Ascend celebrates one-year anniversary of Finland investments

Microsoft Flux | Helsinki, Finland - To celebrate our one-year anniversary of our investment in four Finnish companies, Ascend Capital Partners hosted a private, invitation-only seminar for Finnish startups looking to go international. After a year of actively working with our portfolio companies, the Ascend team has learned a lot about the Finnish culture from a business and personal perspective. The objective of this seminar was to share with Finnish startups what we as international investors see is important for companies to be successful internationally. The 20 attendees were CEOs or founders of Finnish startups that are ready to move beyond European markets.

The seminar opened with a stretching and breathing exercise led by Paths Intersect, as self-care is often ignored in start-ups. Attendees were able to relax and set the tone of the open and inclusive nature of the seminar. We welcomed disagreement and encouraged the audience to openly discuss their issues and concerns.

After opening remarks, our CEO Monita Mo spoke about the importance of corporate governance, focusing on the Board of Directors. She discussed how the role of the Board is to challenge the management team. She also provided some red flags indicating a troubled Board, and how to form an effective Board. Monita’s message was that a diverse background of members and allowing disagreement are keys to a good Board.

Colin Powrie followed Monita by speaking about cash management. He followed the story of Dyson, the British household appliance company, and their financial path to success. Colin made interesting links to factors that impact a company’s cash flow. These factors included business models, legal considerations and customer and team relationships. He reiterated that ultimately cash is king, citing that “revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, and cash is reality.”

After the cash management segment Elaine Mo spoke about sales and marketing. She encouraged the attendees to do whatever it takes to enter an industry in order to get market entry – even if it meant an initial financial loss. Elaine made the comparison between American marketing and European marketing, stating that American marketing emphasizes the emotions and story stemming from their products, whereas European marketing focuses on the technical specifications. Using emotions to market a product is more effective in making the customer feel more connected to the product, and therefore more likely to use it. Ultimately, all of Elaine’s ideas pointed to the notion that the customer is key – their opinions and needs have to shape how the product is developed, designed and sold.

The Ascend team then opened up the floor with a question and answer session for attendees to share their thoughts and opinions. People asked about available tools and sought advice specific to their business. The group was very collaborative as other attendees shared their own solutions with the group in response to others’ questions.

Paths Intersect closed the content-rich seminar with a 10 minute segment explaining the need for wellness as CEOs and led the group in a meditation exercise. Attendees then networked over drinks and snacks late into the evening.

Ascend’s aim was to have an honest and frank discussion with Finnish CEOs and co-founders on some of the observations that we had identified as areas Finnish start-ups needed to improve. Our seminar allowed companies to get an inside perspective on what an international investor like Ascend Capital Partners looks for in potential investments. Attendees were able to see how they could impress investors though an internationally-friendly corporate governance, cash management, and sales and marketing structure.

Photos courtesy of Roxana Sadvo.