Presentation to Laurea Entrepreneurship Society

1. Accelerating Entrepreneurship in
a University Environment
Will Cardwell
Aalto University Center for Entrepreneurship
www.ace.aalto.fi / will.cardwell@aalto.fi

2. Agenda
• What is ACE?
• Short Case Study of Valimo Wireless
• Five Points About Accelerating Growth
• Aalto’s Building Blocks
– New Venture Formation
• Questions

3. ACE Co-Creates Growth within the
Aalto Community
ACE Resources Aalto Community

4. ACE’s Resources
22 Core Team
People
5 EIRs, 30+ Coaches
ACE Competence Commercialization
Process
Process for screening and development
Stanford Partnership, Startup
Programs
Sauna, Summer of Statrups, Startup Life
3.5 MEUR for Aalto
Funding
2.2 MEUR from Tekes

5. Deal Flow
Directed to other supporting organizations
Back to community with feedback
215 10
Proposal Evaluation
Start-ups
Concept
development
Validation
300 250 30 10 Immaterial
Property
Rights
50 5 10
Licenses
Innovation ‘fast track’

6. The Case of Valimo Wireless
WHAT PUT US OVER THE TOP?
Finnish Network
HR Agility Facebook
9 / 11 Roberto Carlos
Focused IP
Reverse Learning
WHAT HELD US BACK?
Complex Ecosystem
Dripfed Finance
Unproductive Partnerships
Distressed Customers
Small home market
Uneducated Public
Fragmented Technical Solutions

7. 5 Necessary Ingredients
• Positive Energy and Initiative
• T-Shaped People
• Extreme Work / Internationalism
• Transparency, Community and Pay it
Forward
• Black Swan Thinking

8. The Aalto Startup Community
1. Blaast Oy: Investments byVeturi Partners, Ambient Sound, and Steve Blank, launching mobile cloud
application in southeast asian operators
2. Eniram Ltd: Name fastest growing Greentech company in Deloitte fast 500, Fastest growing company in
Finland
3. Multi Touch Ltd: Launched worlds largest multiuser, multitouch display, announced 2m euro investment in
August
4. Remedy Entertainment Ltd: Death Rally highly successful on iOS, with 1.8 paid download.
5. Senseg Ltd: Named on of Time Magazines 50 most important inventions (a portfolio company of Jussi and
Moaffak’s Veturi Partners)
6. Rovio: revenues reportedly rising from about 7m in 2010 to 70m in 2011, setting every possible growth
and penetration record in mobile gaming, and showing how to branch into new medias and industries
7. Nexstim: raised 13m euro in new financing, and a steady stream of newsflow regarding new results of
Navigated Brain Stimulation
8. Mendor Ltd: raised 8.1 million euro of VC financing, Red Herring 100 finalist
9. Modz: raised a significant financing round, founder Salla Koski wins second prize among European woman
inventors.
10. Campalyst: Startup Sauna winner who went on to win of Seedcamp NY
11. Scoopinion: winner of 250k Sanoma Foundation Innovation Award
12. Flowdock: Announced $650k funding round of US investors and seed investors, including Mårten Mickos.
13. Zokem: sold to US Nasdaq company Arbitron for 11m dollars (plus earnout)

10. Aalto’s Building Blocks
1. Aalto Ventures Program
2. Summer of Startups
3. Startup Sauna
4. Out to the Community!

11. New Venture Formation Class
• Session 1 – Intro & opp assessment
• Session 2 – Sales & Marketing
• Session 3 – Customer discovery, go-to-market
– Gate I: Opportunity Assessment
• Session 4 – Financial modeling
• Session 5 – R&D
• Session 6 – Financing
– Gate II: Operating Plan
• Session 7 – Capitalization and example Gate 2
• Session 8 – The VC presentation
– Final Presentation

12. THANKS!
Will.cardwell@aalto.fi