After exploring the startup world with a few businesses, and after succeeding after two years as FiBAN’s Communications Manager, I’ve now become COO! 🥳
A big thanks to Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen for believing in me. :)
My journey to this point has been anything but a straight line. My career first started learning PR, social media, and crowdfunding secrets by working for a very ambitious film company with a big vision, Iron Sky Universe.
I still think that’s the kind of thinking that should be in the Finnish cultural landscape. Crazy big vision with the ambition to take it beyond this little country. I am still very grateful for that experience and it had a big impact on me.
And that’s the spirit that I ended up way later finding more in the startup sector. Later, I was part of co-founding some crazy ventures and some of my own.
🎙️A fun fact: I started my own small business at 24, alongside my studies — because why not? It was a storytelling open mic club that ran for around 2 years in Turku, first every month, then every 2 months and then less because I ran out of stories to tell and it was a lot of work to kick the audience in the butt to tempt them coming on stage.
Sometimes it worked and some amazing sharing was heard, and sometimes I had to spill the tea about my life to the whole town to fill the empty moments on stage. I’ve shared some funny, weird, scary, embarrassing, and very personal things there on stage.
I can tell you that sharing is a bit of a challenge for Finns.🤯
They (Us, We) have a lot of cool stories to share but don’t realize they have something unique and that no one may have experienced the same as them. But we keep these little story gems mostly to ourselves, which is a shame.
I guess that goes for this startup sector too. Nesting your business idea and hoping that someone asks what it’s about. I do that too, like this little piece of story here that I kept for myself and a few friends for a long time.
With a Master’s in Media Studies, I'm probably one of the few humanities folks in startup finance (please report to me if you’re one of them!) 🙌
Looking forward to this next chapter at FiBAN, where my focus is on helping the community, including investors and startups, thrive even better (together with an ace team!)
🎬In media studies, the term cliffhanger was used describing a moment in film/ TV when you give a little bit of something juicy but leave the viewer “hanging”.
We plan to release a bit of a more in-depth look at my path through the startup world because it’s quite a peculiar one all in all, so stay tuned! 😁
The Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN) has appointed Milja Inkeri Mäkelä Mäkelä as its new COO (Chief Operating Officer). 👏
This is a brand-new role at FiBAN, designed to strengthen the strategic renewal that began last year.
🗣 "Milja’s professional skills and her experience in the startup world make her an excellent fit for the role of COO at FiBAN," FiBAN's CEO Tiina Laisi-Puheloinen describes.
ℹ Milja Mäkelä, who joined FiBAN in 2022, previously served as the Communications Manager. She brings a diverse background to the team, including experience as a startup co-founder, CMO, and roles in communication and marketing across various sectors.
👉Read how to break the ice with Milja. 🐾🎵
https://lnkd.in/d3hJG-TS
Customer Operations | Care & Loyalty B2C Responsible at MasOrange
3moA great professional and a better colleague.