tippingeurope – change the world or go home

I wanted to look back and reflect on the past year and where it has taken me. At the same I will extrapolate where we are going and what’s in store for 2009. This in mind, I will make a promise for 2009 that applies across the board to all of us.

My take on 2008.

It’s been a long and hectic year, but I would not change a day of it. I’ve been exhausted at times mentally and at times physically, but when you can be part of building something great, you find the stamina to push forward. Some would call it ‘making meaning’. I saw Hugh MacLeod use the phrase ‘change the world or go home’ and it stuck with me. I try to live by this ethos and commit my time to only do things I believe in. Right now, for me, this means ArcticStartup and Nordkapp.

At ArcticStartup I have the privilege to work with three great guys who believe in what we’re doing as much as I do. I really do believe that the blog will benefit all of us here in Northern Europe to become inspired, wake up in the morning feeling irrationally optimistic and start making things happen when we see and feel a community all around us doing the same. ArcticStartup has come a long way from the time I met Antti and Miikka for the first time and when I came to Helsinki a year and half a go and started organizing the OpenCoffee meetings in the little bars and cafes of Helsinki. Today people read ArcticStartup in over 130 countries, which is nothing short of amazing. ArcticStartup has become a media in its own right. Yes, it has meant some very long hours and spending less time with my close ones, which always hurts, but after hearing from the readers how much it means to them, you can’t complain about being tired. Working long days is a small price to pay when you see the startup community grow stronger and more dynamic with us. Similarly our events, ArcticEvenings, have pulled full houses and based on the feedback people have throughly enjoyed their time and found the networking priceless. I can not but take this as an indication that we’re onto something here. In 2009 we aim take ArcticEvenings all around the region to meet the entrepreneurs and startups across the Arctic scene.

That said, the long days take their toll on my social life and I see people around me suffer since we can’t spend more time together. This is a judgment call we all need to make when it comes to our work and passion on one end, and family on the other. Equally important, when our readership has grown it has brought in the editorial responsibility towards the entrepreneurs who are giving their all for their startups. I don’t think there is any easy solution to the first dilemma, but to the second there’s only one recipe and that’s being dead honest and putting in the hours to make sure I do my absolute best to ensure I do justice to the startups I write about and still offer something of value for our readers. In this respect, the guys at Nordkapp have been irreplaceble friends and great colleagues: understanding my odd schedules as long as I have delivered and pulled my load. I’m happy that we’re well on our way in building Nordkapp into a major Nordic Interaction Design consultancy with truly impressive clientele who comes back for more time after time. I have been very lucky in life to be able to work with such great people, at ArcticStartup as well as at Nordkapp.

If the road so far has been like surfing in the eye of the storm, I believe the future won’t be any different when it comes to the speed and pace. Nordkapp is on a clear trajectory in respect of where we want to drive the company. Similarly, ArcticStartup is growing faster than any other news media (in relative terms) in the region that I know of, boosted by the rapid change and development of the Northern European startup ecosystem.

My promise for 2009.

Right now is a great time to start something new! I know it feels counter intuitive to say that in an economy like this and that’s exactly why it is so good time to do it- because everyone else is so reluctant to do so. In the video below Kevin Rose, the founder of Digg, talks about the advantages of setting up a company in an economic slump. This especially applies if you’re into the consumer web. There is less competition and in my mind one of the biggest challenges for a consumer web startup might just get remedied very soon. Users have been hit by a Web 2.0 fatigue because for every new great startup there has been nine not so great ones which have many times been clones doing almost exactly the same as the great ones. This is confusing and tiring for us, the users. I love to find the best apps and services to use, but now I spend more time trying out new services and apps than I do actually using the good ones. With any luck, this is about to change. This is just one of the advantages that you might have as a founder setting up a startup in a bad economy. Naturally, there are downsides too, such as the lack of liquidity. But as Paul Graham says, “It’s hard to say whether advantages like lack of competition outweigh disadvantages like reluctant investors. But it doesn’t matter much either way. It’s the people that matter. And for a given set of people working on a given technology, the time to act is always now.”

What new am I starting and what’s next in the cards for ArcticStartup and for Nordkapp? If nothing else, I’ve been playing with an idea to start a podcast with the Nordkapp guys on Interaction Design and technology, and maybe another one with the ArcticStartup team to talk about the hottest startups we follow and how we see the startup scene in the region. Regardless, whether you’re starting something completely new or aiming to improve what you’re working on, start experimenting! People and execution matter, not where the housing market or the NASDAQ is heading.