The spring is upon us, and it is time for new growth. Urban Tech Helsinki start-ups have been successful in finding funding and new customers, so now it is time to speed up the growth. For that, February has been a busy month for Urban Tech Helsinki 2025 batch startups. The 8-week intensive period is now in its final weeks and the main event, Winds of Change for the startups to meet our partners and stakeholders is around the corner. If you’d like to know more about our startups, please register for the event and come to speed-date on March 14th. The main aim is to find out what pilots, deals, or cooperation our startups could do with our partners.
Other main events in March are the Aalto Startup Center Demo Day on March 6th with nearly twenty Urban Tech Helsinki startups present and our Networking Lunch on the following day; click on the links to register!
Sales and contacts have been a big issue for the first months of 2025. We have been working on the ‘Smart Business, Big Impact’ -initiative. We started with a questionnaire for startups. Now with nearly 50 answers, we see that roughly 2/3 of the startups find it difficult or extremely difficult to work with cities and corporations. The main reasons are the buyer being risk averse and therefore avoiding new startups and innovations, lack of visibility to needs of large entities and lack of visibility by them on startup solutions, too difficult tender processes, and the lack of expertise on the buyers’ side on how to work with startups. In the initiative, we are working on how to overcome those issues.
First, we are working on visibility. We put Built Environment startups to pitch for potential buyers. The next event is for property owners and managers on March 4th. Please register for the event, and find out about new sustainable solutions in energy, elevator maintenance, accessibility, and other topics owners and managers should really be interested in. These topics can help the owners to become more profitable and sustainable at the same time.
Startups selling on stage
Sell, sell, sell!!!! That is the theme of the ‘Smart Business, Big Impact’ -pitching events for Built Environment industry segments. The first was held on Wednesday, March 26th. With ten startups on stage and nearly 40 members of potential buying organizations, the potential of the event is exceptional. The startups get contacts to a large group of potential customers, while the decision makers get to see 10 new possible solutions in a very short space of time. Good event and opportunity for all parties.
From Urban Tech Helsinki, four startups were on stage: Ekotekt, Spolia, ScanwAI, and Pictue.
Next opportunity to see new solutions on March 4th.
Our portfolio of startups will be present, selling directly to potential clients at the Urban3 ecosystem space in Maria 01. again on March 4th. The event is mainly aimed at property owners and managers.
📅 4.3.2025 @ 9.00-11.00, register here.
In the next Tuesday’s event, five Urbantechers will be presenting: Benerg, eWatt Smart Power Systems, Make a BIM, Riesa Consultative, and Skanio.
The events are a part of the ‘Smart Business, Big Impact’ -initiative which aims to lower the threshold for startups within the built environment sector to sell their ideas to companies, Urban Tech Helsinki is teaming up with KIRAHub and KIRA-kasvuohjelma to bring a one-of-a-kind pitching event to life: the opportunity to sell directly to clients in the built environment industry!
Demo Day 2025
Demo Day is only a couple of days away! With a whopping 18 of our startups occupying booths this year, take this opportunity to meet our startups specialized in developing the forefront of sustainable technologies aimed at creating better cities. The list of startups from our cohorts spans from the newest batch all the way to those who started with us towards the beginning; in other words, this is a well-rounded taster of our portfolio that you don’t want to miss!
WHEN: 6.3.2025 @ 13.00-17.00
WHERE: A Grid @ Otakaari 5, Espoo
To register for Demo Day 2025 as an attendee, as well as to see all the startups showcased and the program outline, please click here.
March Networking Lunch
With spring approaching just around the corner, what better way to close the chapter of a dark and cold winter than with Urban Tech Helsinki’s monthly Networking Lunch?
Join us at our Urban3 premises in Maria 01 for a bite to eat, meaningful connections, and a chance to see what our current portfolio is cooking up at the moment! Don’t miss out on this low-threshold opportunity to meet high-quality startups, and all for free!
WHEN: 7.3.2025 @ 12.00-13.00
WHERE: Maria 01, Urban3 (Building 3, 2nd floor)
To make sure you will have something to eat, please register here.
Startups’ Challenges
With the Smart Business, Big Impact Challenge we have asked startups about their challenges in working with cities, public stakeholders, and large corporations. We have nearly 50 answers. Out of the startups, 2/3’s see working with large organizations as either difficult or very difficult. Only two see it as relatively easy.
The main difficulties the startups have indicated are:
- Risk Aversion: Preference for established solutions and reluctance to embrace new, unproven technologies. “Difficulties to be taken seriously and hard to get innovative projects going as they prefer to operate as before and not to take even modest risks.”
- Resources: Lack of dedicated personnel and processes to support co-development and pilot projects. “Large companies in the built environment sector, even in a good economy, typically don’t want to (or cannot afford to) pay for expensive co-development or piloting projects.”
- Limited visibility: Visibility to needs and the awareness of large entities of new innovative solutions and start-ups and availability of funds for innovative projects. “The decision making becomes more complex and slow, larger organizations also have a higher likelihood to do in-house development.”
- Complicated Procurement: Complex and slow decision-making processes hinder quick collaborations. “Public procurement barrier. Public tendering is not a realistic option.”
If you are a startup and haven’t answered the questionnaire yet, please help us help you by answering it; it won’t take more than 10 minutes to do so and would be of great help with our initiative!
We are looking for concrete projects to learn how to overcome these issues. If you are a company or a city and would like to benefit from working with startups, please get in touch with us and we will initiate a project with you. Contact our project manager Eetu Helminen: eetu.helminen@aalto.fi.