The Growth Pod Genero

As CEO of Pilke, Mari Puoskari has driven rapid growth and achieved profitability at Finland’s largest private early education company. Now also CEO of Dibber Sverige, Mari joins us to discuss the Nordic model of early childhood education, employee well-being, leadership, personal habits, the future of childcare, and more.

Learn more:

https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mari-puoskari-b0ab69

https://pilkepaivakodit.fi/

https://www.dibber.com/



(0:00) Introduction
(0:45) The business of early childhood education
(5:40) Priorities as a CEO
(9:30) Employee well-being and labor shortage in the industry
(15:18) Growing from 100 to 150 million euros and turning profitable
(18:00) The Nordic approach to early childhood education
(22:10) Sweden vs Finland
(26:00) Screen time, physical activity, and other trends related to children
(32:53) How curiosity drives success
(35:50) Corporate strategy and internal communication
(41:11) Routines, habits and personal productivity

The Finnish state is an investor or owner in over 70 companies. We discuss with Minister Anders Adlercreutz the state's role as a shareholder, lessons learned from the Fortum-Uniper deal, challenges with subsidies, and more.

Learn more:

⁠https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersatz

https://valtioneuvosto.fi/omistajaohjaus/yhtiot



(0:00) Introduction
(0:30) How the Finnish state manages its portfolio of 70+ companies
(3:28) Government ownership of public companies
(12:05) Northvolt and the challenges with state aid
(18:30) What can we learn from the Fortum-Uniper deal?
(21:54) Political strikes and SSAB’s 4.5 billion euro investment
(24:20) Should Finland be more ambitious with our state-owned investing and ownership?

Antti Kummu, a founding partner of CapMan Growth, joins us to discuss their take-private of Silmäasema, what makes companies valuable, the importance of storytelling, Elon Musk, and much more.



Learn more:

https://generogrowth.com/⁠

⁠https://capman.com/private-equity/growth/⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/antti-kummu-cfa-a85aa11/⁠



(0:00) Introduction

(0:40) Antti’s background and Finnvera and Tesi

(3:35) Working as CFO at a rapidly growing company

(6:53)The role of metrics and data in understanding a business

(14:07) The insights behind the Silmäasema take-private

(18:47) CapMan Growth’s investment strategy

(23:55) Working with strong-willed entrepreneurs

(26:25) What makes companies valuable?

(31:17) Storytelling

(36:37) Timing the market vs building a good business

(38:55) Raising 130 million euros

(44:45) Private equity in Finland, Elon Musk

Petteri Lahtela is the co-founder and former CEO of Oura, the $2.55 billion startup behind the world's most accurate smart ring. We discuss the challenges of the early days, the importance of intention, Prince Harry's endorsement, and more.

Learn more:

https://ouraring.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/plahtela/

https://generogrowth.com/e-commerce-growth-method/



(0:00) Introduction
(0:57) Petteri’s career before Oura
(6:05) Why they decided to make a ring
(11:10) The challenges of the early days
(14:00) Oura’s mission and why a genuine intention matters
(21:43) How to build a world-class brand
(25:55) Meeting entrepreneurs in San Francisco
(31:12) Prince Harry
(36:42) Kickstarter, influencer marketing, and driving growth in the early days
(47:11) Is there a downside to tracking and measuring everything?
(53:50) The massive future opportunity for Oura

Jyri Engeström is a startup expert, having sold his company to Google and invested in numerous unicorns. We discuss opportunities and technologies, lessons learned from Silicon Valley, and how Finland (of all places) could become a leading global startup hub.

Learn more:
https://yes.vc/

https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jyriengestrom/


(0:00) Introduction
(0:28) Founding Jaiku and its acquisition by Google
(4:05) Working at Google and why he quit
(8:23) Jyri’s transition from entrepreneur to investor.
(11:07) How top VCs find, attract, and evaluate investment opportunities
(20:20) Capital and the critical role of networks
(31:12) How to turn Finland into a leading startup nation
(40:21) Working on big problems
(44:38) Immigration and attracting top talent
(49:58) Thoughts on the future and advice for young people

Christoffer Rutgersson co-founded Bambora, and helped lead the startup to a 1.5 billion euro exit. Then he became CEO of public fintech company Qliro, quickly turning it profitable while doubling down on growth.



Learn more:
https://www.qliro.com/
⁠⁠https://generogrowth.com/⁠⁠
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christoffer-rutgersson-7ab7a611/



(0:00) Introduction
(1:00) Buying 14 companies in 18 months and hiring hundreds of employees
(4:49) Lessons learned from 1.5 billion euro exit
(9:40) Joining Qliro as CEO
(17:35) Getting Qliro to profitability
(21:52) Reducing cost and doubling down on growth simultaneously
(23:41) How to attract talent quickly
(26:18) Being a public company CEO
(30:49) Helping e-commerce merchants
(36:08) Improvements in conversation rates
(39:23) Expanding outside the Nordics
(41:34) Future growth