HAVE A GOOD IDEA?
about cords. In ten minutes, in the middle of the lecture, she wrote a preliminary business plan. “It looks like some people here are just playing computer games,” Abetti said, and gave Itkonen and her computer a glance. It was 2007 and Powerkiss–the cordless mobile phone charging system–was born. two small, white objects. The first one you attach under the table, and the one that looks like a USB-stick you attach to the device you want to charge. The result is a table that charges devices. Isku and Kinnarps are some of Powerkiss’ manufacturers, and the tables can be found at the Via lounge at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, for example. That’s as far as Itkonen wants to explain the technical features. “Nobody buys technology. People want a user experience,” she says. User experience consists of the product’s entire life span: from the place you buy it and the package it comes in, to what you need to do to start using it and what happens to it when it’s no longer used. “Maybe some men in red overalls will come to pick it up,” Itkonen grins. Whatever the case, a good idea is not enough. Resources, both mental and material, are also required. In the case of Powerkiss, the most important mental resource is Itkonen herself. She is an energetic woman who first got an education as a professional musician. That’s when her commendable work ethic developed (she still plays wind instruments once a week at the Helsinki City Theatre). She is clearly not afraid to take a leap into the unknown, but has the intelligence to do it feet first.
In 2007 she studied in the International Design Business Management program at the School of Art and Design. The program was a collaboration involving the School of Economics and the School of Science and Technology. She also worked at a research lab at the School of Science and Technology. “I had a feeling that all the resources I needed were available and I was surrounded by people who could answer my questions,” she says. “I believe in a strong sense of community and that innovation lives in networks. You just have to find the courage to rely on them.” Innovations without money never leave the drawing table. As soon as the concept was created, Powerkiss won the Venture Cup competition for new ideas. The prize money wasn’t that big, but winning brought a lot of free publicity and media attention. After Venture Cup, Powerkiss was included in a funding program of Tekes (The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) and now Finnvera (a government owned investor) will provide financial security for some years. “Finland has an unbelievably wellorganised funding program,” Itkonen praises. “Sometimes it’s just not used correctly.” The problem is that funding is usually meant specifically for product development, and marketing is often neglected. “This can easily lead to situations where the product is finished, but no one has thought about who’s going to buy it,” Itkonen explains. Powerkiss has proceeded in a different way. The product has been marketed all along and the brand has been developed in various ways. It is present also as we speak: the dented heart on the cover of Itkonen's notebook is the Powerkiss logo.
Finland has a system for helping entrepreneurs develop their projects. Funding and help in developing ideas can be arranged by Tekes, Sitra or the Foundation for Finnish Inventors, for example. Technopolis is a listed company that offers premises and advice for new informationintensive companies. Karri Hautamäki, The Director of Technopolis OnLine, tells us where future investments should be made in Finland: “Commercialising innovations is a risky business, so help is needed. The viewpoint should be shifted to see that it’s not only technical development that needs funding, but also commercialisation and branding. When there is support, the right areas of innovation and success stories will come to us. They could be in clean tech, printed electronics or service innovations.”
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