Jalo Helsinki acts as an example for young entrepreneurs

 Simon Frauenfelder, Elisa Patronen and Miika Perä at Jalo Helsinki office.

In 2009, Aalto University students Miika Perä, Olli Nuutila, Mikko Järvenpää and Tianyu Huang had a great idea and decided to become entrepreneurs. This led to the birth of Jalo Helsinki, a company that designs and manufactures designer smoke alarms. In addition to the pleasing appearance of the products and their greater value as decorative items compared to your average smoke alarm, emphasis has also been placed on increased user friendliness. Today, the company employs a dozen people in its office in Vallila, Helsinki. The products are selling well not only in Finland and Europe, but also in a country as far away from Finland as Japan.

'We used design to transform a boring everyday object into a desirable product.'

The idea of a smoke alarm emerged from a desire to transform the essence of an ordinary object that has remained very similar for many years and is rarely perceived as a decorative item.

'In a way, we used design to transform a boring everyday object into a desirable product,' explains Miika Perä, one of the founders of the company. The work was also based on another important motivation, an interest in improving fire safety. When the smoke alarm is a beautiful object, there is less of a threshold for purchasing one.

Aiming at the international market

When Jalo Helsinki was taking its first steps about three years ago, so did Aalto University. Students at the university established Aaltoes, or the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society, in Otaniemi, Espoo. The society provided the right environment for the initial development of Jalo Helsinki. Aaltoes offered the facilities needed and an inspiring environment and atmosphere for the work. According to Perä, the support provided by Aaltoes has been one of the cornerstones of the firm’s success.

'In addition to a stimulating atmosphere, the Venture Garage also provided us with important contacts. I could even go as far as to say that we would not be here without it, although of course everything impacts everything. '

The Lento smoke alarm is designed by Paola Suhonen.

When, after a long period of product development and a certification process, the products were finally available in shops, their success surprised even the developers themselves. The success is no doubt partly based on the fact that, at the time, the company had almost no serious competitors. In addition, real investments had been made in design. The two first smoke alarm models were designed by very well-known Finnish designers: the fly-shaped Lento was created by Paola Suhonen, and the prize-winning, more understated Kupu is designed by Harri Koskinen. Despite this, a key concern has been to keep the prices at a consumer-friendly level.

'Since the beginning, the aim has been to engage in genuinely international business.'

Perä will not give the names of the designers of upcoming models, but reveals that they will be even bigger names internationally. Internationalisation has been one of the main themes of Jalo Helsinki this year.

'Since the beginning, the aim has been to engage in genuinely international business,' Perä explains. Jalo Helsinki will not settle for a small market, but is prepared to set its aims high from the outset:

'Our wildly ambitious goal is to become world's number one smoke alarm manufacturer.'

Entrepreneurship while studying

Jalo Helsinki, combines expertise in technology, design and business. Sound familiar? The founders of the company are all students of Aalto University, with their study backgrounds in different fields. The range of expertise extends from industrial design and product development to the sales and commercialisation of products. The company could almost be described as a model specimen of activities at Aalto University.

Perä himself is currently a student in two separate programmes at Aalto University: he is studying finance at the School of Business and bioinformation technology at the School of Science. Studies as such are currently being kept more or less on the backburner for several of the founding members of Jalo Helsinki: entrepreneurship is no part-time activity. Yet, Perä would recommend entrepreneurship for other people still in university.

'Entrepreneurship requires a certain excessive optimism.'

 'If it’s something you really want, a good time to do it is in your twenties. The amount of energy that people have at that stage in their lives compensates for a whole lot of other things. Later in life, other things tend to come up: if you have to worry about providing for a family and have recently purchased a house, for example, that may not be the time to take huge risks,' Perä continues. He does not recommend entrepreneurship for everyone, however.

'It requires a certain excessive optimism,' he laughs.

In other words, it is necessary to believe in yourself and your idea. Above all, Perä stresses the significance of perseverance.

'Nothing gets done in one month, or even six months. But when you persevere and continue to pursue your idea, it might actually lead to something.'

Text: Katariina Laine

Photos: Lauri Laavakari