The Succeed in Business project is completing its first course and at the same time organized an Awareness Raising conference 26.8.2025 for new young people interested in the course and entrepreneurship.
Experiences from the first round: new friends and international perspectives
During the year, Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (Latvia) and Association of Municipalities of Tartu County (Estonia) have developed and implemented the Succeed in Business entrepreneurship course for young people aged 18-25. During the course, participants have visited each country and studied the following topics: 1) General Management and Business Development, 2) Human Resources, 3) Marketing, 4) Sales and Customer Relationships, 5) Finance, and 6) Production. Students who completed the course in its entirety have also completed MVP, i.e. minimum viable product. It means that they have translated business ideas into concrete action plans and thematic mentors have provided guidance and feedback to teams.
Viktoria Martynenko, Veera Bohjanen and Kokilamala Harini Narendra participated in the first Succeed in Business course. They told the new participants about their experiences from the first round of the Succeed in Business course. In particular, they emphasized the opportunity provided by the course to get to know new people internationally and hear the stories of entrepreneurs operating in different countries. For new students, they recommended committing to the implementation of the entire course and actively participating in all its meetings in order to get the best possible benefits from the content and networking. A good bonus in participating in the course was the opportunity to travel to Estonia and Latvia for free, visiting these countries.
Learning from the entrepreneurial stories of others: successes and failures
The understanding and competence accumulated through entrepreneurship education provide young people with general useful skills for working life, even if they are not immediately starting their own business. Self-leadership and taking responsibility are cornerstones of all working life, creativity and problem-solving skills help in a changing operating environment. Communication, marketing, teamwork and customer relationship management are skills that are increasingly needed in working life. Financial understanding is essential to be able to make sustainable decisions.
Two experienced entrepreneurs and people who have walked their own way told the participants their own stories. Cristian Burr Raty said that as a young Chilean student in 2010, he became interested in entrepreneurship when he and his friends set out to develop a large table size touchscreens. They succeeded well in their work and also made the product successful. However, disagreements caused the group to fall apart, and Cristian thought he never wanted to be an entrepreneur again. However, it turned out differently. Passion and hobby, downhill biking, became seed of a success story. With new co-founders, they developed a sports timing systems. The participants of the conference listened with interest as Cristian told an exciting story about a bold experiment, contacting the right people and start-up funding that has led to the success of a large company and its expansion around the sport in the span of a decade.
Mikko Sävilahti’s entrepreneurial story, on the other hand, began when he and his friends wanted to do something different than their employer at the time. He wanted to start his own business, whose company culture and values would better match his own and be more in control of his own life. Mikko openly talked about how important it is to get support from friends and colleagues at the beginning of the career, when looking for the first clients. He also talked about both successes and failures in cooperative relationships and solutions, and how important it is to solve problems calmly. There was also talk about the strain of entrepreneurship and the importance of taking care of one’s well-being and having self-leadership skills. It is also wise for an entrepreneur to see what kind of support and expertise they need from others and, for example, to hire people who have different strengths to bring to the organization’s operations. So, in conclusion, Mikko made it clear that the important things are team, networking, budgeting and strategy.
Second round starts in November
The key message of the conference was that you can always try, you can always look where the wings of this idea will take you. Failure is not dangerous either, and it is rarely your fault: it can be caused by many reasons, the wrong time or place, changes in the environment, etc. Constant curiosity and continuous learning take us forward.
So if you are a dynamic young person aged 18-25 from Pirkanmaa region with a passion for entrepreneurship, come and join us. If you’re ready to elevate your business ideas and gain real-world experience, the Succeed in Business training programme is the perfect opportunity for you!
Read more:
Succeed in Business 2025-2026 (in English): Succeed in Business Training Course 2025-2026 | Succeed in Business | Tampere Universities
Author: Päivi Heimonen, yliopettaja, Soveltavan tutkimuksen keskus, TAMK
Photo: Päivi Heimonen
