On 18–20 November, more than twenty companies participating in the Skolkovo project (www.sk.ru), the largest innovation project in Russia, were on their first business mission to Finland
The business delegation visited Salo, one of the main agglomerations in south-west Finland, the Nokia native town. To achieve maximum business results, a Russian-Finnish innovation forum was organised for the visitors. It was attended by Antti Rantakokko, the Mayor of the town; Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nokia, the largest Finnish company; the business angels*, leading entrepreneurs and start-ups** of the region.
The Skolkovo companies had a meeting with Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Nokia, which was specially organised for them. Risto Siilasmaa spoke of the primary goals of the company, including introduction of the best displays (according to all measurable criteria), work on display, and navigation with augmented reality – all those areas in which the company strives to be the leader in the global market. During a warm, open discussion with Siilasmaa, some of the Skolkovo companies introduced themselves, discussed business opportunities, and received immediate feedback from one of Nokia key officials.
In the feedback on their visit, Russian guests were grateful for the warm atmosphere, business spirit and specific focus, contacts with small- and medium-sized technology businesses, an exremely high level of organisation, the right place for the visit, and many other components of a successful business mission. As noted by one of the participants, most of all he enjoyed "talking to professionals in their field, the professionalism of the organisers and host party both in terms of the business and cultural program, the ability to foster a creative atmosphere and drive, as well as the opportunity to meet partners".
Anna Nikina, head of the development of international programs, Technopark Skolkovo, and organiser of the visit, observed at the press conference: "The aim of this visit is a mutually fruitful international cooperation between Russian and Finnish companies. Individual talks have been held with partners who were selected beforehand according to the criteria submitted by the participants. Local innovation enterprises were visited, and a lot of opportunities were created for business meetings in a formal and informal environment. Today, the initiated interaction has already been secured by a cooperation agreement between Technopark Skolkovo and Yrityssаlо. In my view, this is an ideal situation when formal arrangements are being transferred into actions, and it will not be too long before specific steps are made for the implementation of this agreement".
A part of the delegation set off from Salo to Helsinki and attended a major business event, Slush. On 22 November, the event took place in the Finnish capital that gathered representatives of the Skolkovo companies, Finnish business angels, serial entrepreneurs*** and start-ups. The leading co-organisers of the event were Veyo Hyutti, a Finnish business angel and serial entrepreneur; and Anna Nikina, the head of the development of international programs, Technopark Skolkovo. At the event, each of the Skolkovo companies had an opportunity to introduce itself and deliver a brief pitch presentation**** summarising the essence of the innovative project. The Finnish investors and business angels also introduced themselves to the attendees, which is unique, because, as Kheli Nelimarkka, one of the leading business angels of Finland, explained, "business angels, as a rule, never go onto the stage to introduce themselves". Anna Nikina commented: "The development of the business community with the participation of Russian start-ups and their integration in the international environment is an ambitious goal, and it consists of small but specific steps, such as our today's event, which presents an opportunity to meet, interact, introduce yourself and promote the project, and find the key cooperation points."
* A business angel is a private investor providing funds for innovative projects (start-ups) at the stage of setting up an enterprise in exchange for convertible debt and ownership equity (usually it is a blocking package, not a controlling one)."Angels", as a rule, invest their own funds unlike venture capitalists who manage the money of others pooled in venture capital funds. A small but growing number of business angels form a network or groups in order to jointly look for investees and pool their capital.
** A start up is a company with a short history of operational activities. As a rule, these are newly created companies that are at the stage of development or studying promising markets.
*** The essence of serial entrepreneurship is in the search for business models, which, as a rule, are associated with the Internet and new technologies, and, if successful, can be scaled up. This means that they can be scaled up within a short period of time.
**** Pitch presentation is a summary of the concept of a product, project or service. The term reflects the idea of limited time – the presentation should be short enough to be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride – that is, about thirty seconds or 100–150 words.
Translated from an interview published in Spektr Magazine (12/10/2012).
Original text available here