Tribe’s Insights: Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education Visits Tribe Tampere

We recently had the pleasure of hosting a delegation from the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan here at Tribe Tampere. The purpose of their visit is to delve into the Finnish education system, renowned worldwide for its innovation and effectiveness.

Tribe's Insights- Kazakhstan's Ministry of Education Visits Tribe Tampere -Waqas Nazeer from Tribe Tampere
Tribe’s Insights- Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education Visits Tribe Tampere. Waqas from Tribe Taking selfie

In collaboration with the Finnish company, Tampere Expertise Development Center, the delegation sought to gain insights into how Finland’s educational practices could be adapted and implemented in Kazakhstan. Tampere Expertise Development Center is known for organizing professional development programs that leverage Finnish know-how and innovation, making them the perfect partner for this endeavor.

During their visit to Tribe Tampere, the delegation had the opportunity to explore our platform and learn about the vibrant startup community thriving in Tampere. They were particularly interested in understanding how Tribe Tampere supports and nurtures startups, fostering an environment conducive to innovation and growth.

It was truly inspiring to witness the exchange of ideas and expertise between the delegation from Kazakhstan and the local Finnish community. This collaboration highlights the power of international partnerships in driving positive change in education and beyond.

We’re grateful to have been a part of this enriching experience and look forward to seeing the impact of these insights on the future of education in Kazakhstan.

Stay tuned for more updates on our collaborations and events here at Tribe Tampere!

BLOG POST: The best and most affordable tools for entrepreneurs

Lue blogiteksti suomeksi täältä

Are you looking for a convenient software that you want to use to improve sales or marketing, but don’t want to pay a lot? Is saving time the most important thing in your work – achieving more with less? You are in the right place! Entrepreneurs don’t have much interest in investing large sums of money in various software. However, different software can significantly improve productivity. Often, software taken at the beginning can pay for itself many times over later.

Marketing

Websites

These days, it is a given that if a business doesn’t have a website, it doesn’t exist. There are several website service providers to choose from. You should choose one that meets the needs of your business.

One option is to build the website yourself. If you build the website yourself, you will have to invest your own time in building it. In addition, you may have to make compromises on visual appeal.

WordPress

WordPress is the market leader in websites. Most of the most popular sites are built with WordPress. WordPress has the advantage of a large selection of add-ons. It is extremely flexible and fairly easy to use. WordPress costs a few euros per month (at the time of writing, 4€) and has everything you need to run a small website.

Hubspot

Hubspot is known as a marketing automation and CRM system, but Hubspot’s CMS (Content Management System) functionality has developed strongly. Today, with the free Hubspot website builder, you can quickly get new websites ready. Hubspot is easier to use than WordPress, but it is not as flexible. However, the main advantage of Hubspot is that it integrates exceptionally well with CRM and marketing automation. If CRM or email marketing is important to you, you should consider Hubspot.

Key website add-ons

If you want to get something out of your website, you probably want the following add-ons:

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a must-have for any website. It allows you to track visitors to your site, see how they found your site, and see what they do on your site.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a tool that allows you to see how your site appears in Google search results. You can see which pages are indexed, which keywords are used to find your site, and how often your site appears in search results.

Pixels and tracking tools

Pixels are small pieces of code that allow you to track visitors to your site. You can use them to track conversions, retargeting, and other actions. There are several tracking tools available, such as Facebook Pixel and Google Tag Manager.

Chat and contact form

A chat feature or contact form allows visitors to your site to contact you directly. This is a convenient way to communicate with potential customers and answer their questions. For example, Hubspot will provide the contact form and the chat for free.

Yoast

Yoast is a plugin for WordPress that helps you optimize your site for search engines. It helps you create SEO-friendly content, generate sitemaps, and more. You might want to check Rankmath as well. Both have free versions available to get you started.

Other marketing tools

Canva

Canva is a free graphic design platform that allows you to easily create invitations, business cards, flyers, backgrounds, and much more. Canva gives you a kind of Photoshop that is free and very easy to use. The free version will get you started.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp has been around for a long time and is the world’s leading application for email marketing. Mailchimp makes it easy to design and send newsletters or advertising emails to ready-made email lists. The free version of Mailchimp lets you do effective email marketing.

Hubspot

With Hubspot, you can send advertising emails and build newsletters in the same way. The benefits of Hubspot compared to Mailchimp are particularly apparent when you are also performing other sales or advertising activities. You manage everything from one application, but all the information also ends up in one application. The free version of Hubspot allows you to send email advertising to a limited number of email addresses.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a great application that allows you to find out about SEO issues in depth. With the free version, you can track your site’s domain rating, which is a calculated value of how valuable your site is from Google’s perspective. You can also run tests on your site that improve your site from Google’s perspective. The free version will help you get started and you can evaluate the benefits of the paid version as you develop your SEO skills.

Sales

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is effective. There is no getting around it. LinkedIn content creation creates valuable presence within a professional group and customer segment.

In addition to content creation, LinkedIn can also be used to send contact requests and thus open a conversation with the most important customers. And even if people don’t accept you as a contact, you will at least stay in their memory. It is worth sending contact requests to players in your own industry with whom you may sometimes work together. LinkedIn is completely free, but LinkedIn also has paid versions that can be used more comprehensively.

Customer lists

Registers of companies and decision-makers are available from different providers. The most common way is to use your own creativity and search yourself, for example on LinkedIn or Google. If you want to buy business lists, for example, with certain restrictions, you can contact service providers such as Asiakastieto, Profinder and Alma Talent. Customer lists and registers are unfortunately not free, but buying a list will save you a lot of time if you collect it yourself.

Luuri.ai

Luuri.ai is a phone app that allows you to reach decision-makers very quickly. If you go out manually to reach potential customers, you could waste days. With Luuri.ai, you can quickly reach decision-makers and see if they could become your customers. A telephone conversation is still the most effective way to succeed, but it’s not easy. That’s why Luuri.ai can help.

Vidyard

Vidyard is a video platform that allows you to create, host, and track videos. With Vidyard, you can create videos specifically for sales and marketing, such as product demos and customer testimonials. Vidyard also has a screen recording feature that allows you to create videos of your screen. This is a convenient way to create video tutorials and other training materials.

CRM apps

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a tool that allows you to manage customer relationships and sales data in one place. There are several CRM applications available. Here are some of the most popular ones:

HubspotCRM

HubspotCRM is a free CRM tool that is part of the Hubspot marketing automation suite. HubspotCRM allows you to manage customer data, sales activities, and communication in one place. It integrates seamlessly with other Hubspot tools, such as email marketing and lead generation.

Pipedrive CRM
Pipedrive is probably the most popular CRM system. It is fairly cost-effective and easy to use. Pipedrive is known for its sales-oriented approach. Many starting entrepreneurs go strongly in the sales direction, because it has the quickest return on investment. Pipedrive is paid, but it offers a 30-day free trial.

Other useful software:

Slack

Slack is an excellent communication channel for teams. It reduces the need for email and eliminates the need for WhatsApp and other instant messaging tools for internal communication in a company. It is not advisable to use Slack for storing important information. In the free version, messages are automatically deleted.

Jira / Trello

A new entrepreneur must do everything themselves, so there is an enormous amount of work. A project management tool helps with this. Trello is a smarter to-do list that is good for organizing work. Jira is a project and work management software designed specifically for software development.

Google tools

Google software provides a very comprehensive toolkit for new entrepreneurs. Gmail, Google Meet, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, etc. provide very comprehensive software that can be used for free. If you want a branded email ending, you can purchase Google Workspace.

Zapier

Zapier is a very exciting integration platform that allows you to connect different applications to each other and automate your work efficiently. Zapier is very easy to use and comprehensive. With the free version, you can automate repetitive tasks from your own work or set up alerts, for example.

ChatGPT

At the end of 2022, OpenAI released a groundbreaking software: ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence with which you can converse. ChatGPT is very human and intelligent. The most important features of ChatGPT for entrepreneurs are support for brainstorming, text generation, and text summarization. It serves as an excellent brainstorming aid for various ideas and can produce valuable insights. It can also produce text, but also summarize it if necessary. ChatGPT is currently free and works best in English.

Text: Lauri Alasaukko-oja, Luuri.ai, Platorm6 startup

BLOG POST: Metsä Group is the Most Startup Friendly Company in Finland 2021

Big business and startups working together to fight climate change

IPCC’s recent climate report tells a grim story about the severity of climate change and the consequences if no action is taken. Hope and will to tame climate change can now also be found in the business world, where the fight against climate change is being fought through collaboration between big business and startups.

Metsä Group has been selected as the most startup friendly company in Finland in 2021. Metsä Spring – Metsä Group’s innovation company has been established to develop cooperation with new startups, in particular to promote sustainable development innovations. Metsä Spring aims to develop new business related to wood-based value chains. This includes both investing in promising startups worldwide and promoting its own pilot/demo projects. 

The Metsä Spring team discussing new ideas. Photo: Metsä Group

Collaborative innovations for sustainable development

In 2021, Metsä Group made a venture capital investment in two startups, Innomost and Montinutra, which transform forest industry side streams into valuable bioactive products. Metsä Group also has several production facilities that can supply raw materials for product manufacturing.

Innomost manufactures bioactive products from forest industry by-products. Photo: Innomost

In addition, Metsä Spring’s internal development projects have resulted in the internationally recognised Kuura paper pulp-based textile fibre that replaces cotton and fossil textile fibres, and wood-based 3D packaging product that replaces fossil raw materials in packaging.

Kuura is a new type of textile fibre made from responsibly managed wood from sustainably managed forests. Photo: Metsä Group

Award to support the development of cooperation

The Most Startup Friendly Company in Finland award was presented for the fourth time by Tribe Tampere, the startup community that organizes the competition. The aim of the award is to recognise the significant cooperations between large companies in the startup sector. Tribe believes that the award encourages large companies to collaborate and invest in startup development and to explore new areas of business.

The representatives of the jury, Alexandra Santos, Executive Director of Platform6 startup house, and Jan Ameri, CEO of Arctic Startup, are pleased with the recent increase in activity towards startups by many large Finnish companies at various levels of support, services, investment and collaboration.

The winner for this year stands out for their active investments during the pandemic in startups delivering top-tier solutions for development of new sustainable materials and great innovation examples for circular economy and sustainability goals.” says Alexandra Santos. KONE will receive an honorable mention in the 2021 competition.

The main organizers of the 2021 competition, Yoga Semadhi from Tribe Tampere and Juho Rissanen from BrainStormCorner found the work both challenging and rewarding. “There is great potential in evolving and fair cooperation models between large corporations and startups” says Rissanen.

The Most Startup Friendly Company in Finland competition is one of the ways Tribe Tampere wants to support the development of new innovative startup ideas. Tribe Tampere provides resources, networks and opportunities for collaboration to develop your own startup idea with a low threshold.

Further information:

Recipient of the Main Prize “The Most Startup Friendly Company 2021, Metsä Group:
Erik Juhani Kolehmainen, VP, Corporate Venturing, Metsä Spring,
erik.kolehmainen(at)metsagroup.com

Chairperson of the selection panel, Tribe Tampere:
Yoga Semadhi, Project Manager, Tribe Tampere:
yoga.semadhi(at)tribetampere.com

Marketing Lead, Tribe Tampere:
Mirella Mellonmaa, Marketing Lead, Tribe Tampere:
mirella.mellonmaa(at)tribetampere.com

BLOG POST: MYLLY program helped a starting entrepreneur, Tailee See, to clear-up the various crossing paths

When Tailee See decided to set up her own food industry company, she struggled with deciding where to start. From the MYLLY program for starting entrepreneurs, Tailee found the answers to her questions, which took a lot of stress over her shoulder.

When Tailee See started to create a business idea for her company last spring, she noticed soon it was not that easy.

“At first, it was a mess. I really didn’t know where to start, as there were so many important things I needed to take into a consideration.  At that time, I felt as if I was standing in front of several crossing roads, all of which would lead me to the same destination. However, I didn´t know which road I should take first and what the next steps should be, so that I would not have to waste time with wrong turns”, Tailee tells.

At this point, the idea of a start-up company focusing on street food, had been on her mind already for three years.

”Usually when somebody mentions street food, most of us may think of hot dogs, pizzas or kebabs. However, what I mean by street food, is the food made in my hometown, Penang, the food capital of Malaysia.”

Tailee left her job in marketing and communications to build herself a new career from her beloved hobby. Testing new recipes and developing new dishes consumes a lot of Tailee’s time. Tailee’s grandmother, who worked in Malaysia as a food entrepreneur in the 70s, has always acted as an inspiration on Tailee´s culinary journey. Now she about to follow her grandmother’s footsteps.

The business plan took a giant leap forward in the autumn of 2021, when Tailee received a tip from Tampere University of Applied Sciences’ student counselor regarding MYLLY coaching, where those who are interested in entrepreneurship, can develop their own business idea. Tailee signed up immediately.

Forming a close community in MYLLY

MYLLY coaching program is meant for individuals and teams, who have a business, product, or service idea, but do not have a company or business yet. MYLLY is a free program, where participants can develop their own business idea together with peers and coaches. The program is organized by the City of Tampere, Ensimetri, Demola, Tribe Tampere and Pirkanmaan Yrityskummit.

The first MYLLY was held last fall. Jarmo Tuominiemi and Tommi Järvinen from Demola serve as the coaches. According to Jarmo Tuominiemi, usually just being heard and having the additional acknowledgement for one´s idea, helps an aspiring entrepreneur move forward. Meeting other entrepreneurs, who are all in the same situation, is also important.

“In MYLLY we gather weekly for a forum, where participants can share their experiences and talk about the past week’s events. This creates a close-knit community. The participants in the first coaching planned on being in touch and meeting with each other even after the program ended”, says Jarmo.

In addition to the weekly meetings, the program includes three two-day bootcamps. Bootcamps consist of lectures and concrete assignments for business development. In total, the program lasts for approximately two months.

“We try to give participants the most comprehensive picture possible of entrepreneurship. We focus on what it is like to develop a growth company or startup today. Participants learn how successful companies usually tackle
the problems of growth and development”, says Tommi Järvinen, another of the coaches.

Brainstorming with others takes you forward

Five active companies left to brace the world after the first MYLLY program – Tailee’s company among them. Tailee feels that MYLLY has been a very practical program that suits well for foreigners as the coaching is mainly held in English. However, even if English isn´t your strong suit, you can still participate in the program.

”MYLLY helped to clear-up the various crossing paths in front of me. The coaches provided guidance and enlightenment, helping me to choose which path to work on and in what order. This has taken a lot of stress from my shoulders and I can finally also work with other matters”, Tailee tells. 

Tailee says the coaching taught her to be open-minded and to share her ideas with others. Although the program includes people from different backgrounds and everyone has their own business idea, the problems and challenges the participants faced, were all similar.

Now that MYLLY has concluded, Tailee continues her entrepreneurial journey, aiming to bring Malaysian street food to the Tampere market.

“I do hope that we get a chance to have a follow-up meeting with our coaches, so that they know how successful their members are after the MYLLY program”, Tailee says.

The next MYLLY training starts on 10.3. Apply to the program by 25.2. on the Tribe’s page. There will also be a remote information session for those interested in the training on 17 February.

Text: Emilia Aakko and Sanna Orbinski
Photos: Mirella Mellonmaa

BLOG POST: Tribe Tampere Covid action plan

How to avoid close contact in Tribe Tampere premises 8-20.2.2022

Tribe premises have a combined of ~250m2 (loft not included) for customer use. To ensure that space users have the opportunity to maintain safety clearances we will take the following actions:

  • We limit the use of the facilities to a maximum of 100 people at a time
  • Chairs are only placed in groups of tables in quantities that allow a safe distance
  • Negotiation facilities are placed chairs in quantities that allows a safe distance
  • During the opening hours of the premises, there is an employee of the association who monitors the implementation of safety distances from time to time
  • We recommend the usage of masks when inside the premises
  • Hand sanitizers and hand washing stations are provided

BLOG POST: The 2021 Finland’s “Most Startup – Friendly Company” Award is Underway!

The 2021 Finland’s “Most Startup – Friendly Company” Award is Underway!

Tribe Tampere has announced that the 2021 Finland’s “Most Startup – Friendly Company” award is now underway. This annual award aims to create broader recognition for the exceptional achievements of large corporations in Finland regarding their collaborations with startup companies to improve competitiveness and innovations in their respective business fields. Tribe Tampere believes that this award will inspire and stimulate more collaborations between larger corporations and startup companies.

Selection criteria for the award is strong startup attitude and action in several areas, including but not limited to the ecosystem support, startup collaboration, and internal actions. This year the emphasize is on the companies’ actions that have been carried out to tackle challenges during the pandemic and its unprecedented consequences to the world around us.

The finalists of last year’s award were Stora Enso, Fortum, Nordea, and Konecranes. Stora Enso was announced as the winner during the Alihankinta Subcontracting Trade Fair 2020.

This year’s award will be announced and presented during Tampere Smart City Week at the brand-new Tampere Deck Arena on February 1st, 2022.

To participate in the competition for the award, companies can use this link to submit their information. The deadline for entry is November 30th, 2021.

About Tribe Tampere

Tribe Tampere is a community consisting of people dedicated to serve Tampere startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem. We are operated partly on a voluntary basis and act as a platform for new ideas to develop the startup ecosystem in Tampere. Our mission is to serve the local startup ecosystem by uniting startups, talents and organisations to take actions and build a thriving startup community – together!

Contact info:
Yoga Semadhi
Tribe Tampere
yoga.semadhi@tribetampere.com
+358 402212159

BLOG POST: AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURIAL CHALLENGE 2021 – Part 2

Introduction

During the Spring Tribe Tampere organized American Entrepreneurial Challenge (AEC) 2021 in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy Finland. AEC is a competition organized for young entrepreneurial students to bring their fresh perspectives for new business ideas, create viable business plans, and successfully pitch their ideas to a panel of expert judges.

In total, there were 38 teams competing in two different categories in the competition. Primary School (7-9 grade) & Upper Secondary School. The challenge consisted of four Semifinals, two Finals and Summer Camp for the best teams from the Upper Secondary School category.

Virtual Semifinals & Finals were organized During April and the beginning of May. Summer camp was organized in Tribe Tampere headquarters at Platform6 fifth floor.

“It was a wonderful experience for our whole team to help these young entrepreneurs with their entrepreneurial journey and provide this experience for them. The whole project is about educating our future business leaders and professionals about entrepreneurship and that way supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem” says Project Coordinator Juho Mäkinen. 

Challenge gathered competitors from all around Finland

Semifinal Categories

One semifinal was organized for the Primary School Category. In this category 13 teams competed for securing their place in Finals where the 5 best teams would compete again against each other after receiving pitching coaching and developing their business for one month.

In the Upper Secondary School Category there were three semifinals organized for a total of 25 teams. From each semifinals, three teams secured their place in the finals. In the semifinal stage, teams first presented their pre-recorded pitch and after that followed a Q&A session held between members of the team and the jury. Jury consisted of U.S Embassy representatives and entrepreneurial students from Entrepreneurship Societies (ES´s).

Primary School category finals were organized on 5.5.2021 and Upper Secondary School finals on 12.5.2021. In the finals the pitches were given live and the time for the Q&A was slightly higher, a total of 5 minutes. In the finals the jury consisted of senior persons and also inspirational keynote speakers participated to give the best possible experience for the young talents and inspire them to continue on their journey. Both competitions were tough and teams were extremely talented and had prepared themselves well to compete for the victory of the challenge.

Primary School Finals Jury: Raymond Marcero, Sonja Lahtinen, Niklas Kiviluoto, Mike Klyszeiko & Vesa-Matti Ruottinen

“Working as a jury member in the finals and business coach in the final summer camp, I had the honour to meet the finalist teams, and it was proven once again what influx of talented brainpower could do. When given the right opportunity, skilled students performed in an outstanding manner to create unique value to education, well-being, leisure and other industries, and several of them had taken sustainable and charitable values into the core of their project” says Tommi Uitti, Startup Community Manager at Business Tampere.

Primary School category winner Minisoap UF pitching their business

Primary School Category Winner

Winner of the Primary School category was Minisoap UF from Kristiinankaupunki which produces small soaps to be easily taken with you everywhere you go. Founders Sofie, Ida and Adeline had already made revenue with the product and they have their store open on social media. Jury liked their well structured and visualialized pitch. Also the amount of sales already done was enough to prove the concept and made an impression on the jury.

AEC 2021 team member Michelle Frank and Upper Secondary School Finals Jury: Ian Campbell, Noora Fagerström, Ilkka Kaikuvuo, Lena Grenat and Tommi Uitti

Upper Seconday School Category Winner

Winner of the Upper Secondary School category was Urmus Rings from Helsinki which is a company manufacturing Finnish wooden rings crafted by hand. Founders Emil and Anton started their pitch strong by telling a story of their concern about almost everything happening on phones, internet and social media. Urmus Rings offered their rings as a way to capture a memory and have a moment with nature. Jury picked them as the winner because of the delivery of the pitch and the uniqueness of the product. Urmus Rings continued their American Entrepreneurial Challenge journey to Summer Camp held in Tampere with two other teams: Investor Connect and Enlight.

Upper Secondary School category winner Urmus Rings pitching their business

You can watch both finals in Tribe Tampere Youtube channel; Primary School Final / Upper Secondary School Final

Summer Camp Summary

Urmus Rings, Investor Connect and Enlight participated in the Tampere Summer Camp during the weekend on 11 – 13.6. The goal of the Summer Camp was to coach and mentor the teams forward and give them a good kickstart to continue on their entrepreneurial journey. First day started with the icebreaker, introductions, keynote speeches and business coaching. It was an intensive day for the students but it gave the right hunch of level of seriousness of the Summer Camp. 

Second day kicked off with talking about the future of the participants which was followed by a workshop given by Mirza Sagdati and Selina Kustula from Red Brick Accelerator. The workshop was about validating their business and finding who their customer is as precisely as possible. Teams enjoyed the intensive workshop and were able to go forward with their business strategy. Day ended with having some fun by going to play lasertag and after that watching the afterall dramatic football game Finland had against Denmark in EURO2020 tournament. 

Last day of the Summer Camp was about going even more deeper with the lessons learned in the workshop on Saturday. Teams finished again their pitch decks and gave the final pitches with updated information and knowledge about their business. Teams had developed a lot during the weekend and it was clearly visible in the pitch decks and the feedback teams gave to the organizers. 

AEC 2021 team and the Summer Camp participants

AEC 2021 has now come to the end but the teams are continuing their journey. Also Tribe Tampere is eagerly waiting for a possibility for organizing such a challenge again. In all, the whole concept has been giving a great community spirit for Tribe and the community has had a chance to breathe the atmosphere of new entrepreneurs rising and starting their journey.

And last but not least, we invite you to apply to become part of the Tribe Tampere Fellowship Program where you have the chance to be at the heart of the Tampere startup ecosystem. You will become a part of a community where you get support to develop yourself as well as your ideas.

               Click Here To Apply for Tribe Tampere Fellowship Program

BLOG POST: Yhteistyötä Hakkilan kulttuuri- ja yrityskonttikylän kanssa

Vierailu yhteisöllisessä konttikylässä Vantaan Hakkilassa

Vierailimme Tribe Tampereen jäsenten voimin Hakkilan yhteisöllisessä konttikylässä 12-13.6. tutustumassa, miten harrastajat ja yrittäjät yhdessä luovat ainutlaatuisen toimintaympäristön merikonteista remontoituun kylään. Tässä artikkelisarjassa on havaintoja eri osallistujien huomioista visiitin aikana. Artikkeleita päivitetään uuden materiaalin saapuessa toimitukseen.

Tietenkin Tribenä autoimme paikallista yhteisöä maalaamalla kontteja ja jakamalla omaa Mansen startup-henkeämme. Paikalla meidät otti vastaan Jenni Kääriäinen ja Mariira Hyypiä, jotka vastasivat Platform6:n ensimmäisen kerroksen yhteisötilan remontista. Jenni on tuttu myös SLUSHista, jonka visuaalista ilmettä hän on tuottanut vapaaehtoisia voimaannuttaen aina konferenssin alkuajoilta lähtien. 

Katso artikkelin lopusta mahdollisuus osallistua jatko-exculle 14.8.

Vasemmalta oikealle, Levon Krasnikov – Tribe Fellow, Jenni Kääriäinen – Finnish Metal Events oy, Topi-Jussi Majanlahti – Luovuus&Business, Ilia Fedorov – Circular Economy Club Tampere, Santeri Tuovila – Tribe Fellow, Conor Caldwell – Cargotecture, Disa Kamula – Luovuus&Business, Pentti Kotiaho – Suomen Kotteria oy

Artikkelit

Tässä on Tribe Tampereen osallistujien kuvauksia siitä miksi he osallistuivat matkalle, mitä oppivat matkalta sekä mitä he suunnittelevat laittavansa matkan kautta käytäntöön.

Conor Caldwell teki opinnäytetyönsä konttien käytöstä asumistarkoituksessa liiketoiminnan näkökulmasta. Hän sai työstään parhaan arvosanan ja on nykyään mukana hankkeessa asuttavien konttiratkaisujen prototypoinnissa.

What made you interested in visiting Hakkila container village?

Over the previous year, I was interested in developing shipping container houses dedicated to the Finnish market to innovate alternative living. I had written and published my own bachelor’s thesis on the subject. I connected, brainstormed, and shared ideas with fellow students at the university and Tribe Tampere. I was therefore invited with a group of people to come down to Hakklia Container Village in Vantaa, Helsinki.

I was interested in visiting due to my interests and, most importantly, understanding and coordinating how it would work. Due to only knowing a particular capacity of the container housing aspect, I still lacked knowledge of the whole community side. So by being there, I would get to see how everything worked, and I felt, by coming there, that I would learn a lot and be around various people with the same interests and perceptions I have.

What did you learn during the trip?

Initially, I thought people would be living there in their own homes, but it was more dedicated to the artistic nature. Of the 200 containers, roughly 198 have been rented out to private tenants who commit to a long-term contract where they can alter, design, and change the interior to however they wish. Some examples include being a music studio, a getaway escape, a band studio, a place to store their personal belongings, just a place to be away from home, such as a hobby home. The way the whole village of containers is laid out ensures that everyone is close by and can help each other with designing, moving furniture, and even having parties. It was informative on how it all works as an ecological system, and the group I went with contributed to helping out with whatever we could. 

I arrived intending to learn how to make containers a livable solution to society, but that came with many difficulties. I could quickly build a beautiful-looking container village that is livable, but the issue stands more with laws and restrictions. I always figured it was the container structure that was the issue with housing laws and looked at as just raw materials and unsafe. However, it is not typically the container itself that is the problem–it is the fact that you need to identify what a house is and how and where to build that house in Finland. A house for one needs to be within a society’s living laws and close enough to a town or city where utilities can be accessible and provide a legal street address. 

You could buy land and put your container house there, but you cannot legally have it as your primary address; you still need a legal address within a specific vicinity. However, if I were to rent a room somewhere and have that as my primary address while living in my unofficial container house on my land outside the restrictions, that would be fine. For example, I could rent out shipping container homes as a hotel/Airbnb because the staying is not permanent; it is just that the host/owner cannot legally live there as it is a residential business. 

A house in Finland has some pretty strict laws on what a house can be. You cannot just build land and whatever you build on; it is yours, everything still falls under the closest town or city building laws and restrictions, and every city has different ones. Living in a shipping container is not impossible because it is just a raw material like a house’s external skeleton. However, I was told multiple times by the hosts and a container expert that “I am sure you can figure it out,” and there are for sure ways around what is “frowned upon” and what is “illegal.” 

What call to action do you take from the visit?

In terms of a personal view, I feel the eligibility of living in a shipping container home may be challenging to adapt right away, but first acting smaller, build them for more commercial use and rent them out as beautifully crafted getaway homes. Such as a summer cottage type because those are legal to live in as long as you have a natural permanent home and address elsewhere. One of the most important things I learned was attending these types of events with people who share the same interests. Networking and building a community around a particular topic or interest can be rewarding in the long run. 

Beforehand I was a very do-it-myself type because I have my visions and do not mainly adopt other’s ideas as quickly because I have a sense of perfectionism and want things to look a specific way. Nevertheless, the more I grow and evolve, am more open and inviting to new ideas and prospects. I have never been someone who was very knowledgeable/expert in a specific area. However, with the container development, I feel I can contribute a lot more with them once I understand what cannot and can be done and how to go around it. 

I am looking forward to seeing how it all plays out over time. 

Conor Caldwell

BBA International Business / Researcher of Cargotecture

Santeri Tuovila tutkii yrittäjämäisiä yhteisöjä (niitä jotka saavat asioita aikaan) ja gradussaan hän tutkii miten tila vaikuttaa yrittäjyyden kehittymiseen. Santeri on ollut mukana Triben molemmissa yhteisötilan rakennushankkeissa sekä monessa muussa startup ekosysteemiin liittyvässä projektissa.

Miksi lähdin?

Tapasin Jennin ja Iran (Mariiran) alkuvuodesta 2021 kun he ohjasivat talkooväkeä Platform6:n ensimmäisen kerroksen valmistustyössä. Olin itse ollut ohjaamassa vapaaehtoisia Tribe Tampereen yhteisötilan eli Platform6:n viidennen kerroksen talkoissa koko syksyn ja olin kiinnostunut näkemään miten ammattilaiset homman tekivät. Halusin myös maalata ja tehdä muuta pientä työtä, joka palauttaa hyvin ajatustyöstä. Lopulta kävi niin että tutustuin Jenniin ja Iraan hyvin sekä haastattelin heitä graduani varten, joka käsittelee yrittäjämäisiä yhteisötiloja. Kävi ilmi, että mimmit ovat mukana Hakkilassa konttikylässä, jossa yrittäjät ja harrastajat spontaanisti auttavat toisiaan, vaikka missä lähtien kiertotaloudesta aina pienen musiikintuottokeskittymän pyörittämiseen. Tietenkin kaikki pyörii kontteihin rakennettujen ja niiden ympäristöön muodostuneiden tilojen ympärillä. Jenni ja Ira hyväksyivät kutsuni osallistua graduni työpajaan myöhemmin keskitalvella, jossa pääsimme syvemmälle Hakkilan konttikylän dynamiikkaan ja illan päätteeksi lupasimme, että matkaamme Tampereelta kylälle kesällä.

Mitä opin?

Olin oppinut jo ennen lähtöäni paljon. Niistä saa lukea gradustani, kun se on valmis. Itse matkalla opin verkostoitumisen ja tehokkaan oppimisen prosessista. Näin taas kerran kuinka nopeasti vieraat ihmiset tutustuvat toisiinsa, kun tehdään talkootöitä pohjalle ennen ammatillisia keskusteluja. Perinteiset roolit katoavat, kun jokaisella on tasa-arvoisesti pensseli kädessä. Oli myös taas hienoa nähdä hyvin alustettu talkootyö, paljon helpompi verrattuna omaan suoritukseeni Tribe Tampereen tiloja luodessa, kun en nähnyt tarvittavaa vaivaa työnkuvien alustamiseen vaan luulin, että ne voi luoda lennosta. Lounastauolla ennen tutustumiskierrosta ja kyselytuokiota kaikki olivatkin iloisia, keskittyneitä ja ystävystyneitä.

Kaiken konttien ja yhteisöllisyyden rakentamisen ohessa opin Jenniltä paljon vapaaehtoistumisen periaatteista. Hän on SLUSH, Flown, Tuskan ja lukuisien pienempien festivaalien kautta oppinut toimimaan vapaaehtoisten kanssa. Hänen vahva mielipiteensä on, että vapaaehtoistumisen pitää perustua tehdyn työn ja omien arvojen kohtaamiselle. Tämä tarkoittaa, että vapaaehtoistyötä ei tehdä esimerkiksi ”ilmaisten” lippujen saantia varten. Sen sijaan vapaaehtoiset tekevät työtä, mahdollistaakseen jonkin asian. Esimerkiksi Tuskan vapaaehtoiset kokevat edistävänsä sananvapautta, kun luovat puitteet bändeille esiintyä, jotka voivat olla kotimaassaan vainottuja yhteiskuntakriittisen sanomansa vuoksi. Tribe Tampereen alkuaikoina yhteisöllisen kohtaamispaikan luominen oli se, joka motivoi minua uhraamaan satoja vapaaehtoistunteja. Heti kun aloin ajattelemaan miten minun pitäisi hyötyä Tribestä, koko hommasta katosi pohja, jonka sittemmin olen rakentanut uudestaan.

Jenni kertoi saaneensa älynväläyksen Hyvän mielen ministeriöstä, jonka kulttuuriasiantuntijaksi hänet on kutsuttu. Hyvän mielen ministeriö taistelee hyvän fiiliksen puolesta ja pahaa fiilistä vastaan. Yksi pahan fiiliksen neljästä ilmiöstä on ”what’s there for me?”. Hyvän mielen ministeriö on uusi suomalainen säätiötyylinen organisaatio, jonka perustajana toimii pitkäaikainen yrittäjä Mikko-Pekka Hanski.

Mitä matkalta pistetään käytäntöön?

Konttikylät ovat nopeita rakentaa ja purkaa. Siksi ne mahdollistavat erilaisia kokeiluja esimerkiksi liike- ja kulttuuritilojen luomisesta, vaikka kaupungin keskustaan tai muualle. Konttikylät myös mahdollistavat erilaisen yhteisöllisyyden niitä käyttävän yhteisön välille, sillä kontit ovat ulkotilassa jossa ihmiset kohtaavat ja näkevät toistensa toiminnan paljon selvemmin kuin kauppakeskuksissa tai isoissa toimistorakennuksissa. Kontit myös mahdollistavat itseilmaisun, joka myös luo erilaisen ympäristön vuorovaikutukselle ja kokeilevalle kulttuurille.

Toivon, että kontteja pilotoitaisiin erilaisissa yrittäjä- ja kulttuuriyhteisöhankkeissa esimerkiksi Eteläpuistossa, jossa ei ole lupaa rakentaa kiinteitä rakennuksia, mutta jossa konttiyrittäjät ovat tähän mennessä luoneet jo paljon yhteisöllistä toimintaa. Muita soveltuvia alueita löytyy esimerkiksi Hiedanrannasta. Siksi valmistelemme uutta verkostoitumis- ja oppimismatkaa Hakkilaan elokuun 14:sta päivälle. Rohkaistuin kun yrittäjät, tutkijat ja harrastajat innostuivat matkasta. Tämän seuraavan matkan tarkoitus on luoda pohja yhteisölle, jolla on tarpeeksi tietoa ja taitoa edistää konttikylähankkeita lähitulevaisuudessa. Lisää matkasta tällä sivulla.

Kutsu jatko-excursiolle Hakkilaan 14.8.

Kiinnostaako kontit ja yhteisöllinen kaupunkielämä yrittäjyyden ja luovuuden ympärillä? Ilmoittaudu mukaan avoimelle excursiolle Hakkilaan. Olit Tampereelta tai et, ammattilainen tai harrastelija.

Ohjelmaa on puolestapäivästä iltaan, ilmoittaudu mukaan lähettämällä sähköpostiviesti osoitteeseen santeri.tuovila@tribetampere.com


BLOG POST: Tribe Tampere is open for visitors!

BLOG POST:

We are finally able to open our doors for visitors in the Platform6 5th floor! You are welcome to stop by and say hi, grab a cup of coffee, hang out in our awesome balcony, and most of all meet people, network and create collaboration together!

We are open for visitors Mon-Fri 9-17. Give as a call to 050 413 4329 if you are stuck behind locked doors.

Remember to always check COVID guidelines of Tribe Tampere and Platform6 before entering, so we can all stay safe together!

See you soon!

BLOG POST: Marketing Intern – Growing and Learning Journey

Tribe is looking for a new Marketing Intern as our amazing Ella-Juulia Ora is jumping into new challenges. We asked Ella about her journey with Tribe. 

Starting point

Hi guys, my name is Ella – at this point still Tribe’s Marketing Intern, soon moving forward to new challenges. I am from Finland, but along the years I have lived in Italy and Spain and used to work in various multinational environments. When the pandemic started, I was living in Northern Italy, in the Alps, and working as a resort manager in Madonna di Campiglio. Covid made me come home to Finland earlier than planned, which was a huge disappointment at that point. I could go on and on about my background, but let’s keep this brief(ish).

Due to early homecoming from Italy, I was looking for a new job in marketing or customer success fields, but the job search ended up being harder than I thought. Like a blessing in disguise, Tribe was looking for a marketing intern. Unpaid position was not exactly what I was looking for, but this position offered HUGE possibilities to learn, meet new people and grow my network, which would also be helpful factors in my job-hunt. Also, I was really craving an international community of people, where I could see people in daily basis and have inspiring conversations, as that is not something that you can take for granted these days.

During this world-wide pandemic it ended up being really hard to find that kind of opportunities that I was looking for, and stand out in the big crowd of great applicants. It was very frustrating time and I just wanted to fit in an environment that would support my goals and development. I’m pretty sure that I would have lost my mind without Tribe (no joke). <3

The group of Tribe interns who started in November 2020

The journey with Tribe

My journey with Tribe kind of started years ago, when I was studying in Proakatemia along with Teemu, the current COO of Tribe. Teemu dragged his teammates, me included, to Tribe’s grand opening event on 2017. Nobody really knew what Tribe was about at that point, but we just went along, networking in mind of course. Last year when I noticed that Tribe is looking for a marketing intern, I already knew that this could be just that kind of community this lost lamb would need in her life right now!

This community has given me just what I needed; new networks, opportunities to develop my skills, being part of a community and meet amazing, talented people, international environment and a lot of support. I was working as a part of marketing team, alongside Tribe’s Marketing Lead Mirella, who has been a great marketing mentor to me during this time. Without a doubt, it required an open and creative mind, and learner’s and entrepreneurial attitude to achieve my goals at Tribe and find the things that I was looking for. I encourage everyone with this kind of mindset to reach out to Tribe and be a part of this community!

Me (on the right) and Cat, Tribe’s Community Intern, hanging out on the 5th floor

Future steps 

It’s definitely bittersweet to jump into new challenges from being a marketing intern at Tribe. I feel that Tribe and my marketing intern period have played a huge role in my personal growth and finally being able to find my future role.

I’m not going far though! My future workplace is across the street from Platform6, and I’m definitely going to be a part of Tribe’s marketing team in the future as well, as this is possible due to Tribe’s open-door policy. It’s hard to find more welcoming crowd in Tampere than this!

If our paths cross at some Tribe event, come and say hi, I want to meet you! Oh, and watch Tribe Hour – Do – Learn – Grow With Tribe next Wednesday – I’ll be there! Grazie e ci vediamo dopo! <3