7/09/2009
I have to say, looking back at the previous two years of my career, that I’ve been incredibly privileged to have been able to work on the ventures I’ve worked on. I co-founded Gyllene Skor with some very talented and awarded people from the digital marketing industry back in September 2007. Around that time I also founded ArcticStartup and it has grown to become the most followed startup media site in Northern Europe. Needless to say, this couldn’t have been done with the great team of enthusiasts and determined professionals we have on board. Thank you Ville, Miikka, Karri, Paula and Päivi for your efforts.
I’ve also had some wonderful changes in my personal life as well. I’ve met the love of my life, Noora, and fallen deeply for her. We moved in after few months of dating and things have gone perfectly ever since. However, as I spent my summer holidays with her, I realised that there are more important issues in life than simply work (yes, even I think so). Those that have known me for longer know that I’ve been working relatively hard, to say the least, for the loves of my career life – Gyllene Skor and ArcticStartup. 12- or 14-hour days weren’t much of an exception, taking weekends off from work were. With these changes in my life at hand, I’ve decided to put aside more time for Noora, myself and the people around me.
I’ve had to do some serious thinking over my summer holidays to come to a solution regarding this dilemma. The solution was not an easy one, but it does achieve my goal. A few weeks ago, I resigned from Gyllene Skor. The task of letting go of a company you’ve helped to build and create what it is today – is an incredibly tough one.
As of October 1st, I’ll start working full time on ArcticStartup.
Before finishing though, I’d like to thank all the talented people at Gyllene Skor and my clients for making the ride a very enjoyable one. Things weren’t always easy, but I have nothing but good memories of my time there. I’m sure the company has a great future ahead.
I’ll be posting more of my thoughts on ArcticStartup and its plans in the near future, stay tuned.
13/12/2008
I was in Paris this week for the LeWeb conference. There has been a lot of talk on the web about the conference itself. As Loïc writes in his blog, not all of the logistics worked out as expected; the internet was down (or extremely slow) for the most part of the conference, the first day in the main hall was very cold as one of the industrial heaters broke and during lunch time there wasn’t enough food for everyone.
Serious issues indeed, nevertheless – the conference whose theme was love was in my opinion a success in many ways.
Let me explain in a few words why. Europe is a lot more fragmented as a market place, compared to the US. The reason is relatively simple. We have a lot more different and more distinct cultures that still hold on to their traditions. This brings in many difficulties in sharing ideas and meeting new people – something that is crucial in many senses for taking those ideas to the next level.
LeWeb tackled that in bringing many people together from different parts of the world to network, share ideas and discuss how we can make our world a better place to live in – through new services and innovative solutions. The reason why I really like Le Web is the personal relationships Loïc brings in to make the event a success. LeWeb is always full of bloggers, thinkers, entrepreneurs and investors from America who bring in a boat full of new ideas to challenge our way of thinking. Something to keep us on our toes and not get too comfortable.
There’s definitely a lot to do in terms of making entrepreneurship thrive in Europe. We’re not that far behind the US here, but behind nevertheless. With conferences like these we are taking those steps to narrow the distance. Looking at the ecosystem as a whole, we shouldn’t be too concerned with 2 days without being fully nourished nor having to network in a slightly cooler environment – or actually having the internet down to enhance physical contact and networking with one another.
Last, but definitely not least – I’d like to thank my partners at Gyllene Skor for understanding my quick visit to Paris in the face of an unsurmountable amount of client work. They are an excellent bunch of professionals to work with.
Update: Seems like Michael Arrington of TechCrunch was along the same lines as my post – from the other side of the table of course.