Describe yourself in three words: Curious. Caring. Committed.
In four letters: ENTJ.

paulamarttilaI was born and raised in beautiful Finland, filled with Sisu, and for over 30 years now, I’ve also got to call the beautiful city of Stockholm, Sweden, my home. I used to spend most of my awaken time at Aftonbladet, a Schibsted Media House company, where I was part of the small pioneering technical team to develop its first and sole digital CMS incl. multi platform publishing, enabling it to grow into Nordic’s largest, fastest and go-to online news media outlet. I was also part of the team pioneering its first premium subscription consumer products such as Viktklubb, largest Swedish digital health and weight loss community service, that was later licensed to seven international media houses. It’s both a very humbling and rewarding feeling, when people trust you with their personal health, life stories, and struggles, while helping them to achieve their goals.
I hold B.S. in Business Economics in International Marketing, and Computer and Systems Sciences, and while technically a backend engineer, my strength lies in understanding the full technology stack and entire product life cycle. As an early pioneer within mobile, video, digital publishing, digital health, consumer products and subscription services, they are also areas of my expertise. As database designer, my love for data and data privacy are at the core of everything I do. As technical project manager and deputy CTO, I was involved in both hiring and vendor negotiations, and also carried out many direct assignments by the company board of directors, gaining valuable experience in how large enterprises operate on a strategic level. In other words,

I am as comfortable in a developer room, as I am in a boardroom.

Today as digital product advisor, and through Pick My Brain!, I help companies define product/market fit and go-to-market strategies, and build better products that better serve customers in order to stand out and enable growth. My extensive investor network and knowledge in venture capital are invaluable when helping companies with investment readiness and fundraising. During the past several years I’ve spent a lot of time on planes across the fast growing European startup hubs bridging ecosystems, connecting talent, and advocating for female entrepreneurship. I continue to keep learning and give back to the community by mentoring startups at accelerator programs on product, marketing, and growth, and have been rated as one of the best startups mentors in Europe. Since 2009, when co-organizing the first ever Geek Girl Meetup in Stockholm, I have engaged in Women in Tech initiatives to help change the gender ratio, and have been selected as Top 100 Women in Tech in Europe.

There are few things more exciting for me than building a product from day one and bring it to life and into the hands of users, why I also love to quote Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon: “It’s always Day One”. In other words,

The joy and urge of obsessing over product and customers. Every. Day.

Personal Guidelines

  • Be kind to everyone. You never know what people are going through.
  • I look for empathy and humility.
  • “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” – Madeleine Albright, Fmr. U.S. Secretary of State.
  • Everything’s personal. People do business with people they trust. Building trust and relationships is everything, and takes time.
  • When you need your network, it’s too late to start building it.
  • “You never learn anything when you speak, only when you listen.” – Roelof Botha, Sequoia Capital
  • Being part of the change, not disrupted by it.

Below more about my work and how I add value:

Digital Business Growth Advisory

My clients range from technology startups, venture capital, development studios and agencies, digital media houses, to educational institutions. Contact me to help you with following:

  • Product Strategy and Management
  • Go-To-Market / Internationalization Strategy
  • Investment Readiness / Fundraising
  • Digital Industry Research / Due Diligence

Keynote Speaker, Panel Member, Moderator and Programme Curator

Selection of Keynote Talks
Conference Panel Member:
Conference Moderator and Programme Curator:

Writings

Since 2009, I have in various forms covered technology trends and startups, Swedish and Nordic ones in particular:

Besides from covering VOD, E-commerce, Women in tech and Startup ecosystems, the main topics of my writings reflect areas of my expertise:

  • Product: Product Strategy and Management, Customer experience, Product/Market Fit.
  • Growth: Go-to-market strategy, Internationalization, Startup Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Growth Hacking: Customer Acquisition and Engagement.
  • Fundraising: Venture Capital and Fundraising 101, Investment Readiness, Pitch Advice, Seed funding, Angel investing, Accelerator Programs incl. Mentor Advice.
  • Startup 101: Founder Advice, Hiring and Building Teams incl. Women in Tech, Company Culture.

Contact me for speaking and writing opportunities.

Startup Competition Judge

I have years of experience as a startup pitch competition judge, and have spent good part of my weekends at hackathons. Best sunblock ever 😬

Pay It Forward – Women In Tech, Startup Mentor Product, Marketing, and Growth

The early days, Seedcamp Berlin 2010. Flickr CC: Seedcamp

I believe in paying it forward as a way to build sustainable businesses and viable startup communities, and it’s one of the many reasons why I for a long time have engaged in Women in Tech initiatives and accelerator programs.

Startup Accelerator Programs
Women in Tech Initiatives

What startups say about me:

“Paula clearly loves this event and she seemed to have actually put effort into researching us before she arrived.”

“We know Paula for some time and she was always helpful and a good mentor.”

“That was really impressive. Paula is very energetic.” – Seedcamp Teams

Be Part Of The Change, Not Disrupted By It

As a reminder of the continuous evolution and rapid change we as individuals, and as a society, need to keep adapting to, I leave you with the image below of a young skater I caught in front of the Mannerheim statue in Helsinki, Finland. My dear Finland celebrates its 100 years of independence in 2017, as it simultaneously reflects its bloody and painful civil war in 1918, that marked the beginning of its independence.

Thank you for reading all the way. 😍
Now, it’s finally your turn to tell me about you and your product!
Connect with me @Twitter, @LinkedIn, or just email me.

Mannerheim