Entrepreneurship as a Career alternative at Laurea #Kerava #Finland International Week 2012-11-08 #Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Career, Serial Entrepreneurship, Portfolio Entrepreneurship

1. Entrepreneurship
as a Career alternative
Ilkka O. Lavas
Serial Entrepreneur
Anything is possible
when you believe in yourself.
Photo: Iceland, By aromano / Flickr

2. Different Career Choices
Examples
Photo: Lavas @ Tahko

3. Career in one company
Company X
Position1 Position2 Position3
• Title1 • Title2 • Title3
• Challenge1 • Challenge2 • Challenge3
• Developement1 • Developement2 • Developement3

4. Career by changing a company
•Challenge1 •Challenge2 •Challenge3
Company1 Company2 Company3
•Develpment1 •Develpment2 •Develpment3
1-5 years 2-7 years 2-7 years

5. Career as Serial Entrepreneur /
Portfolio Entrepreneur / Consultant
Company1 Challenge1 Development1
Company2 Challenge2 Development2
Company3 Challenge3 Development3

6. As entrepreneur you can
• Run lifestyle company / hobby
• Run single growing company
• Many businesses one after one
(establish/buy, develop, sell)
• Many paraller businesses
(Establish/buy, develop)
(Establish/buy, develop)
(Establish/buy, develop)
What is maximum amount?
Anella Olimpica, Barcelona, Catalonia,Spain, By dbaron / Flickr

7. Where I work? When I buy? When I sell? Where I establish New?
Digital media Success (opportunity)
Ownership Change – Rethink business
Print media is suffering

9. City.fi challenge
26 years old City Culture magazine. Making Loss.
What are my risks? What are my possibilities?

10. City.fi challenge
Great brand! Great service Deitti.net
What are my risks? What are my possibilities?

11. Entrepreneurship
Ilkka O. Lavas is your
• own
Started my first company at high school. Since that I have
been entrepreneur. Now I am related to more than 10
businesses. choice
• Have bought/sold 6 companies/businesses
• Founder member in 5 businesses
• Survived 2 recessions
• Young Entrepreneur of the year 2009
in Uusimaa
• Entrepreneur of the year, 2010 Kerava
Ice climbing Glaciar Viedma
Statistics:
by alextorrenegra / Flickr
• 33years, 2 boys, 1 wife, 1000+ fb connections, 500+
linkedin conns, twitter @lavas

12. Why people are scared of starting
• What is so scary in starting up a new company?
– If it does not work, you can always stop being an entrepreneur
and go back to work 8-16.
(Sometimes you can even agree this in advance.)
• Risk management:
– What can you really lose? Do you need to take debt?
– How big is your risk? Can you handle it?
– If your biggest costs are your salary + rental, then your loosing
risk is NO salary for 1-6 months + rental costs = max 10k€
”The big unknown heaven is more scary than known hell” –
Kaija Koo.

13. My Career
definition
Sometimes I enjoy success
Sometimes I fail
Sometimes I survive
Entrepreneurial life is all about
New Experiences
Locomotive 2005 Rovaniemi
By Juska Wendland / Flickr

14. This is where I started. I had 0€.
Took 50.000 FIM Loan for start

15. Business portfolio
1. Lavasdesign Oy – investment, it –consulting, startups and
entrepreneurship
eCommerce,
Internet Customs 3D-Cad / Publishing Web
W3
marketing declaration Drupal BIM business portal
Group
and logistics software specialists Software and business
Finland Ilmainensana
company company Druid Oy import services
Oy LaKo Trade Oy Samex Solutions Oy
kirja.fi
company Kaannos.com
Suomikauppa.FI Sad-e.fi
Software Web projects
WanhatWarikset.co EMCS stock Micro Aided
projects m Design Oy
reporting software
Karkkigalleria.fi
Team Entrepreneur Partners in my businesses constist of:
Business Angels, Professional Directors, Customs Software professional, Software Hosting
professional, talented Software developers, Internet Marketing specialists, BIM specialists and
professionals, Financial Geniouses, Watch Enthusiastic
I have 10-100% ownership of my companies. Total 70+ people working in these companies and
total revenue 6 Meur.

16. Different types of StartUP
1. Self employment
StartUP
LD Hair
Maarit Lavas
Hairdresser
No big money/exit
opportunities, but
you do what you
like to do and get
living.

17. Different types of StartUP
2. Lifestyle StartUP
MADbike.org
Motorbike trips
for people.
Entrepreneur Severi Virolainen loves to drive
abroad, in Jungle and exotic places. This is good
way to do what you love and get funding for
your hobby. At the moment in Laos/Cambodia

18. My First StartUP + reincarnation of the business
after 15 years / Growth business
- Started 1995 for my
self employment
in high school
- reborn W3 Group
Finland Oy 2010
reborn to become
growth company:
Bought 3 companies
/ businesses.
New board and
new management and entrepreneurship team. New
name and company structure. New Growth strategy.
• 2011: More than 200 customers, 2 Meur revenue, 30
people working. Growing!

19. StartUP Cash Flow businesses
• Cash Flow
business is
best business
if you are willing
to stay owner for
10+ years.
• Build this business
to survive recessions and to grow all time.

20. Build to be sold StartUP
• Another type for
startup is
build business to be
sold. Ownership
time 3-7 years.
• Our Artic.net startup
1997 fastest growing
site in 90’s.
• I was one of the
team together with
Lauri, Henri and Robert.
• Later Artic.net was sold
to Lycos by Interactivum +
entrepreneurship team.
• I sold too early and earned 1
markka (20cent) of my share.

21. My dictionary businesses

22. Specialize in niche market
• Sometimes small niche market may be more
profitable than existing market. You need to be
the best in your area.
• For example Samex has 3 customs specialist and
they are selling electronic customs declaration
software as a software (SaaS).
• Business opportunity
Driver: Law Change
Eu directive which says
all companies must
do declarations
electronically

23. Ownership changes
• Sometimes you need to change company
culture to make sure company will survive.
– Management Changes, Employee changes, Owner
changes
– Reinventing business models
– Stopping to publish print
– Concentrating on Web and Services

24. Entrepreneurship:
The best career choice!
• I can help people and companies with IT solutions
• You can be your own boss
• You can choose when to work and what to do
• You can choose where your workplace is located
• You will learn new things
• You will get as much challenges as you want or need
• Work day is flexible, not only 8-16.
• You can change the world , woohoo!!
Remember: Making money is only result of making good work
Entrepreneurship is Hard work and it makes you stronger 

25. Why Entrepreneuship?
• Passion of Competition
• Passion of Success and Adventure
• Passion of personal career development
• Passion for growth
• Passion for Challenges
• Way to build career
Lake Shasta, California, June 2008, Mike Vondran, Wakeboarding. By over_kind_man

26. When you spend 8 hours doing
something, you should be able enjoy it
• Most important in worklife is to enjoy work
and your achievements at work itself
good feeling to
• you need to have
go to work every day
• if you don’t like your job or don’t feel good at
job: QUIT

27. My Books
• In finnish 2005
• About positive Things in entre-
preneurial life
ISBN: 952-91-8686-X
New book coming 2013 about
Unstoppable Entrepreneurship (in Finnish).

28. How do you define success?
Can Entrepreneurial career be part of it?
2012 Ilkka O. Lavas, Serial Entrepreneur, www.ilkkaolavas.com

29. Questions
• Questions:
– www.ilkkaolavas.com
– http://menestyvayrittaja.yrittaja.info
– ilkka@ilkkaolavas.com
– Twitter: @lavas
– Linkedin ilkkalavas
7.10.2012 Ilkka Lavas, Serial Entrepreneur