Tomorrow’s growth is created today: agile experiments promote useful business tools

Talk about agile experimenting: call for bids at the end of 2018, experiments around the turn of the year. In mid-February participants are already telling how their experiments went, what worked and how other companies could make use of the tested tools and models.

Collaboration to Growth: agile experiments event (14 February, 2019) offers useful and practical views for all phases of a company lifecycle. EY, Gofore, Steamlane and Futurice will be there to share observations of their experiments.

Agile experimenting is one of the methods to encourage startups and more established companies to cooperate and co-create without asking them to commit extensive resources to it. Experimenting is based on the need to grow the deal flow, to boost business creation and accelerate business growth. This can be achieved for example by creating new services, products and operating models – even truly unexpected ones.

– Agile experimenting secures tomorrow’s growth with today’s activities. The experiments show quickly which tools and models work, and the results are yielded in the longer run, says Tommi Uitti, Community Manager of Startup Tampere.

Tools and models at the event

Futurice’s Lean Service Creation process helps companies to quickly focus on value-adding options. In the event they’ll explain how two very different companies benefited from the process: Tampereen Aluetaksi that was established in 1990 and a startup called Kjelp.

 Decisions are more valid when based on verified data. The Steamlane data clinic service supports decision-making on business creation and growth. In the event they’ll tell how the service worked with a startup called Loopshore.

Financing a startup or a growing company is not an easy task. EY has developed a financial planning software Finance Navigator that helps entrepreneurs to gain financial understanding and produce financial information. In this experiment, a total of 11 startups have been testing the tool.

To ensure well-organised growth, management needs to be able to create just the right kind of working culture and environment. Gofore has developed a model that helps identify the challenges of growing business and supports change management that may lead to fruitful transformations.

– The companies will share their insights and experiences, in order to allow the audience to consider whether the tools and models are suitable for their use. Or, in a more general way, to promote business growth in the Tampere Region, says Sointu Karjalainen, Project Manager of Startup Tampere.

The Collaboration to Growth event is targeted at high-growth enterprises, their partners and enablers, and it will be conducted in Finnish. The event is scheduled quite tightly, but slots for discussion and networking are available. Please find the  program and registration here (in Finnish).

Ecosystems of Growth

Startup Tampere team has been working within the Ecosystems of Growth project since August 2018. The team organises service trials, piloting and experimenting, events and other activities that’ll increase the amount of high-growth enterprises in the Tampere Region. 

The Tampere Region has turned a forerunner of agile experimenting by applying the methods of Smart Kalasatama with local flavours. Business Tampere is supporting active economic policy by, for example, initiating experiments where companies co-create growth opportunities. Agile experimenting is a part 6Aika – the Ecosystems of Growth project.