I claim that one of the most pressing problems in our society is a lack of trust. It manifests in, for example, our inability to build innovative solutions. Developing something new requires trust in those who you’d built a better future with. We should dare to take some risks and fail together. We are not doing this now.

We develop what’s already existing because we don’t trust those who bring something entirely new to the table. We hesitate to explore new perspectives and solutions alongside innovators who are aiming for a better future. We don’t trust them because they often don’t belong to the tribe of those in power, and that’s why we are too afraid to listen to them.

Recently, there has been a discussion about state subsidies for the green transition that have drifted into projects by large companies, projects that likely would have been implemented anyway. They were given to safe projects and to organisations that were already trusted. Additionally, Jussi Kärki wrote in the Talouselämä editorial that owners lack the courage to drive growth through innovation. But could it actually be about not trusting those who are different, those who want to do things in another way? That’s why we invest in and support those whom or what we already trust. We trust those we know beforehand, whose ways of operating we already know.

Trust needs builders.

Things can, however, be done differently. I claim that we really need a lot more trust builders. Entities that can offer Third Party Trust in situations where the outcome of a new project or service is uncertain. This party, a person or institution, creates a safe space for parties who do not know each other. They lend a small piece of their own trust capital. When this happens, everyone is on the same side, and trying something new becomes exciting. It’s no longer scary.

In the building of trust and supporting and funding trust entities, the public sector can have a significant role. So what should we do? Support those organizations that lend their trust capital. These are often actors like the Urban Tech Helsinki incubator. These include ecosystem actors such as KIRAhub, or Aalto University, the cities of Helsinki or Espoo, or the startup community Maria01. Demand these entities bring under their wing new, innovative startups and large companies. However, the most important message to decision-makers is this: sit at the same table with startups and innovators in the safe space created by trust entities. Develop and adopt new, sustainable future-building solutions confidently together. And yes, pay the solution providers, for they, too, deserve their wages for the work they do.

I claim that this works. Why? Because we have seen it work. I have seen the tremendous difference when a person or an institution that is trusted by all lends their trust to other actors. It brings everyone to the same side of the table. To do things together.

Third Party Trust is a miracle cure.

I’ll explain through an example I’ve had the priviledge to be part of. Over the past year, while leading Urban Tech Helsinki accelerator, we have been, together with colleagues Ari Seppänen and Labiba Abdul, and KIRAHub’s Teemu Lehtinen, Vappu Idi, Paavo Foley, and KIRA-growth program’s Miia Toivanen, developing ways for, often conservative large construction industry actors, to adopt new innovative solutions from startups. In other words, we’ve been pulling and pushing the Smart Business, Big Impact initiative.

Our goal is to support startups developing sustainable urban solutions to grow and scale their solutions in Finland and internationally. At the same time, large entities, cities, and companies develop their operations and create new business opportunities for themselves. Despite the obvious benefits, it often happens that when these startups try to engage in dialogue with city or corporate decision makers, the door remains shut. Startups are unfamiliar. Their solutions are seen as more of a risk than an opportunity. They are not trusted.

A Safe Space as the Foundation for Collective Action

When these decision-makers are invited to hear startups in events organized by us, Aalto Startup Center, or for example Maria01, they show up. They are happy to help startups and give them a small portion of their expertise. In these events, the organizers have created the needed safe space. They have offered all participants a piece of their own trust capital. This is Third Party Trust, trust borrowed from a third party.

Perhaps this becomes clear through examples:
“All startup events should be like this.”
“I didn’t believe how many interesting startups I would hear about.”
“Especially the second event was extremely beneficial.”

These were just a few of the plethora of positive comments from our Redefining VC process. We didn’t reshape venture capital funds, but we borrowed the term VC – and changed it to the less used Venture Client. A large entity as the buyer from a startup.

So what did we do? A simple process:

1. We identified the challenge. Large companies don’t know new solutions, and startups can’t engage in dialogue with decision-makers.
2. We gathered interested decision-makers together.
3. We presented the challenge to startups.
4. We selected the 20 best startups.
5. We brought startups to pitch to the decision-makers. It was crucial that this was not a competition, but the decision-makers were sparring with the startups.
6. Six startups continued in longer discussions, approximately 15 minutes with decision-makers to develop their solutions.

What did we achieve? According to my calculations, the process led to over 20 follow-up discussions between decision-makers’ companies or stakeholders and startups. Additionally, several follow-up discussions with, for example, Aalto University’s departments. An incredible success.

Moreover, everyone was positively surprised at how well it worked.

Why did it work? Well, we, the organizers of the process and our supporting entities Urban Tech Helsinki, Aalto Startup Center, Aalto University, ACRE, A Grid, KIRAhub, KIRA-growth program offered participants a piece of our trust capital. Everyone was on the same side, and thus emerged a truly inspiring dialogue and a shared belief that we could do things better.