With startups, there are times when you are ready to put the whole company into a box and throw it out the window – and then hope that someone would walk all over it and maybe a cat would destroy what’s left. And then there are times when you want to tell everyone how you are so happy and in love with your baby, the startup. This news put us in the latter mood.
We are excited to share that some people believe in us so much that we were awarded a Tempo grant from Business Finland – thank you, thank you, thank you! We were so happy that we decided to go to our nearest local Bardem to have a glass of sparkling wine and paint this happy memory into our minds for the challenges ahead. Sometimes things can change in just a day, which, if you think about it, is quite exciting.
What are we going to do with this money? That 50 000 euro Tempo grant will speed up our pace and will make it possible to hire some of the best people in Finland. We are so excited to work with these people and learn from them while developing the best possible tool for all you great and talented people. To receive this funding, we needed to put 30 000 euros into the idea ourselves.
But at the same time, this also means that we are moving into deeper waters with our tiny boat. The waves will most likely be heavier, and soon we need to build a bigger boat and hire a larger crew to sail it in these winds. If you are interested in learning more about us, please read more from our team section.
And if you are involved with a Finnish startup or a company with an innovative idea, you might want to continue reading:
What is Business Finland’s Tempo grant?
Tempo is Business Finland’s funding grant for Finnish startups, SMEs and mid cap companies aiming for international growth. Funding is for projects that have a main focus on developing capabilities related to the company’s international growth. In addition to internationally competitive innovation, a company must have a committed and knowledgeable team and sufficient financial resources.
Before starting a Tempo process, successful applicants need to demonstrate the following strengths:
- internationally competitive innovation
- knowledgeable team
- sufficient financial resources.
Our experience applying for a Tempo grant
We started the application process in the beginning of 2020 – the 1st of January 2020 to be precise. The whole application process took a bit more than a month, and on the 11th of February we received good news.
The process was smooth. We got a call from Business Finland about two weeks after we submitted the application, and we were invited to meet them.
Everything seemed to be going well, and no reasons were provided for them to reject our application. We were asked to deliver them more detailed plans about how the grant would be used.
Prönö costs:
- Salaries 13 500€ (Two employees for 3 months)
- Salary side costs 4000€
- Purchased services 39 000€
- Other expenses 10 167€
We talked with many service providers and finally made our decisions about the partners we wanted to work with, specifically Nordkapp, Kokoro & Moi and Dottir. From those partners, we gathered information about daily prices and also the scope of their work within our project.
About 1-2 weeks after submitting the application, we received a positive decision: Business Finland decided to award us the grant.
WHAT IS TEMPO FUNDING? – Business Finland explains it:
“Tempo funding is Business Finland’s funding intended for Finnish startups, SMEs and mid cap companies aiming for international growth that have the desire and ability to build their expertise and solutions into an international success story in innovative ways. Innovation can mean a lot of things, not just the technical implementation of a product or service. The result to be achieved must have a credible advantage over potential competitors.
With the funding, your company can improve its potential for international growth in various ways, test the functionality of its business concept, obtain feedback from potential customers, and investigate demand in a new international market.”
Read more here: https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/for-finnish-customers/services/funding/tempo-funding/
