Curious about what is going on at Epicenter Helsinki, House of Digital Innovation? Then you have come to the right place. In the Epicenter Helsinki Blog you will get the chance to meet the Epicenter community, get knowledge from the digital field and read success stories. Enjoy your read!
COVID-19 has disrupted life as we know in various ways, particularly when it comes to how we work and connect. Coworking and community driven workspaces were on the rise long before the pandemic, providing value through functional space and professional networking opportunities. Yet as employees’ have adapted to the new normal and demand for more flexible working solutions is on the rise, one necessity has held its ground – that being the fundamental need to connect and belong. In the future, business owners, entrepreneurs, and employees will need social networks and local connections more than ever.
In October 2020, we asked 200 of our members to give their thoughts on the value of belonging to a community, where networking and knowledge sharing are considered as two key building blocks.
Based on the findings of our member survey, a majority (52%) believe that connecting with other entrepreneurs and companies is crucial, both from the perspective of an individual and an organisation. Almost half of the respondents think it’s either important or very important to have access to knowledge sharing environments.
The perfect combination for a value-driven is a mix of a multitude of ingredients varying from community activities, events, matchmaking to knowledge sharing programs. Driving these activities at Epicenter Helsinki you will find Community Manager Luna Fabris.
Her mission? To ensure that all Epicenter members thrive through active matchmaking, involvement and publicity.
“There is nothing quite like the organic connections that can happen when companies do more than just work in shared workspaces – and that is exactly what Epicenter is all about. From sipping flavorful coffee in our common areas, uplifting yoga and trainings in our gym, to the brekkies, mingles and after work parties in our event spaces, our cool Finnish community fosters business collaboration and growth, friendship and good vibes”, says Luna Fabris.
“Another avenue of enabling growth for our members is taking a deep dive with them into their business needs and, armed with those facts, plan together their journey in the Epicenter community. Let’s just say that one of the most frequently asked questions around here is ‘Have you met XYZ person/company yet?’. And, while these days many of our members are working remotely, we are working hard on creating transparent, authentic and honest community culture when we can’t all be in the same place”, she continues.
Luna continues: “There are endless opportunities for professional growth here at Epicenter without needing to leave the building. Our secret sauce is using our existing members to share their mastery and skills with other whilst also opening our doors to inspiring experts…all of this to learn more, nurture innovation, provide deeply immersive experiences and enable personal and business growth for the members of our community.”
“What we believe in is that the innovation that can come from being in groups and sharing ideas is more important than ever. To foster it, we encourage our members to place themselves in the right environment and right innovation ecosystem – Epicenter.”
Explore our community events and activities here.
“This year’s pandemic has caused major disruption to our working lives in the short term and is likely to change the way that we work in the future. For 2021, our focus at Epicenter will be on building event better community since our member companies depend on it – we will continue to curate experiences and environments that foster meaningful connections and to provide our members with the premium content, speakers and networking opportunities both in physical space at Epicenter and virtually to ensure we continue delivering on our mission and promise.”
Want to get involved, meet others and contribute with your knowledge and expertise?
Reach out to Luna at luna@epicenterhelsinki.com and let’s create magic together 🙂
*The Epicenter Member survey was conducted between September 23rd to October 9th. In total we had 203 respondents from Epicenter Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki. We had 30% respondents from each of the following business segments: startups, scaleups and corporates. The majority of the respondents were between 25-34 years of age (43%). The respondents were 65% male and 35% female.
