My Oulu: Polar Bear Pitching helps Oulu to stand out in the world of start-ups

Viera Karam, BusinessOulu’s startup ecosystem leader, has been working with Oulu-based start-ups for nearly five years. Her journey with the startup community began during her student days at the University of Oulu, where she first got involved as a volunteer at the Polar Bear Pitching event and later as an active member of the Oulu Entrepreneurship Society (Oulu ES) and Startup Weekend.

These events have once again become fixtures in Oulu’s startup scene, but first, we need to ask: what does Oulu’s startup world look like?

“Oulu is doing great! Last year, we conducted a survey of Oulu’s startup landscape, and we found about 120 active startup companies here. We have tripled the number of new startups compared to the last three years. We’ve also received two international recognitions: Oulu was included in Startup Genome’s assessment, making us the only city in Finland recognized alongside Helsinki. Startup Genome estimates the total value of startups in Oulu at $2.7 billion, which is quite an achievement for a city of our size”, Karam explains.

“Startup Blink is another international comparison, which ranks us as the second-best startup ecosystem in Finland, with Oulu named the 4th best startup ecosystem in Europe in the health technology sector,” she adds.

A third international recognition will be determined this Wednesday in Lisbon, as Oulu competes for the title of Europe’s Capital of Innovation in Rising city category – a finalist position reached, perhaps not surprisingly, with the help of Viera Karam.

“I didn’t personally write the iCapital application, but I felt privileged to represent the City of Oulu when we defended our application for the jury. Seeing everything that’s happening in innovation and urban development across the city, beyond just the startup sector, I truly believe Oulu deserves to win”, Karam states confidently.

Unique event captures interest

Karam will be attending the Lisbon Web Summit, following Oulu’s progress in the iCapital competition while representing Polar Bear Pitching, accompanied by Polar Bear Pitching ambassador Jbear, a polar bear familiar to Oulu residents.

“With over 70,000 participants at the Web Summit, walking around with Jbear guarantees attention –I’ve seen this effect firsthand at Helsinki’s Slush event. Polar Bear Pitching is such a unique event that it sparks a lot of interest. I’m confident we’ll come back with exciting new contacts — and hopefully as the iCapital competition winner”, Karam laughs.

Polar Bear Pitching is a significant event for Karam, and its revival has been particularly rewarding.

“Many startup events in Oulu were overshadowed by the pandemic. When I started at BusinessOulu working on the development of the startup ecosystem, my first task was to revive trusted and proven events. I joined Polar Bear Pitching in 2017 as a volunteer, and for the next two years, I was a co-host. A year ago, we brought Polar Bear back to life, so it feels like things have come full circle”, Karam says.

Karam envisions Polar Bear Pitch becoming even more international in the future.

“Last year, we held satellite events in Norway and Japan. Next year, Davos Klosters in Switzerland and Tokyo in Japan will join us, and we’re also negotiating with organizers in Belgium and Norway. I believe we’ll have 4–5 satellite events next year. We don’t organize or fund these events ourselves; local organizers handle the arrangements and costs of the satellite events. Meanwhile, we’re focusing on developing the Oulu event – not to grow it into something big like Slush, but to keep PBP as a unique, boutique event that people remember”, she reflects.

Karam has found her passion in Oulu-based startups and developing companies working with innovations. But what does she think is needed next?

“I’ve been able to create events for the startup community where people can meet. We also launched a startup station, so a lot has already been accomplished. But we need more initiatives to support startup growth and accelerate business development. Building connections with investor networks is ongoing work, so this is never fully complete”, Karam concludes.