Lauri at the wheel – This is our Managing Director in Finland

After working for the past 20 years in a row, I took some time off in 2022 and thought about the next 20 years. What do I want to do? What inspires me? I have always had a thing for start-ups. Two decades ago, I studied entrepreneurship at the Helsinki School of Economics, and continued later with Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at the Aalto University School of Business. Still, I have all the time worked for large and already established enterprises. When I got the call about Skytech Control and the future expansion to Finland, I thought to myself that this could be the opportunity I have always dreamed of. After meeting the wonderful colleagues and learning more about the product, it became obvious: this is it. I started as the Managing Director of Skytech Control Oy here in Finland in December 2022. Since then, it has been more and more obvious that I made the right choice!

Well spotted! I seem to have mentioned this achievement on my LinkedIn profile. I have always appreciated delicious food and drinks that have been paired with dishes to enhance the experience. As a young student, I co-founded a wine import company that focused on various French wine districts. I wanted to learn more about wines and began the sommelier studies organized by Wine & Spirit Education Trust. After completing the Level 2 with honors, it became difficult to continue: the Level 3 studies required spending one full day per week tasting wines at the school. I just couldn’t figure out a way to combine that with full-time job and dropped off. Had I continued my wine studies, the goal would have been the Master of Wines degree. Despite leaving the formal studies, I have continued to travel extensively in the wine regions of both Europe and the US.

After working for established companies in the past, it came as a surprise how much effort is needed in establishing a company owned by a foreign group. The trade register process took its time but then things started to proceed rapidly: we got the banking services opened, outsourced both accounting and payroll, arranged the insurances and personnel benefits, started the first recruitments and the search for an office space. It has been a great learning experience to manage all aspects of establishing business operations in a new region. So far, the company has located at my home office, on the south coast of Finland. Despite living less than an hour away from Helsinki, we are surrounded by the wilderness, forests, and lakes. There is a local wolf pack that you may hear during the nights. A couple of months ago, I managed to see a lynx, and occasionally there are also bears in the area. After the pandemic lock-down, it has been so great to have meetings with clients and partners around the same table. When I’m not visiting clients on site, I work from home and use Teams meetings to co-operate with colleagues in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and UK. However, Skytech Control will move from these rural areas to a more central location. We will establish our Finnish office in Helsinki during the spring.

During the pandemic, remote work became more common than ever before. As a result, hybrid work has become the new normal. Employees have devices at their home offices and at the workplace; some are leased, some are purchased, some are broken, and some are missing. It is very difficult to manage all the devices and assets being used. Skytech Control provides a platform for the comprehensive management and control of devices and the related costs. Many Finnish companies are also struggling with device management and there is a clear demand for services provided by Skytech. For many device resellers the ability to provide device management as a part of their offering is a competitive edge. We are currently having exciting negotiations in Finland and will soon publish our first partnerships in the Finnish market.

It is always ambitious to manage several country roll outs simultaneously. However, there are also many synergies. We have a clear strategy, solid and ambitious business case and passionate people and owners to grow with. We need to do the exact same tasks and actions for all countries, and it helps a lot to have a lively dialogue with colleagues working on the same launch activities in the neighboring countries. Once we are well established in the Nordics and UK, we will continue to the next markets in central Europe.

I get a lot of energy from working together with other people towards a common goal. Since I have been “alone” in Finland during these first months, I have turned to colleagues in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and UK. I love the fact that we share the same values and cultural behavior in different countries. Everyone at Skytech is always willing and eager to help! We have laid the foundation for the business operations and localized our SaaS platform for the Finnish markets. From now on, we will focus on executing our partner sales strategy and growing the number of users in Finland.

My three children mean the world to me, and I want to be there to support their journeys. I spend a lot of time at the soccer field, shooting range, and swimming hall. Before the pandemic, martial arts took a big share of my spare time. I focured on ITF taekwon-do but sparred also together with people from various martial arts, such as Hokutoryu Ju-Jutsu and Karate. Unfortunately, I haven’t made it back to those hobbies since, but luckily, I managed to return to the gym to gain back the losses of the past few years. I enjoy reading, learning, and developing myself. Recently, my interests and studies have focused on investing in commercial and residential real estate. I’m also eager to travel more now that the world has finally opened up again.

We have some good news for anyone struggling with device management in Finland: we can help out with our comprehensive Control platform. Also, we are currently recruiting. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to be a part of our journey!