Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Preamble
In December 2021 a delegation of 15 founders and stakeholders from Cheltenham’s innovation ecosystem traveled to Slush in Helsinki, a leading startup event in Europe.
The goal of the trip was simple – discover why the Helsinki startup scene is blossoming and what factors make it succeed, then take that knowledge and feed the Cheltenham startup scene so it can flourish.
And to further this goal, we (the organisers) developed a program to not only provide the delegation with deeper insights into the local ecosystem but also to facilitate open dialogue amongst ourselves.
Together, we visited Maria 01 and heard from the local team about their efforts to transform an abandoned hospital into one of Europe’s largest startup campuses. We toured the new Oodi Library with the founding architect from ALA to hear about how public space can be carefully crafted to inspire future technologists and creatives from all backgrounds – a breathtaking concept, open to everyone. We convened with key UK and Finnish delegates at the British Ambassador’s residence, where we discussed how to encourage cross-border collaboration and cultural differences between the two nations
And we even had a bit of fun ourselves too; we organised a networking event post-Slush for European founders dubbed ‘the afterslush’, in partnership with the London Mayor’s London & Partners.
But perhaps most notably, together as a group, we hosted the inaugural ‘chltnhm_dialogues’.
Here, in an intimate setting, we shared viewpoints on the strengths and challenges of Cheltenham’s innovation economy and paired this with conversations from visiting key influencers from the Finnish and European technology industry.
Enclosed in this document you will find our thoughts, learnings, experiences and opinions from both the dialogues and the trip. They are not static, but rather rapidly evolving. They are not siloed, but rather collaborative and shared across all involved. As many of us living and working in Cheltenham recognise, the opportunity we have is massive. Outside London, Gloucestershire has the largest number of cyber firms in the country.¹ It’s now time to continue the momentum and foster the conditions for high-growth, product-led startups from the region to thrive. This will be a collective effort.
We hope these opinions will be helpful in shaping the future of an evolving innovation cluster that we all are a part of. This trip was our first trip – a test. There will be more.
“There’s a simple four step recipe for how to build an ecosystem: 1) dedicate a place for it, 2) invite current and future entrepreneurs, 3) give the control to them, and 4) support with funding.”
Jouni Lounasmaa Member of the Board at Maria01
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin
“The first Slush was 200 people. And it was all Finns. The focus of the following years was to bring as much investment capital here once a year, because at that time it wasn’t here locally.”
Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Preamble
In December 2021 a delegation of 15 founders and stakeholders from Cheltenham’s innovation ecosystem traveled to Slush in Helsinki, a leading startup event in Europe.
The goal of the trip was simple – discover why the Helsinki startup scene is blossoming and what factors make it succeed, then take that knowledge and feed the Cheltenham startup scene so it can flourish.
And to further this goal, we (the organisers) developed a program to not only provide the delegation with deeper insights into the local ecosystem but also to facilitate open dialogue amongst ourselves.
Together, we visited Maria 01 and heard from the local team about their efforts to transform an abandoned hospital into one of Europe’s largest startup campuses. We toured the new Oodi Library with the founding architect from ALA to hear about how public space can be carefully crafted to inspire future technologists and creatives from all backgrounds – a breathtaking concept, open to everyone. We convened with key UK and Finnish delegates at the British Ambassador’s residence, where we discussed how to encourage cross-border collaboration and cultural differences between the two nations
And we even had a bit of fun ourselves too; we organised a networking event post-Slush for European founders dubbed ‘the afterslush’, in partnership with the London Mayor’s London & Partners.
But perhaps most notably, together as a group, we hosted the inaugural ‘chltnhm_dialogues’.
Here, in an intimate setting, we shared viewpoints on the strengths and challenges of Cheltenham’s innovation economy and paired this with conversations from visiting key influencers from the Finnish and European technology industry.
Enclosed in this document you will find our thoughts, learnings, experiences and opinions from both the dialogues and the trip. They are not static, but rather rapidly evolving. They are not siloed, but rather collaborative and shared across all involved. As many of us living and working in Cheltenham recognise, the opportunity we have is massive. Outside London, Gloucestershire has the largest number of cyber firms in the country.¹ It’s now time to continue the momentum and foster the conditions for high-growth, product-led startups from the region to thrive. This will be a collective effort.
We hope these opinions will be helpful in shaping the future of an evolving innovation cluster that we all are a part of. This trip was our first trip – a test. There will be more.
“There’s a simple four step recipe for how to build an ecosystem: 1) dedicate a place for it, 2) invite current and future entrepreneurs, 3) give the control to them, and 4) support with funding.”
Jouni Lounasmaa Member of the Board at Maria01
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin
“The first Slush was 200 people. And it was all Finns. The focus of the following years was to bring as much investment capital here once a year, because at that time it wasn’t here locally.”
Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Preamble
In December 2021 a delegation of 15 founders and stakeholders from Cheltenham’s innovation ecosystem traveled to Slush in Helsinki, a leading startup event in Europe.
The goal of the trip was simple – discover why the Helsinki startup scene is blossoming and what factors make it succeed, then take that knowledge and feed the Cheltenham startup scene so it can flourish.
And to further this goal, we (the organisers) developed a program to not only provide the delegation with deeper insights into the local ecosystem but also to facilitate open dialogue amongst ourselves.
Together, we visited Maria 01 and heard from the local team about their efforts to transform an abandoned hospital into one of Europe’s largest startup campuses. We toured the new Oodi Library with the founding architect from ALA to hear about how public space can be carefully crafted to inspire future technologists and creatives from all backgrounds – a breathtaking concept, open to everyone. We convened with key UK and Finnish delegates at the British Ambassador’s residence, where we discussed how to encourage cross-border collaboration and cultural differences between the two nations
And we even had a bit of fun ourselves too; we organised a networking event post-Slush for European founders dubbed ‘the afterslush’, in partnership with the London Mayor’s London & Partners.
But perhaps most notably, together as a group, we hosted the inaugural ‘chltnhm_dialogues’.
Here, in an intimate setting, we shared viewpoints on the strengths and challenges of Cheltenham’s innovation economy and paired this with conversations from visiting key influencers from the Finnish and European technology industry.
Enclosed in this document you will find our thoughts, learnings, experiences and opinions from both the dialogues and the trip. They are not static, but rather rapidly evolving. They are not siloed, but rather collaborative and shared across all involved. As many of us living and working in Cheltenham recognise, the opportunity we have is massive. Outside London, Gloucestershire has the largest number of cyber firms in the country.¹ It’s now time to continue the momentum and foster the conditions for high-growth, product-led startups from the region to thrive. This will be a collective effort.
We hope these opinions will be helpful in shaping the future of an evolving innovation cluster that we all are a part of. This trip was our first trip – a test. There will be more.
“There’s a simple four step recipe for how to build an ecosystem: 1) dedicate a place for it, 2) invite current and future entrepreneurs, 3) give the control to them, and 4) support with funding.”
Jouni Lounasmaa Member of the Board at Maria01
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin
“The first Slush was 200 people. And it was all Finns. The focus of the following years was to bring as much investment capital here once a year, because at that time it wasn’t here locally.”
Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Preamble
In December 2021 a delegation of 15 founders and stakeholders from Cheltenham’s innovation ecosystem traveled to Slush in Helsinki, a leading startup event in Europe.
The goal of the trip was simple – discover why the Helsinki startup scene is blossoming and what factors make it succeed, then take that knowledge and feed the Cheltenham startup scene so it can flourish.
And to further this goal, we (the organisers) developed a program to not only provide the delegation with deeper insights into the local ecosystem but also to facilitate open dialogue amongst ourselves.
Together, we visited Maria 01 and heard from the local team about their efforts to transform an abandoned hospital into one of Europe’s largest startup campuses. We toured the new Oodi Library with the founding architect from ALA to hear about how public space can be carefully crafted to inspire future technologists and creatives from all backgrounds – a breathtaking concept, open to everyone. We convened with key UK and Finnish delegates at the British Ambassador’s residence, where we discussed how to encourage cross-border collaboration and cultural differences between the two nations
And we even had a bit of fun ourselves too; we organised a networking event post-Slush for European founders dubbed ‘the afterslush’, in partnership with the London Mayor’s London & Partners.
But perhaps most notably, together as a group, we hosted the inaugural ‘chltnhm_dialogues’.
Here, in an intimate setting, we shared viewpoints on the strengths and challenges of Cheltenham’s innovation economy and paired this with conversations from visiting key influencers from the Finnish and European technology industry.
Enclosed in this document you will find our thoughts, learnings, experiences and opinions from both the dialogues and the trip. They are not static, but rather rapidly evolving. They are not siloed, but rather collaborative and shared across all involved. As many of us living and working in Cheltenham recognise, the opportunity we have is massive. Outside London, Gloucestershire has the largest number of cyber firms in the country.¹ It’s now time to continue the momentum and foster the conditions for high-growth, product-led startups from the region to thrive. This will be a collective effort.
We hope these opinions will be helpful in shaping the future of an evolving innovation cluster that we all are a part of. This trip was our first trip – a test. There will be more.
“There’s a simple four step recipe for how to build an ecosystem: 1) dedicate a place for it, 2) invite current and future entrepreneurs, 3) give the control to them, and 4) support with funding.”
Jouni Lounasmaa Member of the Board at Maria01
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin
“The first Slush was 200 people. And it was all Finns. The focus of the following years was to bring as much investment capital here once a year, because at that time it wasn’t here locally.”
Voitto Kangas Entrepreneur
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March 1, 2022
How To Jumpstart An Ecosystem (In Cheltenham)
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Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Preamble
In December 2021 a delegation of 15 founders and stakeholders from Cheltenham’s innovation ecosystem traveled to Slush in Helsinki, a leading startup event in Europe.
The goal of the trip was simple – discover why the Helsinki startup scene is blossoming and what factors make it succeed, then take that knowledge and feed the Cheltenham startup scene so it can flourish.
And to further this goal, we (the organisers) developed a program to not only provide the delegation with deeper insights into the local ecosystem but also to facilitate open dialogue amongst ourselves.
Together, we visited Maria 01 and heard from the local team about their efforts to transform an abandoned hospital into one of Europe’s largest startup campuses. We toured the new Oodi Library with the founding architect from ALA to hear about how public space can be carefully crafted to inspire future technologists and creatives from all backgrounds – a breathtaking concept, open to everyone. We convened with key UK and Finnish delegates at the British Ambassador’s residence, where we discussed how to encourage cross-border collaboration and cultural differences between the two nations
And we even had a bit of fun ourselves too; we organised a networking event post-Slush for European founders dubbed ‘the afterslush’, in partnership with the London Mayor’s London & Partners.
But perhaps most notably, together as a group, we hosted the inaugural ‘chltnhm_dialogues’.
Here, in an intimate setting, we shared viewpoints on the strengths and challenges of Cheltenham’s innovation economy and paired this with conversations from visiting key influencers from the Finnish and European technology industry.
Enclosed in this document you will find our thoughts, learnings, experiences and opinions from both the dialogues and the trip. They are not static, but rather rapidly evolving. They are not siloed, but rather collaborative and shared across all involved. As many of us living and working in Cheltenham recognise, the opportunity we have is massive. Outside London, Gloucestershire has the largest number of cyber firms in the country.¹ It’s now time to continue the momentum and foster the conditions for high-growth, product-led startups from the region to thrive. This will be a collective effort.
We hope these opinions will be helpful in shaping the future of an evolving innovation cluster that we all are a part of. This trip was our first trip – a test. There will be more.
“There’s a simple four step recipe for how to build an ecosystem: 1) dedicate a place for it, 2) invite current and future entrepreneurs, 3) give the control to them, and 4) support with funding.”
Jouni Lounasmaa Member of the Board at Maria01
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin
“The first Slush was 200 people. And it was all Finns. The focus of the following years was to bring as much investment capital here once a year, because at that time it wasn’t here locally.”
Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Preamble
In December 2021 a delegation of 15 founders and stakeholders from Cheltenham’s innovation ecosystem traveled to Slush in Helsinki, a leading startup event in Europe.
The goal of the trip was simple – discover why the Helsinki startup scene is blossoming and what factors make it succeed, then take that knowledge and feed the Cheltenham startup scene so it can flourish.
And to further this goal, we (the organisers) developed a program to not only provide the delegation with deeper insights into the local ecosystem but also to facilitate open dialogue amongst ourselves.
Together, we visited Maria 01 and heard from the local team about their efforts to transform an abandoned hospital into one of Europe’s largest startup campuses. We toured the new Oodi Library with the founding architect from ALA to hear about how public space can be carefully crafted to inspire future technologists and creatives from all backgrounds – a breathtaking concept, open to everyone. We convened with key UK and Finnish delegates at the British Ambassador’s residence, where we discussed how to encourage cross-border collaboration and cultural differences between the two nations
And we even had a bit of fun ourselves too; we organised a networking event post-Slush for European founders dubbed ‘the afterslush’, in partnership with the London Mayor’s London & Partners.
But perhaps most notably, together as a group, we hosted the inaugural ‘chltnhm_dialogues’.
Here, in an intimate setting, we shared viewpoints on the strengths and challenges of Cheltenham’s innovation economy and paired this with conversations from visiting key influencers from the Finnish and European technology industry.
Enclosed in this document you will find our thoughts, learnings, experiences and opinions from both the dialogues and the trip. They are not static, but rather rapidly evolving. They are not siloed, but rather collaborative and shared across all involved. As many of us living and working in Cheltenham recognise, the opportunity we have is massive. Outside London, Gloucestershire has the largest number of cyber firms in the country.¹ It’s now time to continue the momentum and foster the conditions for high-growth, product-led startups from the region to thrive. This will be a collective effort.
We hope these opinions will be helpful in shaping the future of an evolving innovation cluster that we all are a part of. This trip was our first trip – a test. There will be more.
“There’s a simple four step recipe for how to build an ecosystem: 1) dedicate a place for it, 2) invite current and future entrepreneurs, 3) give the control to them, and 4) support with funding.”
Jouni Lounasmaa Member of the Board at Maria01
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin
“The first Slush was 200 people. And it was all Finns. The focus of the following years was to bring as much investment capital here once a year, because at that time it wasn’t here locally.”
Together with key players from Cheltenham's technology and cyber community, we traveled abroad to learn best practices and discover what could be learned and implemented locally. The white paper below is the outcome.
Preamble
In December 2021 a delegation of 15 founders and stakeholders from Cheltenham’s innovation ecosystem traveled to Slush in Helsinki, a leading startup event in Europe.
The goal of the trip was simple – discover why the Helsinki startup scene is blossoming and what factors make it succeed, then take that knowledge and feed the Cheltenham startup scene so it can flourish.
And to further this goal, we (the organisers) developed a program to not only provide the delegation with deeper insights into the local ecosystem but also to facilitate open dialogue amongst ourselves.
Together, we visited Maria 01 and heard from the local team about their efforts to transform an abandoned hospital into one of Europe’s largest startup campuses. We toured the new Oodi Library with the founding architect from ALA to hear about how public space can be carefully crafted to inspire future technologists and creatives from all backgrounds – a breathtaking concept, open to everyone. We convened with key UK and Finnish delegates at the British Ambassador’s residence, where we discussed how to encourage cross-border collaboration and cultural differences between the two nations
And we even had a bit of fun ourselves too; we organised a networking event post-Slush for European founders dubbed ‘the afterslush’, in partnership with the London Mayor’s London & Partners.
But perhaps most notably, together as a group, we hosted the inaugural ‘chltnhm_dialogues’.
Here, in an intimate setting, we shared viewpoints on the strengths and challenges of Cheltenham’s innovation economy and paired this with conversations from visiting key influencers from the Finnish and European technology industry.
Enclosed in this document you will find our thoughts, learnings, experiences and opinions from both the dialogues and the trip. They are not static, but rather rapidly evolving. They are not siloed, but rather collaborative and shared across all involved. As many of us living and working in Cheltenham recognise, the opportunity we have is massive. Outside London, Gloucestershire has the largest number of cyber firms in the country.¹ It’s now time to continue the momentum and foster the conditions for high-growth, product-led startups from the region to thrive. This will be a collective effort.
We hope these opinions will be helpful in shaping the future of an evolving innovation cluster that we all are a part of. This trip was our first trip – a test. There will be more.
“There’s a simple four step recipe for how to build an ecosystem: 1) dedicate a place for it, 2) invite current and future entrepreneurs, 3) give the control to them, and 4) support with funding.”
Jouni Lounasmaa Member of the Board at Maria01
Contrary to popular belief, Lorem Ipsum is not simply random text. It has roots in a piece of classical Latin
“The first Slush was 200 people. And it was all Finns. The focus of the following years was to bring as much investment capital here once a year, because at that time it wasn’t here locally.”
