Health Business Breakfast with SEP Solutions: 7 lessons learned from entrepreneurship, Oulu

Health Business Breakfasts are back with new topics to discuss. This time, the event will focus on the first-hand experience of an Oulu-based start-up, SEP Solutions, that involves taking a product from an initial concept to an international market launch.

The company’s founders, Satu Niemelä and Erasmus van Niekerk found a gap in the market and developed an innovation to make the daily lives of parents easier. They won awards, attracted collaboration interest from some of the biggest brands in the world, sold out the first batches of products in record time, failed, and had to suspend the project. Join us for the post-mortem of what happened and learn how their experiences can help you in your business endeavors. The 7 lessons learned that Satu and Erasmus will share are real and sometimes brutally honest experiences from their journey to help you navigate the treacherous waters of new product/service development, especially but not exclusively if you’re a start-up.

Time: 28 February 2023, 8:30 – 10:00
Place: BusinessAsema, Ahjo, Hallituskatu 36 B, Oulu

Registration: https://www.lyyti.in/healthbusinessbreakfast2023

This event is free of charge but requires registration. The topic will be covered in English.

Agenda

8.30 – 8.35 Opening note / BusinessOulu

8.35 – 8:45 Breakfast and networking

8:45 – 9:30 ‘7 lessons learned from entrepreneurship’, Satu Niemelä and Erasmus van Niekerk / SEP Consulting

9:30 – 10:00 Q&A, networking

Join us at BusinessAsema to find out more about how to prepare for a journey that a start-up needs to take to deliver a health product on the international market. Meet other innovative health & life science companies from Oulu, start your day by getting inspired by new ideas and a discussion that may lead to establishing new business contacts.

The speakers

Satu Niemelä, Certified Chairperson of the Board, Lic. Phil.

Satu has complemented her versatile practical experience by completing specialist vocational qualifications in product and service development, foreign trade, and corporate management and by becoming a certified member of the board and a certified chairperson of the board. She has acted as an expert evaluator for the European Commission, and she’s a public funding expert, and a PR, marketing, and board professional.

Erasmus van Niekerk, BBA

Erasmus has a versatile background in consulting, business development, and project management. Erasmus has worked mainly in health tech and ICT in various product development, market-entry, and internationalization tasks. Erasmus has experience in building prototypes, market research, procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and negotiating sales contracts. Before moving to Finland in 2004, Erasmus was responsible for managing large-scale infrastructure projects in his home country of South Africa.

Contact persons

Jenni Konttila
Key Account Director, Health and Life Science, BusinessOulu
jenni.konttila@businessoulu.com

Joanna Seppänen (practicalities)
Coordinator, Health and Life Science, BusinessOulu
joanna.seppanen@businessoulu.com