Co-Entrepreneurship Solved Flovi's Internationalization Challenges
“Partnering with Voland enables bold decisions and investments to be made without fear that personal financial risks would jeopardize the company’s future,” says Aapeli Kallunki, founder and CEO of Flovi.
Behind it was a failed internationalization attempt. However, the numbers that remained in the growth direction of the business showed that the team led by Aapeli Kallunki had a solution in hand, and user feedback encouraged them to continue, even though the launch of the service in Sweden was slow in the beginning.
“Since 2015, we have grown steadily every year, investing all the extra funds in growth and product development. We knew that we had a story and figures that would interest venture capitalists in Finland and the Nordic countries. But to be honest, I didn’t know exactly what kind of options existed,” says Aapeli Kallunki, founder and CEO of Flovi.
In 2022, Flovis had licked its wounds after a failed internationalization attempt. Cash flows generated by the Finnish business continued to grow.
“This was an opportune moment, as we did not have an acute financial crisis or problem on the table. We were able to explore options and make decisions without any rush or financial pressure.”
Kallunki spent about a year actively gathering information and preparing for the new phase with the venture capitalist.
“I asked the question ‘why’. Why am I doing this, why is the company doing this. For me, the insight that ultimately made it easier to make the decision was to separate the company’s story from my story as an entrepreneur. It is possible to keep my personal life and decisions regarding the company separate,” Kallunki explains.
“It is good to set aside time for this, because you can gain particularly valuable information by talking to other entrepreneurs who have been in a similar situation before, gathering information and reviewing your own thinking.”
Ownership strategy as a growth enabler
Aapeli Kallunki has utilized ownership as a strategic enabler of growth. With ownership, the company's key people have been committed to the story of a small company from the beginning. Disrupting the market through technology and service development requires the right people for the right tasks.
“It has been clear from the beginning that growth requires us to get new people involved in our story. How to find them in a small company that wants to grow is a more difficult question to solve.” "The company's story must be reflected in the business numbers, as they create credibility for our vision, to which we want to commit our people. A small company, especially in the early stages, does not have the opportunity to pay competitive salaries. Offering ownership has been a way for me to solve this problem and commit people to the story of Flovi.”
Utilizing ownership also made it easier to decide to offer an investment opportunity to a growth partner.
“Utilizing ownership was a natural way to gain the necessary expertise to enable the company’s growth and share the risks when we started planning a new company to expand into Sweden,” says Kallunki.
Kallunki was looking for a partner who could help the company open up the Swedish market and accelerate growth through technological development. At the same time, the capital investment would provide a financial buffer to manage the risks of growth.
“When we met with Voland representatives, we immediately felt that they understood our needs. In Voland, we found an operator that shares our values, supports our unique way of operating and also strives to be beneficial from a societal perspective.”
Negotiations with Voland were completed in December 2023. Shortly after, Flovi launched its service in Sweden in early 2024.
“I have gained five professionals from Voland who I can call at any time. I get valuable sparring and perspectives from them. At the same time, our board work has developed significantly. With the help of Voland, we gained very experienced professionals who have gone through the paths of growth entrepreneurship on our board.”
Kallunki also highlights the importance of partnership in the entrepreneur’s personal story.
“A capital investment makes it possible to not have to think about how I personally will get by first, when you should genuinely think about where the company is going and what it needs. It enables bold decisions and investments to be made without fear that personal financial risks would jeopardize the company’s future,” Kallunki explains the importance of money in co-entrepreneurship.