Boost is kick-ass!!!
2/15/11
Pitching your team to South Korea
I'm currently sitting in the backrow of Merca square @ Turku School of Economics. I feel the vibe--the entrepreneurial vibe. At least 6 teams are about to pitch their business ideas with 4 slides in 4 minutes. Exciting!
1/21/11
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Greetings from Washington D.C.
The latest global report was published yesterday. Interestingly, among other issues it shows how the recession has affected entrepreneurial behavior across countries. This is shown basically in the change of the ratio between necessity and opportunity-based entrepreneurship. Necessity has risen in some countries, like Ireland.
As a positive note the GEM report tells us that "today, 250 million people between 18-64 years old are actively engaged in starting or running new businesses in 59 economies...". Nice. Report also shows that "63 million of these early-stage entrepreneurs expect to hire at least five employees over the next five years. 27 million anticipate hiring twenty or more people in newly created jobs." These are the important entrepreneurial individuals who actually contribute to the economic growth (or development depending on the phase of the economy). Unfortunately, there is continuous lack of them in Finland.
How to change the current state of affairs?
Get your GEM Global Report 2011 here.
The latest global report was published yesterday. Interestingly, among other issues it shows how the recession has affected entrepreneurial behavior across countries. This is shown basically in the change of the ratio between necessity and opportunity-based entrepreneurship. Necessity has risen in some countries, like Ireland.
As a positive note the GEM report tells us that "today, 250 million people between 18-64 years old are actively engaged in starting or running new businesses in 59 economies...". Nice. Report also shows that "63 million of these early-stage entrepreneurs expect to hire at least five employees over the next five years. 27 million anticipate hiring twenty or more people in newly created jobs." These are the important entrepreneurial individuals who actually contribute to the economic growth (or development depending on the phase of the economy). Unfortunately, there is continuous lack of them in Finland.
How to change the current state of affairs?
Get your GEM Global Report 2011 here.
12/17/10
Boost Turku is kicking ass
Happy happy joy joy!
Finnish university students have entrepreneurial intentions after all! That's great news! During the past two years we have witnessed a wide wave of entrepreneurship societies (generated by students themselves). My personal favorite is (of course) BoostTurku, but you may find an ES other cities, too. At last there are a legitimate venues for pursuing entrepreneurial thoughts, pitching your business ideas and get together with similar minded individuals from different majors - by entrepreneurial students for entrepreneurial students. That is just brilliant! I bet that nothing like this would have happened via goverment interventions which makes this current stream of entrepreneurial attitude even more awesome.
Guys and girls... you kick ass!
Finnish university students have entrepreneurial intentions after all! That's great news! During the past two years we have witnessed a wide wave of entrepreneurship societies (generated by students themselves). My personal favorite is (of course) BoostTurku, but you may find an ES other cities, too. At last there are a legitimate venues for pursuing entrepreneurial thoughts, pitching your business ideas and get together with similar minded individuals from different majors - by entrepreneurial students for entrepreneurial students. That is just brilliant! I bet that nothing like this would have happened via goverment interventions which makes this current stream of entrepreneurial attitude even more awesome.
Guys and girls... you kick ass!
12/14/10
Divergent thinking, creativity and best schools in the world
According to the latest PISA assessment, Finland has still the third best education system in the world. That's just awesome. On the other hand is it?
At the same time the education is seen as a silent killer of divergent thinking. Does the presence of this appreciated institutional organization actually hinder the essential substance for creativity and entrepreneurship??? Maybe, but in reality the story is not this simple, since public education still generates a population with necessary abilities to read, write and calculate. They also seem pretty helpful...
12/12/10
12/10/10
12/8/10
Finnish entrepreneurs still say no to growth
Global Entrepreneur Monitor's results have said the same thing for years. Professor Autio from Imperial College emphasized it again last fall (report here).
Now Finnish entrepreneurs themselves say it aloud. This fall the Finnish Federation for Finnish Entrepreneurs published a report based on a survey on self-employed individuals. With 1.300 opinions and 20% response rate the FFF concludes that 60% of self-employed entrepreneurs see no motivation for employing anyone else. Reason for this is simply their mundane-type-of-businesses:
"...The biggest reason for not to employ anyone else in their firms is that there is not job for more than one person..." This is then followed the usual epistle comprising too high employment costs and the lack of needs for growing their businesses.
What is wrong in this picture? The institutional forces have for years tried to open up venues for growth (e.g. offering financial support for employing new personnel). At the same time some other organizations cry out loud that business successions are in the blind alley simply because of Finnish taxation laws give businesses so hard time. Are you sure? Could it be so that some of the Finnish entrepreneurs are simply running (mundane) ventures that provide what they need and nothing more. Accordingly, it is okay to blame it on institutions if you don't see the forest from the trees, right? Or should we limit our mindset so that growth-oriented behavior is better left only for the best and the brightest?
Maybe/maybe not. I see that all eyes should be on the next generation of entrepreneurs.... Go for it Entrepreneurship Societies...
Now Finnish entrepreneurs themselves say it aloud. This fall the Finnish Federation for Finnish Entrepreneurs published a report based on a survey on self-employed individuals. With 1.300 opinions and 20% response rate the FFF concludes that 60% of self-employed entrepreneurs see no motivation for employing anyone else. Reason for this is simply their mundane-type-of-businesses:
"...The biggest reason for not to employ anyone else in their firms is that there is not job for more than one person..." This is then followed the usual epistle comprising too high employment costs and the lack of needs for growing their businesses.
What is wrong in this picture? The institutional forces have for years tried to open up venues for growth (e.g. offering financial support for employing new personnel). At the same time some other organizations cry out loud that business successions are in the blind alley simply because of Finnish taxation laws give businesses so hard time. Are you sure? Could it be so that some of the Finnish entrepreneurs are simply running (mundane) ventures that provide what they need and nothing more. Accordingly, it is okay to blame it on institutions if you don't see the forest from the trees, right? Or should we limit our mindset so that growth-oriented behavior is better left only for the best and the brightest?
Maybe/maybe not. I see that all eyes should be on the next generation of entrepreneurs.... Go for it Entrepreneurship Societies...
Reshaping the blog
This blog will go through a renewal. More on entrepreneurship in Finland will follow.
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