Category: Article

Envire is on a mission to create a more sustainable event scene

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to the “Founder Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase different startup founders who were taking part in Red Brick Accelerator. Hope you enjoy reading them!

We’ve all attended events, some more than others. The question of sustainability becomes a more frequent worry in the heads of participants.

How much waste is being generated? Are the materials used eco-friendly? What happens to all the leftover food and decorations once the event is over? Could this event have been organized in a way that reduces its environmental impact?

These are the kinds of questions Johanna Behm seeks to answer through her work at Envire.

Building a startup with purpose

Johanna Behm’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. Born in Finland and later moving to Silicon Valley, Johanna studied finance and accounting in Finland, moved to Sweden for her Master’s and ended up in the global event industry. Johanna lived and worked in three countries before moving to the US in 2019, managed demand generation and put together a large volume of events (33/yr in peak years) at Fortune 500, $200M Blackstone-backed scale up/high growth company, and startups. 

In the Nordics, Johanna noticed that we are taught to operate sustainably from a young age, and while she loved the event industry and it gave her a lot of thrill, a six-figure income and “jet set” lifestyle in 4 and 5 star hotels, Johanna couldn’t help but to notice the wasteful nature of the industry.

Johanna had a major shock and moment of self discovery after a formal study* came out confirming what we all already knew but didn’t want to face: Our industry is responsible for at least 10% share of global carbon emissions. Her time of self discovery left her with two options: either leave her career in events or do something. 

Her passion for creating a positive environmental impact led her to establish Envire, a startup focused on accelerating the global event industry’s green transition. Envire automates sustainability for the largest conference and live event venues in the world, reflecting Johanna’s unwavering dedication to a greener future.

This deep commitment has driven Johanna to dedicate her career to sustainability. She understands that solving the world’s most pressing environmental challenges requires more than just good intentions; it takes action, resilience, and smart decision-making.

Her experience as a founder has taught Johanna valuable lessons, particularly in the early stages of building a company. One of her strongest beliefs is the importance of direct customer engagement. “On day zero, pick up the phone and start talking to customers. You won’t get anywhere if you don’t engage with them,” she advises. Red Brick coaches are witnesses of her amazing customer discovery skills and doers mindset. Something you wish every startup founder to have, especially in early days.

As a non-technical female founder, she initially doubted her ability to attract the right team. “I really had this thought that I cannot attract talent,” she admits. However, she learned that success often comes when you trust the process and keep pushing forward.

“You mindfully hustle, but you don’t force things.”

Johanna’s work in sustainability is not just about personal ambition; it’s about the bigger picture. She sees a world where businesses and individuals take responsibility for the environment and make sustainable choices part of their daily operations. She has always felt a strong sense of responsibility to make a difference.

“I was put in a position where I can make an impact,” she says. “It would feel like a complete waste of my life if I didn’t try.”

Johanna believes that to create meaningful change, you need a strong sense of self-belief. “You need this crazy level of self-trust, this unwavering belief that you’ll figure it out,” she says. “Even when everything around you feels unstable, you have to believe that you can get the resources you need and solve difficult problems.”

At the same time, she acknowledges the fine line between confidence and delusion. “A little bit of delusion is necessary to push through challenges, but if you reach a point where things are clearly not working, you have to be willing to pivot or change course.” Working with so many founders in Red Brick programs, we see this level of self-awareness as a characteristic that sets great founders apart.

As Johanna continues her journey, one thing is clear: she is not just talking about sustainability; she is actively working to make it a reality. With her drive, resilience, and commitment to impact, she is leading the way toward a more sustainable future, one that we all need.

*The study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27251-2

Plus Net Zero Carbon Events: https://www.netzerocarbonevents.org/

Envire is making a big difference in the sustainability space by helping events reduce their environmental impact. With the support of Red Brick Accelerator, Envire is growing its mission to make events more sustainable. Check out the programs on our website and apply now! 💚

Founders Need to Think Like Athletes

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Laurent Notin, seasoned mentor, business coach and CrossFit enthusiast, has dedicated his career to helping entrepreneurs succeed through tailored guidance and motivated support. With years of experience mentoring technical founders as well as managing his own enterprises, Laurent has been deeply invested in the growth of leaders and aiming to unlock their full potential, making him also known as “The Bottleneck Coach”.

Laurent’s career began in Southeast Asia and later brought him to Finland, where he now works with technical founders and scale-ups generating revenue and aiming to scale further. His unique athlete-approach to mentoring and coaching is what allows him to guide teams and businesses through critical growth stages. In this article, we dive deeper with Laurent on why he does it, what makes a good mentor, and founder advice.

Mentoring is not about telling others what to do according to Laurent. “The mentoring session is not about me. It’s about the founders. What do they want, what are their issues right now, how can I help them?” he says. “A mentor’s role is not to dictate but to understand and facilitate. If you’re acting as a mentor, understand what they are trying to solve. Ask the right questions, and it will often be sufficient for the founders to find the answers by themselves.”

In every mentoring session, Laurent’s goal is simple yet profound: to ignite the sparkles in their eyes. He finds satisfaction in knowing he’s made a meaningful impact. “When I get a founder telling me, ‘Wow, that was so great, I’m so inspired’ it’s the best reward I can get,” he says. A clear line should be drawn between mentoring and advising: mentoring requires understanding the founder’s unique challenges, while advising is about providing direct solutions based on personal expertise. “If you’re acting as an advisor – great, tell them what to do. But if you’re a mentor, follow their agenda, not yours.”

“Seeing the spark in someone’s eyes when they realize their potential—that’s the ultimate reward.”

Laurent’s approach to life and business emphasizes balance and well-being. He observes that many entrepreneurs sacrifice their health for the sake of their businesses. “Founders need to think like athletes. It’s the race of your life,” he says, advocating for physical and mental discipline, adequate rest, and a focus on personal well-being.

“What’s the point of building a business if in the end you burn out?” he asks. “The best athletes know the importance of physical and mental discipline. If you’re not at 100% physically and mentally, your company won’t be either.”

Laurent’s advice extends to the general entrepreneurial ecosystem. He believes accelerators and incubators can play an important role if they fulfill their purpose of truly accelerating a startup’s journey. He warns against programs prioritizing equity over value, urging founders and teams to choose their accelerators carefully and focus on building customer-centric businesses before seeking external funding.

Beyond his professional expertise, Laurent’s personal motto, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity,” reflects his outlook on both life and business. He is inspired by thought leaders like Jim Collins and Simon Sinek, as well as books like Trillion Dollar Coach, which provide valuable insights into leadership and coaching. An avid CrossFit enthusiast, he trains five times a week and credits the discipline with transforming his life.

Whether he’s mentoring entrepreneurs, coaching technical founders, or practicing CrossFit or Padel in his free time, Laurent brings a sense of purpose and optimism to everything he does. Known for his directness and for digging fast into the nutshell of the challenges, Red Brick founders remember Laurent’s mentoring sessions as the path to re-discover their WHY and empower their journey forward with a strong meaning.

Red Brick thanks Laurent for his heartfelt dedication to others’ success, setting him apart as a mentor and coach in the world of Red Brick startups. Laurent has been mentoring our founders since 2020, making him one of our most valued mentors. We’ll see Laurent at the next Padel tournament in Helsinki, and until then, happy new year! 💚 Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!

On Asking the Right Questions, Trust, and Flexibility in the Startup World

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Mikk Orglaan is an accomplished startup mentor and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in the tech industry. He has successfully founded, managed, and exited multiple startups and has a proven track record in advising, coaching, and guiding emerging businesses through their early years. Mikk is currently a founding partner and investor in Fstage.vc, a Venture Capital firm registered in Estonia and operating in the pan-Baltic area and Finland. 

With his expertise in entrepreneurship, business development, and a few exits of his own, Mikk has become a trusted mentor for many founders, including ours at Red Brick programs. Having a mentor who understands the challenges of entrepreneurship can make a significant difference. Mikk’s understanding of entrepreneurs’ challenges allows him to actively support founders seeking to turn their ideas into successful ventures.

Mikk has extensive experience as an advisor, coach, and mentor, it has equipped him with the skills to adapt his approach based on the individual needs of each entrepreneur. Every startup is different. This flexibility allows Mikk to meet his mentees where they are, whether they need guidance with concrete topics or simply practice sharing their ideas.

Mikk believes that effective mentoring goes beyond simply providing answers; it’s about facilitating the growth of entrepreneurs by helping them discover their own solutions. By asking the right questions, Mikk helps entrepreneurs explore different perspectives, leading them to solutions that they might not have considered otherwise.

“A good mentor is someone who supports growth and asks good questions at the right time.”

This approach emphasizes the importance of not just imparting knowledge but encouraging founders to think critically about their challenges. 

Mikk shares a story about a founder who came to him while struggling with an important decision regarding their business model. Mikk realized this founder thrived on independent thinking and creative problem-solving. Instead of delving into technical details, Mikk focused their sessions on strategic thinking and market positioning, which proved to be immensely beneficial for the startup’s growth. Mikk also asked a series of questions about the core values of the startup and the needs of their target market. This guided the founder to reflect deeply on their vision and ultimately led to a breakthrough in their business strategy.

Creating a safe space for open dialogue is a cornerstone of Mikk’s mentoring strategy. He emphasizes the importance of establishing “a circle of trust” where founders feel comfortable to learn without fear of judgment. Mikk believes that the context behind a question often reveals more than the question itself, allowing him to provide insights that are directly relevant to the founder’s specific situation.

Mikk places a high value on the lessons that come from mistakes, both his own and those of the startups he mentors. He shares, “You cannot ask all the questions; you cannot answer all the questions… a good mentor doesn’t rush things.” This shows the importance of patience in the mentoring process. Mikk encourages his mentees to reflect on their setbacks and use them as opportunities for growth.

For example, he often recounts his early days as an entrepreneur when he made several missteps in managing cash flow. Instead of hiding those experiences, he uses them as teaching moments, illustrating how mistakes can lead to valuable insights. He encourages his mentees to adopt a similar mindset:

“It’s okay to fail. What’s important is what you learn from it.”

Mikk’s insights extend to the significance of team dynamics within startups. He notes that “highly competent, highly pragmatic achievers” can sometimes struggle to collaborate effectively. Recognizing this, Mikk is currently exploring how to better assess team dynamics through innovative tools and software. He understands that the relationships among team members can heavily influence a startup’s success.

In one mentoring session, Mikk facilitated a discussion among a startup team that was experiencing conflict. By guiding them to express their perspectives and concerns openly, he helped them identify the root causes of their disagreements. This led to a renewed sense of collaboration and understanding, increasing the team’s effectiveness.

Mikk’s commitment to mentoring Red Brick teams, among many others, is evident and has been active for a few years now. Straightforwardness, asking direct questions, building trust, and encouraging founders to learn from failures are some of the qualities he has as a startup mentor.

As he puts it, “What I consider my responsibility as a mentor is to keep founders off ending up in potholes I have been to. Yet that requires awareness of the context they might not have yet. Sometimes it requires them to share details to build the context, and by doing that we realize in a process what’s actually there to think of.

What I always do while mentoring – is to understand if it makes sense, to all the participants in this business model. How the value is distributed and why would all parties be happy about it. Concept of ICP/ICA is too often yet unknown, together with powerful tools like positioning we usually end up discovering additional or even better income streams. 

Annoyingly, founders are often so fond of the idea that they forget that it’s a business. Some claim they are not great at math. Sorry folks, it’s about math from the concept. Validate if it meets ends and returns profits, because it delivers very specific value.”

The bottom line here is that Mikk is a great advisor for helping founders and entrepreneurs confidently tackle the challenges of building scalable businesses. Whether he’s challenging the status quo, pushing founders to build stronger teams, encouraging personal growth, or just being a reliable sounding board, Mikk is the kind of mentor we are delighted to have in the Red Brick network.

Red Brick is thankful for experienced and skilled mentors such as Mikk, who is instrumental in coaching and mentoring our early-stage startup teams. We thank Mikk for his expertise and commitment in helping our teams grow and succeed. 💚Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!

Strategy, Storytelling, and Support: Yuliya’s Recipe for Startup Success

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Yuliya Salorenko is a B2B marketer by day and a public speaker by night. Currently she is a senior B2B marketing consultant at The F Company, helping large Finnish and Swedish corporations build and execute their marketing strategy. In addition, Yuliya is a TEDx speaker, and runs a side business in startup coaching, facilitation, workshops on personal branding, LinkedIn and public speaking.

The ability to see the bigger picture and connect with others allows Yuliya to help startups develop strong, effective marketing strategies. This perspective has enabled her to create and coach marketing strategies that are authentic and impactful in her workplace and in the startup world and beyond. Her ability to break down complex marketing concepts into simple, actionable steps has made her a sought-after speaker and educator. We sat down with Yuliya to discuss startup marketing, mentoring, coaching, and everything in between.

Yuliya’s interest in marketing began early in her career when she discovered that marketing is all about understanding people and building relationships.This skill has been a cornerstone of her success as a mentor and marketer. “I’ve always had a knack for understanding people and what drives them,” Yuliya shares, reflecting on her journey. She quickly recognized that many startup founders struggle with marketing and business strategy, most often because they are so focused on developing their products or services that they overlook the importance of reaching their target audience effectively. Marketing is not just about promoting a product, but about telling a story that resonates with people.

“Marketing is about understanding your audience and connecting with them in a way that speaks to their needs and desires, problems, and pains,” Yuliya explains. 

One of Yuliya’s key philosophies is that every business is unique and requires a personalized approach to strategy. She believes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to marketing and business growth. “There’s no cookie-cutter approach to success,” Yuliya emphasizes. “Every startup has its own challenges, goals, and target audience, so it’s crucial to tailor the strategy to fit those specific needs. However, it’s crucial to remember that Strategy and Structures remain, Tactics and Tools change.”

Yuliya’s approach to mentoring involves taking the time to listen to the founders she works with, understanding their vision, and identifying the unique challenges they face. She recalls working with a tech startup that was struggling to communicate the value of its complex product to customers. By breaking down the product’s features into simple, relatable benefits, Yuliya helped refine its messaging, which led to a significant increase in customer engagement and sales. 

“Focus on the Why (product value props), rather than the How (product features)”

Another example is a wellness startup that Yuliya worked with. The founders were passionate about their product but were having trouble standing out in a crowded market. Yuliya worked closely with them to develop a brand story that highlighted their unique approach to wellness, focusing on the founders’ personal journey and the values behind the brand. The result was a strong brand identity that set the startup apart from its competitors.

The Importance of Balance

Beyond her marketing expertise, Yuliya is also a skilled coach who understands the pressures of starting and running a business. She uses her coaching skills to help founders stay focused, motivated, and resilient. “Being a founder is tough,” Yuliya acknowledges. “There are so many ups and downs, many hats a founder needs to wear, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s why I emphasize the importance of self-care and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.”

She often reminds founders that the success of a startup is closely tied to their own well-being. “You can’t pour from an empty cup, you need healthy founders to build healthy companies ” she says, highlighting the importance of founders taking care of themselves in order to effectively lead their businesses. She coaches founders on time management, stress reduction, and the importance of setting realistic goals. By helping them maintain balance, Yuliya advises that they are in the best possible position to lead their startups to success.

In her workshops familiar to every founder participating in Red Brick programs, Yuliya often discusses the importance of understanding your customers and creating value for them. 

“It’s not just about selling a product,” she explains. “It’s about creating something that genuinely improves the lives of your customers.” 

The customer-centric approach is a recurring theme in Yuliya’s work, something she encourages all founders to adopt in their pitching, marketing and product development. Many of the founders speak highly of her ability to inspire and empower them. 

Better Forward Than Perfect

Looking to the future, Yuliya wants to remain committed to helping startups grow and succeed. She is constantly learning and adapting to new trends, ensuring she stays at the forefront of her field. “The world is changing fast, especially in the startup space,” Yuliya notes. “Founders need to stay ahead of the curve if they want to succeed.”

Her dedication to continuous improvement mirrors the advice she gives to her clients: to never stop learning and improving. Whether it’s exploring new marketing technologies, studying emerging consumer trends, or refining her coaching techniques, Yuliya looks for ways to enhance her skills and provide even more value to the founders and entrepreneurs she works with.

In essence, Yuliya is a mentor, marketer, and coach who combines deep expertise with genuine care for the people she works with. Her ability to guide founders through the challenges of starting and growing a business has made her an invaluable resource in the startup community. Through her work, Yuliya continues to inspire and empower the next generation of startup teams, helping them turn their visions into reality.

Yuliya’s journey is a testament to the power of understanding, empathy, and tailored strategies in achieving business success. As she continues to mentor and coach, there is no doubt that Yuliya will remain a driving force in the startup world, helping countless more founders navigate their way to success.

Red Brick is thankful for professional and experienced mentors such as Yuliya, who is instrumental in coaching and mentoring our early-stage startup teams. We thank Yuliya for her insight and for helping our teams grow and succeed. 💚Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!

Insights from a Seasoned Entrepreneur Turned into a Startup Investor: Tuomas Pahlman’s Journey

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Tuomas Pahlman began his entrepreneurial journey in the early 2000s when he took charge of his first company. With his engineering background, he had noticed a gap in the market for affordable, high-precision sensors. This observation drove him to create a solution himself, and to spearhead his tech firm, scale it to a successful big data analytics company and end with an exit. 

After not one but two successful exits, Tuomas decided to jump into investor shoes and joined the Finnish Business Angel Investor Network (FIBAN). He is focused on investing, screening, and mentoring startups. He is a very active mentor of the Red Brick network. His newest venture Höpöhöpö is a platform helping startups optimize their fundraising and investor reach outs globally. The platform has been one of the fundamental tools for Red Brick startups in our accelerator programs. 

In this article, Tuomas sits with Red Brick and shares some milestones of his journey, transitioning from Founder to Investor throughout the years, and the lessons learned along the way.

Remembering the beginnings – early days were challenging. Raising capital was difficult, and convincing investors to believe in the company’s vision was a significant challenge, in addition to building a reliable team and managing product development. However, Tuomas’s persistence paid off: he kept refining his pitch and networking until he found the right investors and product-market fit. 

When it came to team building, he prioritized hiring individuals who were not only skilled but also shared the vision. For first-time founders, Tuomas emphasizes the importance of deeply understanding the problem they aim to solve. Building a strong, versatile team is crucial. Startup entrepreneurs must be prepared for a long, challenging journey as the success rarely comes overnight.

The composition of the founding team is vital. Ideally, there should be a mix of expertise—someone strong in technology, someone with business acumen, and someone who understands the market. Each team member should bring something unique to the table. Tuomas notes that expanding the team can be challenging. Hiring one additional member is manageable, but bringing on five new people is a different story. It’s essential to ensure that each new hire fits well with the existing team and possesses the necessary skills. Both of those aspects are so important. The expansion increases the amount of work, particularly in onboarding and integration.

In his experience, teams that perform well usually consist of individuals who have done it before. Domain expertise is valuable. Understanding the market is crucial.

“If you’ve never played ice hockey, it’s unlikely you’ll make it to the NHL.”

The same principle applies to entrepreneurship. If you don’t know the domain, you must be willing to learn it thoroughly. Tuomas himself faced this challenge as a founder, having to learn not only the domain but also sales, marketing, and product development. 

Balancing the need for both business and engineering expertise in a team is essential. Then there needs to be a balance between planning and doing. A team with only business minds might struggle to deliver a product, while a team of only engineers might struggle to sell it. Tuomas emphasizes that both skills are necessary for success. If you’re not with the customer, how can you solve their problem?

Early on, founders need to do many generalist tasks. As the company grows, deeper expertise becomes more important. Willingness to step out of their comfort zones, adapt and do what’s necessary at different stages of the company’s growth separate good founders from great ones. “If you’re a specialist and you’re not willing to do the generalist stuff, it’s going to be hard,” Tuomas says, highlighting the need for flexibility in startup roles.

In his role as investor-mentor, Tuomas believes in the responsibility of providing sound advice, and in due diligence. A mentor needs to be aware of their limits and ensure that their guidance is based on real experience. He prefers long-term mentorship relationships where he can have a meaningful impact rather than one-off meetings. With 40 portfolio companies, his bandwidth is limited, so he focuses on where he can add the most value.

“Founders will learn more by testing, learning from mistakes, and hurting. And that’s kind of the whole experience part, just test it out. So keep testing, and then you’re surprised what will work out.”

Tuomas adds, “I think investing and mentoring are also areas where you learn so much. I have also been learning in the past four or five years much more than building my own company.”

Tuomas is driven by curiosity. He loves learning about new ideas and ways of building companies. Each company is unique, one learns a lot from seeing different approaches to going about the problems they are solving. He tries to focus on where he can be involved in a much longer term startup-relationship. It’s incredibly rewarding for him to watch startups grow and be part of their journey. 

Despite the inevitable challenges along the way, Tuomas finds great satisfaction in helping others succeed and in continually learning from his experiences. In the local ecosystem in Tampere, his name is strongly associated with giving back to the startup community, supporting new (and old)  founders through guidance, feedback, and resourceful fundraising workshops/sessions. Not much left but to extend a warm thank you to Tuomas on behalf of Red Brick for being so selfless and active! 

Red Brick is thankful for experienced and well-rounded mentors such as Tuomas, who play an important role in the shaping of our early-stage startup teams. We thank Tuomas for his advice and insight in helping our teams grow and succeed. 💚Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!

Enabling safe and affordable gluten detection

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to the “Founder Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase different startup founders who were taking part in Red Brick Accelerator. Hope you enjoy reading them!

This story features Innosensus’s founder, Prakseda Mineikiene. Innosensus started in December 2021 with a goal to make life easier for people who need to avoid gluten. This interview with Prakseda tells us how Innosensus began, what they want to do, and why it’s important.

Prakseda is a determined and passionate founder with a background in marketing and a strong drive to make a positive impact, with over a decade of experience in marketing roles across various industries. 

Her journey into entrepreneurship began during her maternity leave, where she seized the opportunity to embark on a new venture aimed at addressing a pressing need in society. Through her leadership and vision, Prakseda is committed to building solutions that improve the lives of others, particularly those with gluten allergies. 

Emilie: Can you tell us how you got the idea for Innosensus?

Prakseda: Innosensus began when a student asked me for help. His dad had a problem with gluten, so we wanted to find a way to help people like him. We wanted to make it easier to know if their food has gluten. The idea was to help people with gluten problems feel safer when they eat out. Have a tool to check, quickly and cheaply, if their food is safe to eat.

We realized the need for a gluten indicator after hearing about the struggles of those with celiac disease. Studies showed that up to 50% of patients with celiac disease accidentally consumed gluten, highlighting a significant problem.

We are creating the first gluten biosensor detection using electrochemical technology. The main goal is to quickly detect gluten in food to prevent unpleasant symptoms for those with gluten intolerance or celiac disease. This will allow people to eat out with confidence, whether it’s in restaurants, schools, or hospitals.

Emilie: How did you build your team? And in your opinion, what makes a team successful?

Prakseda: Networking is key. Success often comes through people, both inside and outside the team. It’s essential to have professionals who are motivated and share information openly. If people are motivated, they find the money, they find the answers about the technology, who you need to hire, and what you need to do next.

Emilie: Talking about motivation, what helps you stay motivated?

Prakseda: For me, it’s other startups and co-founders. I’m trying every week, or at least every other week, to meet other startups who are developing their own products. Hearing their stories and sharing ideas gives me hope. Also, knowing we’re helping people keeps me motivated.

Emilie: What challenges has Inosensus faced on the startup journey so far?

Prakseda: One of the biggest challenges has been developing the technology of the product in the biotech field. From securing financing and finding the right team, every step has presented its own set of new challenges. The long research and development process has also tested our patience, but we are focused on delivering a reliable and science-backed gluten sensor. We keep going because we believe in what we’re doing.

Emilie: How do accelerator programs like Red Brick help your journey?

Prakseda: Accelerators like Red Brick have been great for us. They connect us with mentors who give us advice. Also, we meet other startups and learn from them. These programs help us grow and make our dreams real. In Red Brick, I was very inspired by master mind group sessions with mentor Laurent Notin, and experimentation session with mentor Orfeuo Lionor.

Emilie: What does Prakseda do when not building a company? Have you recently watched any series or movie that you’d like to share?

Prakseda: The last one I saw was very interesting. It’s on Netflix about Pepsi, how they created a marketing campaign. It’s called “Pepsi, where’s my jet?”.

They created a marketing campaign and they said in their ad that if people will collect a lot of the bottles, then they would win a jet. It’s always good to remember what a company communicates in their marketing, what it promises to give. The movie was very thought provoking. I think everyone should watch it.

Innosensus is making a big difference for people who can’t eat gluten. Prakseda’s hard work and dedication show us how startups can help solve important problems. Red Brick Accelerator is supporting the growth of early-stage startups, ready to make an impact with their ideas. Check out the programs from our website and apply now!💚

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Natalia Rincon is an architect and computer scientist with a truly global perspective. Natalia seamlessly blends her architectural expertise with her passion for urban planning and entrepreneurship, contributing to boards and projects that are meaningful to her. Her love for cities and people have driven her to co-found CHAOS, a startup focused on improving urban planning, where she is currently a CEO. She’s also currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Smart Cities at Aalto University. Natalia believes in giving back to society and cherishes collaboration with others, is committed to community building and helping those around her. 

With her expertise in urban planning, smart cities, data platforms, and tech, Natalia brings a unique perspective to support budding ventures in these domains. Her active engagement in various councils and organizations demonstrates her commitment to making a positive impact. Natalia takes great pleasure in mentoring Red Brick founders, leveraging her extensive background to provide guidance on fundraising, pitch deck preparation, business case development, market research and analysis. 

Natalia’s journey to start her own business has not been easy, albeit very rewarding. She began by meeting and talking to many people to share her business idea. Her journey was immediately fast tracked when someone recommended her to participate in a hackathon in Tampere, where her team won and validated their idea.

Natalia then found her co-founder, Paloma Bautista Sánchez, with whom the journey progressed as CHAOS transitioned into an incorporated company. They established a shareholder’s agreement and secured investment from angel investors that she met through Startup Sauna. Their perseverance and hard work paid off at Slush in 2017 when, with a fully developed app, they raised a successful funding round in one night, cementing the start of CHAOS’s success story.

She is one of the active mentors in Red Brick. When asked about her mentoring values, Natalia believes a good mentor listens and guides, leading by example rather than just giving answers. She values humility in mentees, as they’ll receive feedback and need to defend their ideas. “It’s important to speak up while being open to feedback, even if it’s not directly stated,” she says. “Investors also appreciate founders who can learn and adapt.”

Natalia further added that people often focus on the product and its marketing, but she emphasizes turning ideas into successful businesses by understanding the customers and reasons they would buy, which is important. Natalia’s mentoring style includes giving help where needed and asking tough questions to challenge and improve startup ideas.

Natalia advises founders to learn how to network, build their teams, develop a strong business case, and then proceed with their venture.

“It’s crucial to know who your target customers are and understand their profiles,” she says. “To succeed, you must grasp various aspects of your business, including your customer base and go-to-market strategy. Even if you have a fantastic product idea, you’ll face questions about these topics. Focusing solely on the product won’t take you very far.”

“Teams should have this magic. Some people call it chemistry. When you are likable and charismatic, you are able to radiate energy into other people. It is nice to converse with you and build a genuine relationship, it’s not just pitching and pitching.

If you already managed to hook your audience, the next step is being super clear. State that this is my goal, this is what I want, tell the story in a very concise and clear way. It gives a strong impression that this person really knows what they’re talking about. The confidence and the clarity speak for themselves.

Accelerators help in networking, support, having a safety net, and getting creative ideas from other founders. Not everybody is a founder, some people just want to join the adventure, which is fine.

People admire someone who is passionate about something. When a person that has passion speaks, you can immediately tell they are genuine. I think that’s what we all want in the world, to find our passion. I think when you’re that kind of founder, you attract a lot of people, investors, attention, and buzz.

Lastly, you identify your go-to-market. I think this is how investors evaluate and really look at startups. When asked this question, what is your best-performing startup in your portfolio, the one you’re really proud of and the one you would always mention, investors always answer, it’s not the one making the most revenue, not one with the cool product, nor the special customers, it’s the one that has magic. Do it with passion or not at all.”

Red Brick mentors play an important role in the shaping of our early-stage startup teams. We thank Natalia for her insights and expertise in helping our teams grow and succeed. 💚Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. We hope you enjoy reading them!

It is no secret this mentor story covers one of our favorite coaches. Meet Orfeuo Lionor, the guy we are to blame for turning Red Brick founders into pirates. 

Orfeuo Lionor’s diverse background and love for coaching and education have shaped his approach to mentorship. He believes in the power of passing on knowledge and learning alongside others. His journey into the world of startups began with a passion for sales and a knack for exploring new markets. However, it was his involvement in hackathons that truly ignited his curiosity and opened up a whole new world of possibilities. In these intense 2-day events, Orfy discovered the power of rapid prototyping and the thrill of building something from scratch. He also immersed himself in London’s vibrant startup ecosystem, where networking events and “fuckup nights” provided invaluable lessons in resilience and learning from failure. 

His generalist experience covers product development, validation, and funding to mention a few. We sat down with Orfy to discuss his values, expertise, and to gain insights from his years of coaching startups.

For Orfy, it’s not just about the technology; it’s about the people behind the startups. When evaluating founders, he looks for traits such as curiosity, courage, coachability, and a data-centric mindset. He emphasizes the importance of de-risking business models and focusing on learning and experimentation.

One of the top mistakes Orfy sees startups make is building something without understanding their target market. He advocates for a “learning journey” mindset and encourages founders to validate their assumptions through experiments before investing heavily in product development. The learning part is the most important thing. The learning can be converted into something now or somewhere down the road. In this startup, or in a future startup. Another mistake is building too early – also called “MVP obsession”. People can really benefit from learning how to run experiments to validate assumptions before moving into MVP-mode.

“Know when to ask for advice, and be able to distinguish between good advice and bad advice, and know that advice is just advice; data never lies.”

Orfy’s pirate values

• Fun: it’s a serious business but it’s also a creative industry. Might as well have some fun while we’re at it (that includes a dose of self-ridicule that can be healing)
• Integrity: Acting with honesty,independent thinking, transparency, and fairness in all dealings with startups. Always giving back even if you do not get anything in return.
• Empathy: Understanding the challenges and emotions of startup founders and providing support and guidance with sensitivity.
• Collaboration: Working closely with startups thereby fostering a collaborative and supportive ecosystem. Many countries think of how to build stronger ecosystems. It’s all about the people, people willing to share things without expecting something in return. Orfy says, “Some of the most valuable lessons that I’ve gotten were from people who were willing to share strategies, shortcuts, tips, tricks, mistakes.”
• Inclusivity: promoting diversity, inclusivity in a startup ecosystem, ensuring equal opportunities for all founders. A successful ecosystem is built on diversity.
• Empowerment: empowering startups to take ownership of their journey, making informed decisions, and achieve their goals autonomously. “With coaching, you always know that there is a limit to it. But you can give people a basic outline of the theory, and they can build off of it themselves. Instead of giving them the fish, teach them how to fish with frameworks, tools, and exercises to learn how to de-risk their business model on the basis of data, to be data-centric.”

His advice for first-time founders is simple yet profound: focus on learning rather than proving yourself. Embrace each experience as an opportunity to grow and develop as an entrepreneur.

Early-stage founders should prioritize building a strong team with complementary skills. Orfy believes that finding the right co-founder is crucial and suggests attending hackathons as a great way to meet potential collaborators.

In essence, Orfy’s journey embodies the spirit of entrepreneurship—a willingness to learn, adapt, and collaborate in pursuit of building something meaningful. 

“Inspiration is in everything. Art and creativity, every day. Art is there to provoke people, and in startups that is very useful. You can be inspired by everything, there is so much inspiration everywhere. Looking at things from a different perspective, thinking out-of-the-box. Nature and environment. Philosophy and wisdom. Everything. Inspiration can come from everywhere.”

Red Brick mentors play an important role in the shaping of our early-stage startup teams. We thank Orfy for his insights and expertise in helping our teams grow and succeed. 💚Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. We hope you enjoy reading them!

Tomi Neulanen has had a diverse career starting from the early 2000s and now provides valuable advice and mentorship to entrepreneurs and clients. He wore different hats, as a developer, an analyst, designer, and a project manager. He has also dabbled in sales and worked as a customer happiness officer. Now, he’s found his groove as a consultant at Sofokus Oy, a company that specializes in creating digital solutions that deliver real value to businesses. 

His experiences in consulting and founding his own startup have given him a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the business world. Tomi was known as the “talking coder.” He says that while you can turn a coder into a salesman, the opposite isn’t as easy. With his passion for problem-solving and his dedication to helping others, Tomi continues to make a positive impact in the startup ecosystem. At Red Brick, we have been lucky to have a chance to extend his impact to startups in our programs. 

Tomi is drawn to startups because of the founders’ optimistic mindset and their determination to overcome challenges and push for a better future. He finds inspiration in their passion and motivation to solve problems. He loves interacting with people during this stage of their lives and avoids putting them into limiting boxes. To him, everyone has something valuable to offer.

He believes that a founder’s resilience and unwavering commitment to their idea are the most important qualities they can have. One piece of advice Tomi gives to early-stage founders is not to shy away from making cold calls. Although it may seem intimidating, he warns against putting it off because it can have long-term consequences. Using simple tools like Google Sheets is a good start to compile a list of leads. By reaching out to many leads, founders can convert a small percentage into actual revenue, demonstrating the value of persistence and proactive outreach.

Looking back on his own entrepreneurial journey, Tomi remembers his own previous startup founded 15 years ago. They faced significant challenges due to the tough market conditions. The idea behind his company was technically complex, similar to how Facebook targets ads or conducts questionnaires with focus groups. He approached the project, as a web developer, purely as a technical challenge, without seeking input from others, and that turned out to be a big mistake. Working alone without a team and lacking the necessary tools for running a company held him back. But Tomi now uses this experience as an example when talking to founders building similar platforms, as they face similar challenges and can learn from his insights.

Don’t build your product alone, always ask for input

That entrepreneurial experience has led him to where he is now. He understands the excitement and potential when young founders come up with innovative ideas, but he also knows the downside of making endless promises without setting clear timelines. Tomi believes founders should commit to a specific period for their projects and establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or such to evaluate their progress. This helps them decide whether to keep going or move on, avoiding wasted time, energy, and resources. He also emphasizes the importance of building a diverse and adaptable team, effectively analyzing data, and using KPIs to make objective decisions. Tomi is a proponent of piloting solutions and believes in trying to solve problems before giving up.

Understanding the entrepreneur’s mindset, finding shortcuts and clever solutions for their challenges, and finishing strong are Tomi’s compelling assets. But he knows that he can only offer meaningful advice if he truly understands the founding team and their situation. Building trust is key, and his extensive experience in technology and various projects allows him to provide clients with different options to solve their problems. His work with clients is very similar to his role as a mentor, and he genuinely enjoys being around people and helping them solve problems. “Whether it’s students trying out new things, experienced entrepreneurs venturing into new businesses, or just people looking for solutions to everyday problems,” he says, “I admire and have passion in helping them find solutions and shortcuts that would help save their time and resources.”

Being helpful, as opposed to being right, is his ultimate goal as a mentor at the end of the day. His advice to founders would be to find a trusted advisor, who is somehow detached, with a wider viewport of what they are doing as founders. Self-reflection is also important; a founder should always find the time to take care of themselves.

Red Brick mentors play an important role in the shaping of our early-stage startup teams. We thank Tomi for his insights and expertise in helping our teams grow and succeed. 💚Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!

Hey there, this is Emilie Hachem from Red Brick. Welcome to our new “Mentor Stories” series, where we celebrate and showcase our mentors who are a big part of how we support startups in Red Brick Accelerator. Hope you enjoy reading them!

Anastasiia Kozina, also known as Siia, is a strategic product designer who is passionate about creative problem-solving and using her skills to help others. Her journey in design began during her studies in Finland, where she was drawn to modern and interactive design techniques. She currently works at Nordkapp, a strategic consulting agency that supports companies going through change. Siia has experience as an entrepreneur, working in the dementia care industry as well as IT consulting.

Picture by Felipe Santana

Our journey with Siia began in 2019, when she joined Red Brick as a startup mentor. Siia believes in having an open culture and the importance of sharing knowledge and failure stories. She sees mentoring as a way to merge giving back to society and doing pro bono work with her expertise, allowing her to support teams practically to move forward.

“All the startups I have met are rooted in some kind of problem they themselves experience,” Siia says, “Seeing these teams wanting to change something so badly inspires me. I believe that this is exactly what humans should be doing, trying to actively solve their problems instead of passively watching from a distance. You meet a lot of brave people in the startup world who are ready to go out there and try something. That alone is incredibly powerful.” 

Siia is an entrepreneur herself. She co-founded Memocate, a research-powered startup with a mission to improve the quality of care for people with memory disorders and make their caregivers more confident in their abilities. Soon, they began creating multimedia materials for dementia care programs, hospitals, and municipalities. As a spin-off startup from the University of Helsinki, they’ve been learning how to grow business and create a successful team formula with board members, shareholders, and an excellent team to attract investors. They eventually found an angel investor who felt passionate about the dementia caregiving scene and helped them boost the business. However, the team kept struggling with the timelines required to close deals and discovered that EdTech solutions aren’t optimal for staying afloat through raising funds – in this field, investors tend to have specific demands to be interested in providing their support. They piloted a new idea using sensor technology to monitor patients’ communication and movements for more accurate care quality assessments performed in both public and private healthcare institutions regularly, which proved to be a totally different product with massive potential. Siia and her team had to learn to pivot the business in response to these challenges, the learnings of which she still applies in her mentoring rounds to this day.

Picture by Felipe Santana

Siia’s work with Red Brick began as a coach in UX design. She recalls thinking, “wow! There’s so much more I could do!” That is when her role transitioned from being a workshop coach to a mentor.

When asked about her first advice to early-stage founders, she says not to go on their journey in isolation. “Go out, validate, talk to people, learn more about the problem you are solving, ask for advice,” Siia adds, “be humble, accept that you don’t know everything.”

“If you’re building a startup, it’s very easy to go into a perfectionist state. Everything needs to be in tip-top shape, everything needs to be polished. That creates more work for yourself with already limited resources. Whenever I mentor startups, I ask them, ‘what is the most minimal thing you could do to get to your goal?’ whether it’s validating, selling or something else. That keeps you going and moving somewhere. Otherwise, your time is running out.”

As a mentor, Siia is on the lookout for humility as a key quality in an early-stage startup team. Siia believes that overly confident teams may not be receptive to advice and may not be open to learning. The team’s setup is also important, and having experienced entrepreneurs on the team can help steer the startup away from potential issues. Startups should define their positions and think about the smallest product they can validate and start selling shortly. She also points out that momentum is a very important factor to consider, as market expectations and challenges are changing. Doing research and meeting with other companies in the same space can help founders make informed decisions about the direction of their vision.

Siia shares the importance of engagement strategies for startups. “I noticed that many startups focus solely on acquiring customers without thinking about how to keep them engaged over the long term. Startups should have a plan for how to continuously engage customers, otherwise it can be a waste”. Siia also stresses the importance of team building for startups. Founders need to be critical when hiring new team members and should be honest with each other about their own limitations. She also encourages founders to care for each other and spread responsibilities so that no one person is taking on too much.

To better prepare for mentoring meetings, founders should come to meetings with a clear agenda and critical questions about things that block them from moving forward. For Siia, mentoring should be an ongoing process, rather than a one-time call, and startups should be proactive in asking mentors to continue working with them. Siia sees mentoring as a cycle of learning, where both the mentor and the startup team can benefit from the relationship.

When asked about her mentoring style, she says, “Let the team guide the process. I am there as a facilitator of their thinking. I am not the pool of answers and ideas, they should be owning those ideas and answers. Take the role of the one who can match them with those answers through asking the right questions.”

“You need to remember that people do not intentionally want to do any harm, especially in the professional scene,” Siia highlights, “if you want to change something, you should try to change how we approach things, rather than the people we are dealing with. Stakeholders are often not the problem, processes are.”

Red Brick mentors play an important role in the shaping of our early-stage startup teams. We thank Siia for her insights and expertise in helping our teams grow and succeed. Her belief in the value of ongoing mentorship resonates deeply with Red Brick’s mission to support and grow innovative startups. 💚Has this inspired you to mentor a startup team? Get in touch, we are always looking for new mentors to join our family!