Winning Teams – insight from our Growth Multiplier autumn event
Having the right people and evolving your team at the right time, is essential for growth. The keynote speakers a Boardman Grow’s ”Winning Teams” event, held at Epicenter Helsinki on the 22nd of October, shared valuable insights into topics like finding the right co-partners, the role of the CEO vs. the board, knowing when to make changes to your leadership to pivot your business and preserving company culture during radical growth.
Here’s a quick look back at some of the highlight of the events. Catch the full recording below to find out how you can best assemble a team suitable for growth for your company.
Having the right team is crucial for scaling any business
The event, moderated by growth entrepreneur and Boardman Grow board member, Samppa Vilkuna, explored the different phases of a growth company – from finding your co-partners and building your first team, to expanding your leadership team and maintaining your unique culture as the company grows. Three amazing speakers brought their expertise to the stage:
Finding the right co-partners – Role of the founder and building your first team (06:15–26:00)
Jussi Kallasvuo – General Partner at Antler
To start the event, Jussi Kallasvuo provided us with the key traits of great founders. He emphasized that a winning founder needs the ability to execute and get things done, but also a good balance of charisma and grit. Most importantly, they need to surround themselves with a diverse group of people early on and avoid hiring people too similar to themselves.
Building your leadership team, knowing when to make changes, and pivoting your business (26:49–46:15)
Tuomas Mustonen – Co-founder of Paptic
Tuomas Mustonen then emphasized the long-term perspective by advising us not to hire for today, but always for tomorrow — ensuring people have room to grow as the company grows. When challenges arise, pivoting your business may result in having to let people go. The key is to do it swiftly.
The role of the CEO vs. the board, and how to preserve company culture during large-scale growth (47:35–1:15:23)
Erna Rusi – CEO at Saxdor Yachts
In the final keynote of the event, Erna Rusi shared Saxdor’s inspiring growth journey, rooted in a ”company-first attitude” across all levels: the board, the leadership team, and the employees. She recommended having focused and simple shared KPIs tied to revenue and profitability, as having too many or unclear KPIs poses a threat to the ”one company for the win” mentality.
Beyond these insights shared on stage, attendees enjoyed roundtable discussions and a rare opportunity to connect and network with growth leaders from diverse industries.
A special thank you to our partners Business Finland, Springvest, the Technology Industry of Finland, and PwC, who made this event possible.
Want to attend events like this in the future? Need some sparring or support for growing your company? Join our network of growth entrepreneurs and leaders.
