Yes! The summer is finally here! And what does it mean? You guessed it right – the Startup Journey is back. And as we strive to constantly improve, we can promise you that this year’s Journey is even better. In case if someone doesn’t know what Startup Journey is, then, first of all, what are you doing with your life? And secondly, it is a 10-week accelerator program.

This year we have 10 very promising teams, pursuing completely different ideas – from building a mobile game to helping immigrants learn job-specific language. To get to know each other we kicked-off the Startup Journey with a yummy BBQ. The stars of the menu were hot-dogs, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The head coach Anssi Kiviranta introduced the program to the teams, and after that teams presented themselves and their ideas on the stage.

Startup Journey is an intensive program, so there was no time for rest – the next day we made our way to the first Boostcamp at Tuorlan Majatalo. Each week, we have a new weekly theme, and during Week 0 it was WHY. Our weekend camp commenced with a keynote held by Aape Pohjavirta, who is a startup coach and the Chief Evangelist of Funzi. To be honest, it was an experience! You just had to be there to understand it. But in a nutshell, he inspired teams to challenge their ideas and to push their boundaries. Aape also dedicated time for the one-on-one discussion with each team, giving them valuable advice and useful contacts.

Chill time at the first Boostcamp

We told you that this year’s Startup Journey is better, right? Well, we have a new edition to the program – our own psychologists Mari Jokiranta and Mari Järvinen. They will be helping the teams to handle the stress and understand their motivation throughout the whole program. During the Boostcamp they organized the workshop, which highlighted the importance of trust within teams, individuals’ visions and decision making.

To get straight into the business, Mike Bradshaw pushed teams to make their first pitching attempts. And to make it an ultimate learning experience, he provided the teams with on-point feedback.

Boostcamp definitely set the right start for the whole program. Now we have 10 challenging weeks ahead of us. Let’s make the most out of this time!

Thank you Anssi, Aape, Mari, Mari and Mike for kicking off the Week 0 of the Startup Journey. And don’t forget, the Demo Day is on August 16th, everyone is more than welcome!

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