How Startups Are Built In Tampere: Case Protomo & StartupStairs
Tampere is definitely one of Finland's start-up hubs, thanks to the New Factory. The entity was created in 2008 out of frustration with regional cooperation (or lack thereof). 'There was too much talk and paperwork going on between innovation programs and various institutions in the region', shares Jukka Matikainen, Program Director. 'We wanted to create sustainable cooperation between all those partners through concrete projects'. That is how the New Factory's programs were founded. Last time we reviewed Demola, an innovation platform for students and companies. This time in focus are New Factory's start-up oriented programs: Protomo and StartupStairs.
Protomo was founded in 2009 by Hermia Ltd. and operations started first in Jyväskylä and quickly expanded into a nation-wide program. Now it is operated in Tampere, Jyväskylä, Turku, Salo, Espoo and Kouvola. Protomo conducts short, focused projects that last 4-8 months. During the projects team's main goal is to build prototypes of their ideas and find business idea for their company.
As Jukka explains, one of Protomo's main strengths is matchmaking teams before projects even start. If you have a start-up idea, you can come to Protomo's introductory events to find team members. If you'd like to be part of the project but are lacking a business idea, you can still come with your skills and join a team around someone else's idea. Protomo's facilitators matchmake talents for a win-win situation.
Protomo gives four major contributions to the participating teams. They facilitate idea and prototype development and share their networks. They offer professional help and support. They provide help with IPR and contract framework and, last but not least, they provide premises and tools for teams to work and build prototypes.
The results from Protomo in Tampere alone: 23 projects turned into 15 start-ups. Nationally 73 completed Protomo projects turned into 52 start-ups and out of 750 community members over 160 were hired by companies. All in the course of less than 2 years.
Once Protomo projects are completed, most promising companies are directed towards funding instruments. To help that process, the New Factory is building StartupStairs. The program has not been launched yet but it's objectives are already known: it concentrates on getting the start-ups funded and helping them go global with their products.
To facilitate the process, companies would be offered a more private co-working space in the New Factory, which would still be open and rely on peer mentoring. 'We won't be keeping the start-ups forever in the New Factory', comments Jukka. 'The teams would be part of the program for a maximum of 6 months. After that we expect them to fly on their own'.
The New Factory is mostly publicly funded. Their programs facilitate exceptional regional cooperation that other innovation institutions can definitely learn from. Their help in meeting company needs with young talent is already well recognized. For instance, they are currently participating in Nokia's Bridge project that helps company's employees find new work.
It seems that many innovation institutions are learning from the lessons from New Factory. We will most probably see a few new Protomos launched in Finland already in 2011.