We founded a senior services start-up called Gubbe in late 2018. Meeting Meri-Tuuli is the main reason for us being where we are now. We met by chance in a Facebook baby group. We were both expecting firstborns and both of our babies were due in April 2017. We immediately noticed that we were getting along well and became good friends. As the kids started growing, we started thinking about our plans for the future. Would we return to work, where we are safe and well paid, or would we be able to do something completely different?
We both have entrepreneurs in the family and I already had previous experience of entrepreneurship, however that attempt failed. I still thought that I could try again sometime. I have a background in marketing and sales, while Meri-Tuuli is a health scientist with solid experience around elderly work.
Meeting Meri-Tuuli is the main reason for us being where we are now.
The idea for senior services stemmed from my own grandmother, who is over 90 years old and lives alone. The idea was ingrained in my head. I had long wondered if there was some activating and preventative service that would support both the family and the elderly, but there was nothing like it in the market. Meri-Tuuli, on the other hand, as a professional, was aware of the need and got excited about the idea immediately.
In our team of 10, everyone is a woman under the age of 40 and we have occasionally encountered prejudice because of it. This is often perceived as rare and of course we get some good attention, but sometimes I wonder that if we were men, would there be anything odd about our team?
Nevertheless, I feel that we are equal to everyone else when it comes to investors – good energy and faith in our own agenda is crucial. That is what got us our first investor. In fact, my lesson is that you must be able to get past the difficulties and keep your vision clear in your mind.
In a new company, you constantly encounter failures, but you should not spend too much time worrying about them.
If you are interested in entrepreneurship, I encourage you to give it a try! You will not lose anything. You can always go back to paid work if you fail or do not feel like entrepreneurship is for you.
