Aaltoes + Lessons Learned. Speaking at the EU Committee of the Regions

Presentation on the vision of Aaltoes, what we do and what are some take aways for policy etc. given at the European Union's Committee of the Regions workshop on "Innovative regions and cities for territorial development" as part of Open Days, European Week of Cities and Regions 2012, in Brussels, Belgium.

Transcript

2. A completely independent association, founded and led by students, to promote and catalyse entrepreneurship.
3. Est. 2008
4. ”Build a bold vision, then make it bigger.” -Kristian Segerstråle
5. Finland will be a global technology and startup hub ..by 2020.
6. More startups. More startup competence. More entrepreneurs. More opportunities.
7. People. Culture. Attitudes.
8. People. Culture. These are what we invest in. Attitudes. Around 50 events a year.
9. Larger, (inter)national campaigns for societal impact.
10. People. San Francisco Silicon Valley Israel Berlin Travel & Networking
11. Programs.
12. People. Culture. These are what we invest in. Attitudes.
13. Idea-stage teams creating lifelong know-how.
14. Riga Vilnius Warsaw Moscow St. Petersburg Kazan Yekaterinburg Novosibirsk Tallinn Turku Oulu Tampere Lappeenranta Stockholm NORTH-EASTERN EUROPE TOTAL OF 150 MILLION PEOPLE
15. Startup Sauna runs 2 batches a year through an intensive 7 week coaching program. Seed stage teams are gathered through a warmup tour around cities in Northern Europe and Russia, winners of the local coaching events are brought to Helsinki to the Aalto Venture Garage, our co-working space. Click for video.
16. People. Culture. These are what we invest in. Attitudes. Our most important asset is our network of ~40 serial entrepreneurs, professionals and investors, who work pro bono, paying-it-forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs.
17. http://slush.fi
18. Success factors Open culture Voluntarism & Pro Bono Freedom
19. Returning to today’s theme.. ”Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” - P. Drucker
21. ”You can’t connect the dots going forward.” - Steve Jobs
22. What Aaltoes is today, no one could have predicted in 2009. It’s the result of great people eager to learn, a good culture, serendipity, a rapidly iterative process and ultimately: the coming together of a community.
23. $350m private investment into developing downtown Las Vegas
24. ”Instead of maximising short term ROI, we focus on maximising long term ROC, Return on Community.” ”Culture is to a company as community is to a city.”
26. Two very different outsets: one totally bottom up, no money up front. one with lots of money, but no restrictions on how to utilise it AND focusing on a holistic approach.
27. This type of approach/impact is very difficult to measure and quantify to say the least. So my question to you is: How can the EU facilitate private initiatives that work on the grassroots level but have potential for a magnified societal impact?
28. Thank you. nippe@aaltoes.com @_nippe