14 Stories About Dauntless Finnish Startups in Silicon Valley
If the founder of a company gives up, there's no future for the company. That's the basic lesson behind the Finnish book "Lannistumattomat", which loosely translates as "The Dauntless". It's a collection of 14 Finnish startup entrepreneurs' personal stories about their life in Silicon Valley.
The book is written by Finnish Hanna Artman and Liisa Jokinen. Hanna Artman is teaching at the City College of San Francisco and works with strategic communication projects. Liisa Jokinen is the person behind the popular street style blogs, Hel Looks and SF Looks. She works also with a lot of freelance writings and photograph projects.
What inspired you to write a book about entrepreneurs' life in Silicon Valley?
Hanna: Actually our first plan was to write a travel book, but we noticed quite quickly that travel books don’t sell very well in Finland nowadays. We started to think of a new topic to write about, and entrepreneurs' life in Silicon Valley felt like a natural and generally interesting topic.
Liisa: Finnish entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley always need to answer the same questions about how to succeed, how to get funding and how to find contacts here. Our purpose was to collect all these frequently asked questions in one book, so that everyone can find answers in the same place easily. There isn't just one answer for most of the questions, so we wanted to let the stories speak for themselves. That's why the book is written in an interview style.
Based on your book, how is the Finnish entrepreneurs' life in Silicon Valley?
Hanna: It depends on the person. Generally said, startup entrepreneurs need to work a lot and act in different roles. After the startup exit, many entrepreneurs seem to continue to work as investors or as serial entrepreneurs with new startups rather than retiring.
Liisa: One character that every Finn shares in Silicon Valley, is the passion towards the work they are doing. There is also a really close community among Finnish entrepreneurs.
Based on your book, how do Finnish entrepreneurs fit in the Silicon Valley ecosystem and what characters Finns need to succeed?
Hanna: Finns fit here very well! There aren't any reasons why they wouldn't. To succeed in Silicon Valley you need the same things as succeeding in any other place: right knowhow, good attitude towards working and learning and good colleagues, good listening and self-expression skills and so on. There's also an advantage if you are not afraid or shamed to think big.
Liisa: Finns fit in Silicon Valley perfectly. We have advanced technological knowhow, strong working culture and enough craziness and Finnish sisu. People, who are eager enough to constantly learn new things, succeed in Silicon Valley. In that sense, you need to have an open mind. People, who are ready to try new paths and challenge everything that exists, succeed. People, who are surrounded by a network that is willing to help in any situation, succeed. It's also essential to ask help from time to time.
What did you learn about entrepreneur culture during the interviews for the book?
Hanna: I learnt many new small things in every interview we made. Personally, for me the most rewarding part was to hear people’s personal feelings. For example, what's the feeling after a product launch, when you have worked so ambitiously for a really long time for it. It's also always interesting to see the speed of the development. In Silicon Valley, the tempo is really fast. All in all, the book is not meant to give absolute truths about entrepreneurship for anyone, since every story is different.
Liisa: I learnt that the company won't succeed if the owners give up. I also learnt that recruiting is a very critical issue. The mistakes in recruitments can be really expensive and can even mean the end for the company. The implementation is key with a new idea. It's also important to come up with a new idea as soon as possible to ensure enough time to test it with end users and customers.
Who do you hope would to read your book and what is the target audience?
Hanna: I think the book is for everyone. It includes topics that can strengthen the world view of all of us. Startups are changing the world we live in, they are solving the world' biggest problems, such as climate change, deadly diseases, energy resources and clear air etc. In this perspective, we should all be interested in startups' life and entrepreneurs.
Liisa: I believe that the book can inspire everyone, not just people who are already interested in entrepreneurship and Silicon Valley. There is a possibility to implement the interviewees' experiences in a variety of fields. I hope that everyone who is interested in the world of "the dauntless" would read the book.
The book was published in October, 2016. The book is currently available only in Finnish.
The book can be found in many book stores, for example Booky.fi.