Often, we tell startups' stories through their achievements: the disruptive innovations, the new funding rounds, or international partnerships. But to get there, innovators have to undertake a long journey, facing the challenges of an unknown market, conducting pilots and trying to stand out in a crowd of competitors. For the fifth Coaching Corner episode, we bring together Kjetil Meisal, CEO of ONiO, Oslo-based IoT company specializing in ultra-low-power microcontrollers, and Kaija Pöysti, the business coach that coached the EIC Accelerator Blended Finance beneficiary.
As many other EIC Accelerator beneficiaries – as Kjetil recalls – the team of ONiO, made up of bright minds with an engineering background, had the pleasure of meeting Kaija through the dedicated coaching platform of the EIC Coaching Programme, where it is possible to search among 600 excellent business coaches.
Unlike ONiO’s team, Kaija does not come from the semiconductors’ world; however, as emerges from the testimonies we collected, it was precisely the coach’s outsider’s view that enabled the Norwegian company to acquire different insights, challenge their business mindset and assumptions – essential when the focus is on enhancing go-to-market and fundraising.
The focus: optimising time through key questions and good internal processes
While, commonly, startups’ focus is largely on funding, managing time is also be a key element. Good processes can enable startups to be innovative and creative and save time to be able to focus on important aspects.
One of them is customers and, as Kaija notes, “coaches can really help startups to understand where to get their first customers as quickly as possible”. Part of the process is that of reflecting on why a specific customer and industry is good for the company. As Kaija further explains, the same goes for investors: “It's important for the company to understand who they would want to have as investors and who they could have”.
As for the internal processes, ONiO had the unique opportunity to test its culture, onboarding and hiring processes and, with the business coach’s precious support, to translate the result into efficient internal processes.
Throughout her career as a successful entrepreneur, Kaija succeeded in growing her first company – Tantrex – from a one-person company into a great team of 260 people. What she learned during those 14 years in terms of quickly onboarding new team members, making them promptly feel part of the team, is an important part of her everyday coaching activity.
The process: challenging assumptions and embracing diverse perspectives
Challenging assumptions is central to the role of a business coach. As Kaija highlights, “one of the unique aspects of coaching offered by the EIC is that companies get access to diverse coaches with different kinds of experiences who, then, can help them get an outsider’s view”.
Even in her experience as an entrepreneur and investor, the business coach has appreciated the opportunities in which she could exchange with and learn from people from different industries and from different ways of doing things.
It was precisely through Kaija’s different background and perspective that the company was able to challenge its business models and learn how to get customers to integrate earlier on, changing their way of working significantly.
“If we look at fundraising, we are not fundraising experts. We appreciated her way of letting us into how the other side thinks and works. That was very valuable for us. We definitely got better at fundraising because of her”, said Kjetil Meisal, CEO of ONiO.
The result: beyond commercial wins
When asked about the overall EIC coaching experience with Kaija Pöysti, Kjetil Meisal focused on the one hand on the commercial success it supported, with the first $ 1,000,000 orders received by the company; on the other, the company particularly appreciated the business coach’s approach, which was not top-down but it rather showed her sincere curiosity, interest, positivity and engagement.
On this note, Kaija underlines how coaching provides a trusted and neutral person with whom the company can discuss about challenges and how to deal with them in a confidential way. Closing the interview, she underlined how coaching is, in fact, a two-way process:
“I have learned so incredibly much from the companies that I have been coaching”.
About the EIC Coaching Programme
The EIC Coaching Programme provides access to top experienced business coaches with extensive entrepreneurial and fundraising experience. These independent experts offer valuable insights and guidance, operating under a strict code of conduct to ensure confidentiality and protect your sensitive information.
Best of all, this coaching is provided free of charge by the EIC. Whether you are a newcomer or an experienced entrepreneur, you will be able to select a coach who understands your industry and market.
If you have any questions, contact us through the EIC Community’s contact page with the subject line 'EIC Coaching Programme', or visit our EIC website.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.