership (ZIP) and how they are looking for startup partners as well as funders. What’s more, they are after some developers. Read more about their plans here (article in Finnish).
A word from the audience
We had a little chat with a member of the audience, Miika Kamaja from chido.fi. You might call him a typical startup entrepreneur, if there is such a thing: young, forward-looking and with a promising service that brings activity providers on the same platform.
– This is actually just the second startup event I’ve ever been in, confesses Miika Kamaja. We’re about to roll out Chido in Tampere, so I wanted to check out the local scene.
Miika, seeking for their second funding round, has a clear view on what he wants from this kind of meetup:
– It’s important to get all the hungry people in the same space”, he says. “And it’s good to hear the dos and don’ts from more experienced entrepreneurs.
Go Tampere - Startup Meetups will continue the whole spring 2019!
– These kind of events have two important functions”, Jaakko Männistö said to us before his presentation.
– First is lowering the threshold to this unknown startup world. The other is giving out basic information about the corporate world. Often these events are the first step on a road to startup entrepreneur.
The efforts for creating even better startup ecosystem have not gone unnoticed.
– I’m more familiar with Helsinki and Turku, but now Tampere is really making its mark!
The Startup Meetup monthly events can really open doors for tomorrow’s startups. And it’s not just information and goodwill, there are more and more tangible funding opportunities as well.
Remember to save the dates
March 14th 2019 with Vendep Capital and Tomi Kaukinen from Licence to Fail. To be there, sign up here.
April 17th 2019 with Butterfly Ventures and a startup from the portfolio of Butterfly Ventures.
May 9th 2019 and June 13th - program and speakers to be confirmed.
The organizers
The joint 6-city project called 6Aika – Ecosystems of Growth creates opportunities for startups. The funding comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional council and, in Tampere, also from Tampere city region economic development company Tredea Oy (Business Tampere) and the city of Tampere.
