A month back Aaltoes hosted a recap session on the legendary Silicon Valley Tour. We heard some of the entrepreneurs traveling with us share their key insights from the trip. Now the videos are uploaded, so if you want to hear the ideas that arose from visiting the number one entrepreneurial hotspot of the world, visit the links below:

Aaltoes Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley: MySites & Ramine Darabiha
Aaltoes Lessons Learned from Silicon Valley: Widsen & Markus Nuotto
Aaltoes Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley: Qvik & Elias Pietilä
Aaltoes Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley: Futuuns & Kimmo Nurmisto
Aaltoes Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley: Nodeta & Mikael Roos and Otto Hilska

If you want to read more about the journey, revisit the blogposts from Aaltoes, Arctic Startup and Futuuns. We also made some ad hoc interviews which you can see here (including names such as Mårten Mickos, Zynga-founder Mark Pincus, Paul Graham etc.)

Next year is right around the corner and we have some initial plans of heading to Israel, China and maybe revisiting Silicon Valley. If you have suggestions where to go and what to see, don’t hesitate to contact the new board!

These words from now-retired venture capitalist, Andy Rachleff, stayed with me throughout his lecture on early-stage venture capital at the Stanford Graduate School of Business on Tuesday. Whilst the rest of the Finnish group was attending FailCon in San Francisco, Rohit and I took the chance to attend a lecture at one of the most intensive entrepreneurial courses offered at Stanford. The difference from here to the current state of Aalto University was like night and day.

There is a distinct difference caused by the presence of 40 highly motivated and interactive students, when compared to an overcrowded lecture of more than 150 with a relatively quiet and held back Finnish audience. One can probably attribute a lot of the motivation at Stanford to three things:

- Everyone is extremely smart and competitive
- Everyone pays tens of thousands of dollars a year for their education
- Lectures are held by current or previous experts in their respective fields

The lecture was well-structured, held in a highly interesting and interactive fashion, and backed by real-life examples of billion dollar VC deals and exits. That the lecturer had participated in himself. The constant link to reality was highly visible, also as visiting lecturer Ann Miura-Ko from Maple’s Investments used her background in the Silicon Valley ecosystem to back up her statements on acquiring early-stage finance.

At the end of the day, it almost felt as if there was no hope for Aalto to be able to reach anything resembling the course. But then again, a quick reality-check reminded us that we are visiting a whole different world when it comes to an entrepreneurial ecosystem, which strongly facilitates teaching related subjects. A long and fulfilling discussion after the lecture with Michael Lyons, course organizer and investor from Paladin, shed light on this fact and reminded us that nothing on this scale could be organized anywhere else in the world.

His final comments, which took the better portion of the last fifteen minutes of our discussion, were the most amazing to us. Mr. Lyons was highly knowledgeable of the Finnish entrepreneurial scene, and was completely convinced that all the required pieces for a Valley-style entrepreneurial ecosystem exist in Finland.

All that’s missing is the right culture, and I guess that’s what Aaltoes is set to change.

- Jens Sørensen

Today we’ve had 6 meetings, none of which we knew about two days before. Most of the meetings we didn’t know about a couple of hours before the meetings. So, the pace of change is really fast, and there’s the possibility that your schedule changes any minute. It allows you to actually work on what’s the most important thing at any point in time, without any unnecessary meetings. If someone gives you a really great introduction and you have the chance to do an important meeting you can do it right away. Some meetings are done, some are lost. I guess you could calculate how much more efficient this makes everything. It gives you real freedom in work when you don’t have to schedule forward more than a couple of hours.

I really like it and it’s the way I want to work. Of course it’s a managers schedule and probably not suitable for developers.

I think we should try it in Aalto, at least we can start in Aaltoes…

MONDAY
Technology and Teams
How the Stanford’s Technology Transfer system works and how the university supports students’ entrepreneurship ambitions.

TUESDAY
Startups
Visiting Berkeley University and upcoming startups.

WEDNESDAY
Angels, VCs and Lawyers.
What it really takes to get funding for your ideas. Meeting VCs and lawyers to get a look inside their business.

THURSDAY
Big companies, exits.
What international success looks like.

FRIDAY
Summing it all up.

Visits to Y-combinator and other interesting forms of support for early stage startups.

Aalto Entrepreneurship Society
http://www.aaltoes.com

Aalto Entrepreneurship Society, more often called simply Aaltoes, strives to create an entrepreneurial eco-system in Aalto University.
Our philosophy is that success breeds success and activity. That is why our main goal is to create successful companies. We want to get the best students into Aalto University and we want them to want to become successful entrepreneurs. We aim at helping our students to find and create ideas, form teams, learn, create startups and successful companies.
Aaltoes is going to solve this problem by activating students, bringing together resources and helping teams kickstart their startups. We have a lot of great initiatives for startups in Finland, but what is needed is connecting them more and getting people from the outside, for example students, connected with the projects and make them happen. We’re always open to ideas on what kind of new events to organize, so don’t hesitate to contact us, you can join us and we’ll make it happen together!
Contact Kristo Ovaska, kristo.ovaska (at) gmail.com

ArcticStartup
http://www.arcticstartup.com/
ArcticStartup, founded in 2007, is the leading weblog reviewing and reporting on technology startups and growth entrepreneurship from the Nordic and Baltic countries.

We at ArcticStartup aim to encourage entrepreneurship and to help create a radically optimistic entrepreneurial culture here in the Nordics and Baltics by writing about the startups, the stories behind them and the events that influence them. Northern Europe is happening!
Contact Ville Vesterinen, ville@arcticstartup.com

MySites
http://www.mysites.com/
MySites is a place for you to save, manage and share your content online: your party photos, holiday videos, band’s tunes, school work, all in one place! We’re adding new sites and new features every week!
MySites can also bring more functionality to the websites you’re already using. Already have a website, a social network, a blog, a forum? Keep it! We’ll give you apps to help you publish your content there too.
Also, we’re making it possible to see and add your content from any device! So you can keep in touch with your friends’ content with your phone, or on tv using your console.
Contact Ramine Darabiha

Nodeta
http://www.flowdock.com/

Nodeta is a software consultancy that currently employs 12 experienced web developers and agile experts. Our focus is in our real-time team collaboration app, Flowdock.

Flowdock is now in its private alpha stage as some of the first companies are exploring its features and giving feedback. It will be launched to the public later this year.
Contact Mikael Roos, mikael (at) nodeta.fi

Powerkiss
http://www.powerkiss.com/

A few words for those of you who are just getting to know us! Powerkiss has developed an integrated wireless charging solution, which converts basic furniture into smart energy platforms. To juice up your gadgets, you only need to place them on the surface of the furniture, just like you would do anyway. Powerkiss is a marriage of high-tech and design. We deliver charging packages, which can be integrated into various furniture surfaces. The first products were launched with Martela, the Finnish designer and supplier of interior solutions, in April 2009. One never has enough friends – we are more than happy to cooperate with new, inspiring partners, just let us know if you are interested!
Contact Maija Itkonen, maija.itkonen@gmail.com

GrowVC

http://www.growvc.com/
Grow VC is Venture Capital 2.0, bringing the first truly transparent, international, community-based approach to early stage funding. Grow VC can help mobile and web 2.0 startup stars secure initial funding for their businesses ranging from $10,000 to 1m USD. Grow VC will not only connect startup entrepreneurs with ‘funders’ (investors) to help them discover their common interests, but also provide tools for the process and new transparent ways of doing things. Grow VC international headquarters is located in Hong Kong.
Contact Valto Loikkanen, valto (at) loikkanen.com

Widsen
http://www.widsen.fi/
Widsen is a young and goal driven company focused in providing sensing and communication solutions for a variety of industries and applications. Our core competence lies in combining NFC (Near Field Communications) technology with PLC (Power Line Communication), creating easily applicable and low-cost solutions. We are based in Helsinki, Finland.
Contact Markus Nuotto, markus.nuotto (at) gmail.com

YritysHelsinki
http://www.yrityshelsinki.fi/index.php
EnterpriseHelsinki is Helsinki regions joint service centre for prospective and active entrepreneurs. We are pleased to offer all the service needed to develop a business:
- Info on becoming an entrepreneur
- Management consultancy for new and early-stage entrepreneurs
- Entrepreneur training
- Business incubation services
- Business service for immigrants
- Setting up a business begins with a business plan
Contact Valto Loikkanen, valto (at) loikkanen.com

Futurice
http://www.futurice.com/
We are a provider of mobile and internet software services. We have attained the position of a preferred partner for the implementation of various projects within the fields of our expertise. We employ over 75 professionals. Our job titles include software developers and architects, QA-managers, Scrum Masters, user experience specialists, UI & concept designers as well as a wealth of other technical professionals. Futurice is owned by the management, Innofinance, company staff and private investors. We are based in Finland, in Helsinki and Tampere, but we work around the globe, in Europe, Americas and Asia. Don’t hesitate to contact us for any of your business or career requirements.
Contact Markku Taulamo, mark (at) futurice.com

Futuuns
http://www.futuuns.com/
Futuuns is a web service built around the audio production process. It’s a place where audio producers can collaborate and make money.

- We provide tools for unfamiliar parties to collaborate safely. Using our online collaboration platform minimizes the risk of audio misuse.
- We create new business opportunities for the producers. We give everyone a change to showcase their skills and make money.
- We guarantee monetary transactions. Transactions between parties are done without any risk of losing money.
- We take care of the copyright issues. An official contract is signed when an audio product changes its owner.

Futuuns will change the way business is done in audio production!

Contact Teemu Yli-Hollo, teemu (at) futuuns.com

Muxlim
http://muxlim.com/
Muxlim is the worlds largest Muslim lifestyle media company. Our vision is to connect the world’s Muslim communities to each other, and to the wider world, through shared online experiences. Tens of million of users visit the Muxlim Network every year to enhance their Muslim lifestyle and enjoy content including music, entertainment, fashion, food, sport, science, news, culture and more.
Muxlim.com is the company’s flagship social media service combining interactive video, audio, blogs, polls and images. Muxlim is focused on the Muslim lifestyle as part of a diverse, all-inclusive world which recognizes and welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds who want to share, learn and have fun.
Contact Jussi Vaihia, jussiava (at) gmail.com

Qvik
http://www.qvik.fi/
Qvik in a nutshell:
- Finnish IT company; Experts in iPhone, Web and Portal Development
- Offers IT consulting & project development services
- Founded at the end of 2008
- Located in central Helsinki, “Aikatalo”
- Owned by employees
- Ready to help you
Wooden Labyrinth 3D from Elias Pietilä was selected as Best iPhone Student App (Apple Design Award 2009). More information about the Award can be found at: http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/ada/
Contact Elias Pietilä, elias.pietila (at) qvik.fi

Cityard
http://mlab.taik.fi/cityard/

Instead of putting cities on geographical maps, Cityard connects cities based on their semantic relevance. Mining into online buzz, Cityard abstracts word clouds, and some of the words are transformed into symbols, so to make a visual representation. Since all the data is sourced from the web and updates frequently, the user might find unexpected pattern of the world cities. Moreover, registered user can reshape the patterns by commenting, tagging and rebuilding the semantic pattern of cities. With words added to the city vocabulary, the semantic patterns constantly change, and keep refreshed.
Contact Shanfan Huang, chitchy(at) gmail.com Jussi Vaihia jussiava (at) gmail.com

University Merchandise
University Merchandise outsources merchandise marketing services for universities. To meet a lack of resources available at Finnish universities to put a sustained effort into merchandise, our company aims to provide a top-down solution from product development to marketing.
Contact Jens Sorensen jens.sorensen (at) student.hse.fi, Joonatan Lintala joonatan.lintala (at) student.hse.fi

Hipui
Hipui develops a new revolutionary patent pending user interface technology. We are building on pioneering research done at Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) and commited to making world easier through natural usability. Our technology enables the use of mobile devices intuitively in many new usage scenarios, such as walking, driving, and sports. Our multimodal user interface enables eyes-free usage and supports even the most complex menu structures.
Contact hipui (at) hipui.com

ArcticStartup
http://www.arcticstartup.com/
ArcticStartup, founded in 2007, is the leading weblog reviewing and reporting on technology startups and growth entrepreneurship from the Nordic and Baltic countries.

We at ArcticStartup aim to encourage entrepreneurship and to help create a radically optimistic entrepreneurial culture here in the Nordics and Baltics by writing about the startups, the stories behind them and the events that influence them. Northern Europe is happening!
Contact Ville Vesterinen, ville@arcticstartup.com Karri Saarinen karri@arcticstartup.com

Language Café
We are a group of three students from Finland with an awarded business idea considering social design and innovations. Our concept aims at social innovation providing an active role to seniors in society and better integration chances to foreign citizens.
Contac Stefania Passera, passera.stefania (at) gmail.com, Maria Ullner maria.ullner(at)gmail.com, Reetta Maila, reetta.maila (at) gmail.com

Virtua.fi
Virtua.fi is developing the next generation’s eLearning platform for different education contents. The first product was a prep course concept for people who are applying for universities in Finland.
Contact Perttu Ojansuu, perttu.ojansuu (at) virtua.fi

The valley culture truly supports entrepreneurship. Having a bunch of people around you that want to do the same thing is a real boost. Also the amazing events are such an important part of it all. Getting to meet people, give them your input and get feedback on what you’re doing. You definitely don’t feel alone as an entrepreneur here, you’re one of the team.

We’ve been listening to the founders of Facebook and Twitter and everyone had the chance to ask them questions. They’re just guys like us who have had the tenacity to build something valuable. Some things work, some don’t, but in the end everyone is better off if we all try.

At Startup School, We listened to the talks in a room where everyone naturally started to discuss their startups and exchange business cards. Some startups found beta customers and we discussed what we wanted to do at the event… Everyone is working on their own startup or trying to find something they want to work on. Still, everyone’s on the same line. It feels that everybody’s in the same boat and everyone wants to help each other. The viewpoint is really that success breeds success. It’s super easy to find people here that can become valuable members of your team or your first beta customers.

The focus is also on having fun, we build to do something meaningful and to be able to work on something we’re passionate about.

This is the culture we want to create in Finland as well: Get people to support each other in creating something valuable. Meeting a lot of people that want to do the same thing. When there’s a lot of people who want to do something important it becomes a lot easier.

By the way, you can see all the talks from Startup School at www.justin.tv

Stay tuned for more posts from the Aaltoes trip to the Valley.

STREAM Tampere

STREAM Tampere is a new learning and innovation community for entrepreneurial and growth minded people. It is a student initiative aimed at connecting ideas and know-how across traditional academic boundaries.

The key concepts behind STREAM are innovative solutions, unexpected connections, getting things done and learning from each other. We also believe in openness to new ideas, light structures and a global mindset. Right now we are finding cool people and building concrete structures to make this all a reality.
Register to the Pitch Event at Facebook
Visit the Stream facebook page

BOOST Turku
Student-run community for entrepreneurial people from Turku University, Åbo Akademi and Turku School of Economics.

FORUM. Boost Turku is a student-based network for young entrepreneurs sharing knowledge among the universities of Turku. Our aim is to create more startups!

SCIENCE OF DOING. We believe in doing. Doing in an open and laid back cross-faculty environment. We believe that in this way we can expand the networks and horizons of young like-minded people.

MENTORS AND CONNECTIONS. We also want to introduce mentoring to young entrepreneurs. We’d like to see Boost in the frontline of creating more value by providing connections of mentors, funding and team members.

Register to the Pitch Event at Facebook.
Visit also the Boost page.

Yesterday I got a word that Everyplay, Floobs and Arctic Startup managed to get him to Helsinki and he’s giving a workshop on 10th of November. The event is targeted only for entrepreneurs currently running startups and this means mainly CEOs, CTOs and founders. There’s limited amount of seats and price per ticket is 20€.

Luckily the editors at Arctic Startup  were nice enough to share few tickets to be given to Aaltoes members. Here’s how you can win one:

• Comment to Twitter “Aaltoes goes to Silicon Valley. Updates @ http://aaltoes.com RT and win tickets to see Eric Rise http://bit.ly/J9twf” and post a comment to this page with your Twitter account

or

• Share Aaltoes Stanford trip page in Facebook to your friends with note “Aaltoes goes to Silicon Valley. Spread the word and win a ticket to see Eric Rise http://bit.ly/J9twf” and post a comment to this page with your Facebook account

We’ll select the winners of those who participated before 29th of October 23:59 (Finnish time)

Enjoy!

- Lauri & Jori

The participants are entrepreneurs who are using the trip as an opportunity to benchmark their products, gain insights for business planning, meet people and make valuable contacts.

Seeing how business is done in the buzzing Silicon Valley business environment will be exciting and educational. The trip will include visits to local startups, as well success stories. We will meet local VCs and lawyers, and some successful Finnish entrepreneurs in the area.

The trip is important in many respects.  Taking Aalto University students to see how one of the world’s best university technology ventures programs works will show us how things could be done, and be a lesson in what we need to do to change the university’s culture.

Aaltoes is using the week to build our relationship with our Stanford University counterpart BASES. We will workshop on how to get students involved in startups, and what kind of needs student entrepreneurs have and how to best support them.

Of course there is also time to relax and socialize, the week finishes with the biggest party of the year, Halloween, and we have many mixers and dinners were we will get to meet entrepreneurs and students.

The programme  is due to changes, the most recent changes can be seen at the Google Calender

MONDAY
Technology and Teams
How the Stanford’s Technology Transfer system works and how the university supports students’ entrepreneurship ambitions.

TUESDAY
Startups
Visiting Berkeley University and upcoming startups.

WEDNESDAY
Angels, VCs and Lawyers.
What it really takes to get funding for your ideas. Meeting VCs and lawyers to get a look inside their business.

THURSDAY
Big companies, exits.
What international success looks like.

FRIDAY
Summing it all up.
Visits to Y-combinator and other interesting forms of support for early stage startups.