In Aaltoes, we always strive to default to action. This makes things progress quick, and helps us focus on the most important task at hand. Still, as much as we like to move fast, it’s valuable to take breaks every now and then to reflect back on what has been happening. For this purpose, we gathered the activities of 2023 in one place. Whether you’ve been around for many years, or just came across the word ‘startup’, take a look at the yearbook for a review of 2023 and Aaltoes’ “always default to action” mindset!

In December 2023, Aaltoes visited Boston and San Francisco to learn about the cities’ thriving startup ecosystems. During the trip, we met with 45 founders, ecosystem players, university faculties, and others in the entrepreneurial scene to learn how the best startups in the world are built.

What is success? Ask that from a thousand people and you’ll get quite varying answers. With each individual having their own definition of success, there are a few commonalities in these definitions. However, there is one connection people often make with the word “success”, that frankly, doesn’t make any sense to me. Success is seen as the opposite of failure.

We visited London in 2022 to learn about the leading fintech hub of the world and build connections with locals for the future. Our agenda consisted mostly of meeting organizations in the fintech space and some of the world’s biggest VCs that have their offices in London but included also a few other organizations.

During our trip to South Korea in May 2023, we learned that South Korea’s startup ecosystem is structured differently compared to our own in Finland. The Asian culture and way of doing things have many differences compared to the Western style.

We at Aalto Entrepreneurship Society, Aaltoes, visited Tallinn on 29.6.-1.7.2022 to learn more about Tallinn’s startup ecosystem, build connections for the future and to scout collaboration opportunities with current Aaltoes-projects.