A turning point in my career occurred during summer work as a journalist at the Economic Information Office in 1989. During the summer, I had noticed that in the Finnish industry there was intense discussion in various forums about European economic integration and Finland joining the European Economic Area or even the European Community. This debate was non-existent in my study circles. Over the summer I really began to wonder what all this integration was about, as companies were decisively pushing the matter forward.

Because I am naturally curious and interested in anything new, at the end of the summer I decided to investigate the issue. The best way was to immerse myself in the study of European integration related themes at the University. As a result of the expertise I acquired, I was years later – after I had already graduated – offered work at the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, although I had not even applied for a position. At that time Finland was in the depths of an economic depression. This was the beginning of a humanities graduate’s career in industry.

A second turning point was the decision I made at the end of 2009 to leave my extremely interesting and relatively well-paid position as a management consultant to become a penniless entrepreneur. The reason for this decision was my interest in investigating and realising a new opportunity. My work has always been connected to the productisation and commercialisation of new knowledge or expertise. Thus, this and an observed need gave rise to a new business idea. We founded a company called TutorHouse, which offers to Finnish families the expertise of Finnish teachers and additional, tailor-made teaching services that supplement public education (so called private tutoring services), all the way from primary school to upper-secondary school levels.