Emmy Clothing Company ranked among the top ten in Finland’s largest growth entrepreneurship program. The multi-stage process provided valuable presentation experience, insights, and a place in the Nordea Growth program.
Kasvu Open is a nationwide coaching program that accelerates the growth of ambitious and capable small and medium-sized enterprises on their growth journey. The growth plans of participating companies are developed together with Finland’s business community and top experts from various fields. In addition to being a coaching program, Kasvu Open is also a competition where companies’ growth potential is evaluated, and only the most promising move on to the next stage.
In the 2017 season, 839 companies from across Finland applied to the Kasvu Open program, submitting nearly 1,300 growth plans. Emmy applied and was accepted through the circular economy growth path, made it to the national stage, and from there to the top one hundred, and finally among the ten most promising growth companies in Finland.
Emmy was represented throughout Kasvu Open by Emmy’s founder and COO Hanna Autio and CEO Juha Mattsson.
The Kasvu Open Carnival also included networking. Hanna Autio answered questions from interested visitors at Emmy’s stand. Photo: Juha Mattsson
In tough company, among the top ten
The 2017 Kasvu Open season culminated in the Kasvu Open Carnival held at Jyväskylä Paviljonki on October 25–26. On the first day of the event, the focus was on refining the future plans and networking of the one hundred companies that made it to the final stage. At the end of the day, the jury selected the ten most interesting companies from the hundred to advance to the final.In the final, called the Bear’s Den, the top ten companies each took the stage in turn to pitch and present their business idea to the jury. After the two-minute “elevator pitch,” the company representative faced a round of questions from the jury.
In the final among the top ten, Emmy’s Juha Mattsson had the opportunity to explain Emmy’s logistical challenges to the judges. In the photo, the judges from left: Jaakko Salminen, Titta Mantila, and Juho Risku, with host Nina Rautiainen. Photo: Hanna Autio
After a tough final push, the winner of the Startup category was BroadBit Batteries from Helsinki, and the winner of the Start again category for established companies was Volter Oy from Kempele. Honorable mentions were awarded to Snowek Oy from Kuopio in the Start again category and Neuro Event Labs from Tampere in the Startup category.
Gained great ideas and a place in the Nordea Growth program
According to Autio, Kasvu Open was an all-around great experience. She notes that the “Kiitorata” days were more hectic than she expected, but also the most rewarding.“In the midst of everyday busyness, you rarely have time to stop and reflect on and evaluate the company’s operations. Now there was time for that, with professional support.”
At the pitching events, representatives of participating companies got to practice presenting and crystallizing their business idea and growth strategy.
“It was challenging to condense Emmy’s entire concept into a few minutes so that even someone who had never heard of us would understand.”
Mattsson also felt that the best part of Kasvu Open was the sparring sessions, where their own vision was examined together with industry professionals, the “mylläris.”
“At best, a well-posed question can spark a chain of thought and an insight.”
Although the Kasvu Open journey has come to an end, Emmy’s coaching continues. Kasvu Open’s main partner Nordea rewards the ten finalists with the Nordea Growth program. Participating companies receive the support of a three-person advisory group, the Growth Board, tailored to their specific needs. The advisors support the company for a year, helping to improve its growth and financing capabilities.
Sources + read more:
Emmy’s Kasvu Open presentation page
Here are the hundred most growth-hungry companies from across Finland
The top ten Kasvu Open companies have been selected
A Nordea and Kasvun Roihu advisory group for a year for 10 Kasvu Open finalists