On September 19th, Staria Growth Summit 2023 took place live in Helsinki and was live streamed worldwide.
Staria Growth Summit was previously known as NetSuite Day, and this was the 8th time this annual event was organized. The new name represents the fact that this time the focus was more on growth in general – NetSuite still being an important part of the day. Over 300 people attended either live in Helsinki or following the live stream online.
The event was opened by Staria’s CEO Artti Aurasmaa, who spoke about the future we are building for following generations and what growth has to do with shaping this future.
Staria Growth Summit was complimentary by sponsors Staria, Oracle NetSuite, FloQast and Zone & Co.
Artti Aurasmaa, CEO, Staria
Keynote about boring stuff wasn't boring
Whe had the honor to welcome keynote speaker Samu Hällfors, CEO of Framery, to the stage as the first guest of the day. In his speech, Hällfors talked about excelling at the boring stuff – meaning the things in business that leaders easily neglect in order to focus on things that are interesting and feel more important for success. Hällfors' idea behind his speech was that even though excelling at the boring stuff won't guarantee successful growth, he believes that growth companies will not make it without excelling in the boring stuff.
Samu Hällfors, CEO, Framery
Panel discussion on managing international growth with NetSuite
After Hällfors had kicked off the program with his keynote, it was time for the first panel discussion of the day. The panelists were:
Maria Kilegran, Finance systems and Process Manager, Storytel
Stefan Faith-Ell, NetSuite Product Owner, Voi
Andrew Rudchuk, Head of Finance, Starship Technologies
The topic of the panel discussion was managing international growth with NetSuite. Each panelist represented a growing company operating in multiple countries with NetSuite and shared valuable insights on their growth journeys, challenges, solutions, processes and also tips for other growth companies who consider choosing NetSuite as their platform.
From left to right: event host Robin Kurtén, panelists Stefan Faith-Ell, Maria Kilegran and Andrew Rudchuk
World premiere of three new solutions
After lunch, there was excitement in the air as it was time for something special – a world premiere of a new product launch! Staria's CTO Jani Jääskeläinen revealed to the audience that this launch was actually about not only one but three new products: Naviloq, StariaFlow and Localization SuiteApp Croatia.
These cutting-edge software represent perfectly the fact that Staria is an expert in technology leveraged growth. Croatian Localization SuiteApp is the 10th Localization SuiteApp published by Staria, making Staria the biggest Localization SuiteApp partner in EMEA. StariaFlow is an end-to-end AP Automation solution that, unlike many other solutions, take you beyond invoice creation. Whereas Naviloq is a next generation BI & Planning solution beginning the era of United Intelligence.
After Jani Jääskeläinen had introduced all these three new products to the audience, Mikko Kurki, Head of Product Management at Staria, took the stage to go through Naviloq in more detail and shedding the light on why exactly Naviloq is a revolutionizing BI & Planning solution.
Jani Jääskeläinen, CTO, Staria
Mikko Kurki, Head of Product Management, Staria
Interactive Breakout Sessions were insightful
After the audience had digested the launch news for a minute, it was time to be divided into smaller groups and head to Breakout Sessions. There were four different Breakout Sessions and participants had decided in advance which one they want to join. The Breakout Sessions were a perfect opportunity for people to learn more about a topic that is timely for them and discuss it with Staria's knowledgeable scpecialists.
The topics were:
A. How to get most out of your NetSuite investment?
B. Choosing the right system to support your growth journey and tips for a successful implementation project
C. Are you ready for international growth? Best practices and solutions
D. How to enable meaningful business discussions with a modern BI solution?
Both live and stream audiences were utilizing this moment and asking specialists questions actively, which fullfilled the purpose of these sessions perfectly.
A. Ondřej Nečas, NetSuite Consultant, Staria
Laura Hlavaty-Lehtinen, Head of Professional Services Management & SMO Lead, Staria
B. Katarina Vigodová, Head of Delivery, Staria
Andrei Postolache, Senior Solution Consultant, Staria
C. Joonas Sipola, COO, Staria
Mikko Ryömä, Development Director, Global Accounting, Staria
D. Special guest Oskari Gestrin, CFO, Castrén & Snellman
The second panel discussion talked about finance and funding
The last but definately not least part of the day was the second panel discussion which addressed current financing environment and future trends. The panelists were:
Henrik Husman, President, Nasdaq Helsinki
Juho Frilander, Managing Director, EQT Group
Vesa Riihimäki, Head of Startup & Growth Business, Nordea
The panelists were interviewed by Staria's CEO Artti Aurasmaa and they talked e.g. about increased interest rates, polarized markets, the type of companies that are currently attracting funding and investements, advices for growth companies looking for financing and panelists' views on future trends. The panel discussion was a true cherry on top as it provided a lot of high-class insights and the audience learned a lot of new things.
From left to right: Artti Aurasmaa, Henrik Husman, Vesa Riihimäki and Juho Frilander
The second panel discussion marked the end of Staria Growth Summit's day program but networking and meaningful discussions continued right next doors at Staria's headquarters in an After Party sponsored by FloQast.
Huge thank you to all speakers, panelists and participants as well as everyone who helped to make this event a success! See you next time!
Stand-up comedian Rich Lyons entertaining people at the After Party.
DJ and saxophonist DJ Jetro ensured a perfect atmosphere.