Magical entrepreneurship
Three friends wanted to do things their own way, so they founded a company where competitors and amateurs alike can get guidance and experience the joy of acrobatic gymnastics.
Lotta Nuppola, Petra Uosukainen and Heini Väätäinen had long experience as club coaches in acrobatic gymnastics, or akro for short in Finnish. As time went on, however, they wanted more and more to go out on their own so that they could do things exactly as they saw best.
“The biggest motivator for entrepreneurship was the fact that our coaching is firmly founded on a gentle, caring approach and listening to the gymnasts. Of course, we want to make a profit, but that’s not the be-all and end-all. The most important thing for us is that our gymnasts are happy. Even if none of our gymnasts would ever win a competition, we wouldn’t care. For us, other things are much more important,” Lotta points out.
Akron Taika – the name stands for “the magic of acrobatics” – provides acrobatic gymnastics coaching at both amateur and competitive level. The focus is on children and young people, but there are many adult enthusiasts as well. The company has its own training centre in Pirkkala, called Taika Arena, where a new trampoline hall has recently been completed as an extension to the premises.
Love for the sport
At the heart of everything, Lotta says, is love for the sport.
“Our hearts are completely in this. That’s our strength. We’re not doing it for money or for the good of the business otherwise, but for the gymnasts. Other important assets are our long experience and the fact that our own particular strong points and complement each other,” she says.
Business consultant Juha Tanner from Ensimetri echoes Lotta’s view. He notes that the founders have managed to build a unique community around Akron Taika, helping it to bring a touch of magic to everyday life.
“I was impressed by their responsible approach to coaching, but above all by the experience that the entrepreneurial trio has created. It’s always great to see people with deep knowledge that they can commercialise. This is a perfectly complementary trio – the business advisory process for them was like a textbook exercise in how things should be done.”
Asking for help pays off
According to Lotta, the main thing entrepreneurs were looking for from the New Enterprise Agency was reassurance and confirmation of their plans – are we really doing this, do we really have the skills we need and will it really work? After joint discussions, the idea was given the all clear as a viable proposition.
“If I had known how well it would all go, and how great it would turn out to be, I would have done this a decade earlier. But back then, of course, we wouldn’t have had the knowledge, experience and vision that we have now. Everything I’ve learned and experienced elsewhere before has helped me on my entrepreneurial path,” Lotta says.
She emphasises that anyone thinking about entrepreneurship or who is already an entrepreneur should not be afraid to ask for help and advice, and to seek advice on specific matters from someone who has the most expertise in that particular area.
“There’s no point in reinventing the wheel where someone else has better experience. “We too have asked experienced entrepreneurs for help and advice on certain things, but for other things we’ve asked gymnasts, among others.”
