Superhood Oy is a Helsinki-based urban tech startup founded in 2020, offering a social communications platform for cities and neighborhoods. Superhood addresses the problem of lost information in closed social media groups during the pandemic by providing a platform that aggregates local news and information from various channels and sources into personal neighborhood feeds, without user tracking, closed groups, or excessive algorithms. Superhood also provides SaaS services for large enterprises, authorities, and other organizations to reach and engage with local people in specific geographical areas.
The Superhood team is a combination of experience and young energy. Building a solution and a business like Superhood takes a lot of patience and grit. Markku Mehtälä, the founder has built and exited 3 tech startups during the past 25+ years and has worked with the tech lead Mikko for 10+ years. The company also has a team of 3 software engineers in Vietnam and currently hiring a Marketing Lead in Helsinki. Markku has been at the forefront of mobile technologies and services since the late 90s and the introduction of the first Internet-enabled mobile phones. The team is not afraid to rethink the way a local social platform should work and how today’s mobile technologies can create an exceptional user experience.
The idea for Superhood came during Markku’s extensive traveling days of previous startups. During his travels, Markku always had a little bit of homesickness, and in one specific trip to Busan, South Korea while walking to the airport bus in the wee hours of the morning a thought of an app to keep up with all the relevant neighborhoods (home, summer place, etc) came about. This was years before starting Superhood or even selling the previous startup, but the thought of such an app was never forgotten. Superhood was eventually started when Markku realised how the city organisations and local businesses had the same exact problem but from completely opposite sides, how to keep the local or otherwise locally invested people updated on local matters.
Overall, Superhood’s mission is to create a new kind of local media and help businesses, cities, and authorities reach and engage with local people in specific geographical areas. Superhood’s solution consists of mobile apps and web services for consumers and small businesses, and SaaS services for large enterprises, authorities, and other organizations.
Superhood’s passionate commitment to making a positive impact in Helsinki and beyond
Superhood is passionately committed to making the world a more sustainable place in a unique way. They strongly believe in sustainability at two levels, with the first being a dedicated focus on creating a sustainable social media platform that connects people with their neighborhoods without the negative effects of mainstream social media. They are thrilled to help people stay connected while also promoting a healthy media consumption lifestyle.
Secondly, Superhood is highly dedicated to helping local people and organizations communicate in a sustainable manner. They want to ensure that everyone can access relevant local information, including the nearest recycling center or available local resources like goods for sale, rent, or borrowing.
Superhood is excited to be working on creating a way to assess the health and happiness of a neighborhood, which will also reflect the neighborhood’s sustainability. They are currently developing this project and will be providing more information at a later date.
In terms of their impact on clean and sustainable living in Helsinki, Superhood is thrilled to collaborate with Forum Virium, the innovation unit of the City of Helsinki, on the Helsinki Sustainable Neighborhoods project. Their platform, Superhood, will officially launch as part of the project, and they can’t wait to help people in Helsinki access and share local resources to encourage sustainable living.
Superhood is also eager to collaborate with the City of Helsinki in other areas besides the sustainability project. They believe that their platform is a powerful tool that helps cities reach out and engage with local people, and they are excited about the potential of their collaboration with the city. They will be providing more information on these initiatives at a later date.
Urban Tech Helsinki accelerates Superhood’s growth
Superhood has been participating in the Urban Tech Helsinki program and has found it to be a great experience. The program has been focused on networking and has connected Superhood with valuable partners and opened many doors. One of the most beneficial aspects of the program has been the co-working space provided by Urban Tech Helsinki in collaboration with Urban3 and Kirahub. The space has allowed Superhood to connect with other entrepreneurs and companies, providing valuable opportunities for collaboration and growth.
Looking forward, Superhood has set some ambitious goals for 2023 and beyond. Their plan is to officially launch their platform after being in “silent” beta for a while. They are currently in the final stages of their pre-seed funding round and are working to secure partnerships with major players in their industry. Their ultimate goal is to expand internationally in late 2023 and beyond.
To achieve its mission, Superhood is actively seeking talent, investors, and partners who are interested in working with local media companies, cities, and other social apps. Recently, they found their Marketing Lead after a rigorous process of reviewing 150+ applications. As they continue to grow, they plan to expand their marketing and the commercial team later in the year.
Overall, Superhood’s experience in the Urban Tech Helsinki program has been overwhelmingly positive, and they are excited about the potential opportunities that lie ahead. They remain committed to their mission and are eager to continue building relationships with new partners and growing their businesses.
If you want to learn more about Superhood, you can visit their website here. You can also watch this video to see how the app works.