Hegemonia – Parhaat ratkaisut innovatiivisen yrityksen kehittämiseen
I want to lead pro-development, innovative companies on the path of growth and internationalisation by supporting them in both strategic development and funding.
Hegemonia Invest Oy invests a business developer and a growth-company investor that provides expert services for strategy planning and implementation, growth and internationalization, commercialization of innovations, public funding and private financing.
”During my career, I’ve had the chance to work with international technology companies and growth companies as well as on public administration and association projects. This has given me valuable experience that I can use to develop business operations.”
Hegemonia Invest Oy
Consultation for business clients
I advice companies with development, growth and determining strategy, vision and mission.
I support companies in business development and creating new business as well as planning growth and internationalization.
I act as an advisor for business owners, boards and management.
Kehitän ideoista ja innovaatioista uutta liiketoimintaa ja autan kaupallistamisessa sekä kansainvälistymisessä.
I apply for funding for development projects and help with public business support.
BUSINESS ANALYSES AND DEVELOPMENT
* Analysis of the current situation and determination of areas for development
* Clarifying goals and creating a development plan
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
* Strategy planning, updating and implementation
* Planning or updating vision, mission and implementation plan
FUNDING AND SUPPORT
* Planning financing and implementing development projects
* Applying for Business Finland and ELY funding
BOARD SUPPORT AND BUSINESS PLANS
* Initiating and developing board work
* Creating new and updating business plans
INCREASE IN VALUE AND CONTINUITY
* Defining and increasing company value
* Business arrangement planning and preparation for acquisition
GROWTH AND INTERNALISATION
* Development of growth and readiness for internationalisation
* Creating long-term plans for growth and readiness for international markets
My areas of expertise are company strategy, financial arrangements and public subsidies, growth and internationalization planning, corporate restructuring, management of global business networks and supply chains. I act as a board advisor, chairman and board member in several companies.
As business development clients, I have several Finnish SMEs and large companies from various industries. I have also acted as a speaker at international conferences (Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Poland) and as a guest lecturer at universities (Malaysia, Thailand, Hungary).
Ilkka Sillanpää – Business academician
Roots – Entrepreneurship as a lifestyle
My grandparents have always been role models for me – they were brickyard entrepreneurs from the 40s to the 50s, after which they were active in the gravel industry and agriculture.
The 1990s
Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle. In primary school, we cut stones into gemstones and grew guppies, which we sold with my friend.
2001
I graduated from the High School of Alavus in 2001. In high school, I had the idea of studying the technical side at University.
In high school, I worked a summer job at Keskisen Kyläkauppa, and with the money I made, I bought stocks of Sonera, which was listed on the stock exchange. In 2000, the IT bubble created an upturn, and by selling the shares, I financed my student life and, at the same time, got to learn more about the patterns in the market and economy.
Educational background – Engineering and economy
2001
In the autumn of 2001, I started studies in the technical faculty at the University of Oulu, with mechanical engineering as the main subject. As a secondary subject, I studied industrial engineering, which brought more economic science into the mix.
2002
After the first year of study, I went to the army. The Reserve Officer School was an excellent base for management.
2004
During my studies, I applied for a summer job in the industrial field. I got a summer job at Metso through the University’s scholarship. Alongside studies, I continued the summer job as an hourly employee in purchasing and supply chain management. I was able to apply in practice what the studies in mechanical engineering and industrial engineering taught.
In 2004, I established my first company and consulted on development projects and funding applications.
2006
My master’s thesis was in 2006, and I applied for and got a position at Rautaruukki in Raahe. The topic of the master’s thesis was related to the development of supply chains. The supply chain management and purchasing knowledge I learned at Metso laid a good foundation.
Career - Corporate academic
2007
After completing my master’s thesis, I continued to work at Rautaruukki on procurement development as a Sourcing Manager, among other positions. Group-level international tasks suddenly required English skills and travel around Europe.
At Ruukki, we developed business networks and supply chain management, among other things. The measurement of supply chain performance identified novelty value, as there were more unanswered questions than answers. This pushed me to start postgraduate studies.
2011
I earned a PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management from the University of Oulu. The thesis was Supply chain performance measurement in the manufacturing industry: a single case study research to develop a supply chain performance measurement framework.
At the same time, Konecranes developed global supply chain management. At Konecranes, I had the chance to develop supply chains and business networks on a worldwide scale.
My work at Konecranes brought new challenges, especially those related to strategy implementation. I also became interested in strategic management from the point of view of research, which led to a new leap in the academic world. I started postgraduate studies and research in the Faculty of Business Studies at the University of Vaasa.
2012
As a successor to my previous trade name, I founded Hegemonia Oy. In addition to other work and research, I also conducted business consulting. I carried out the commercialisation of innovations created through studies from different universities, which was interesting. Several new companies emerged from these innovations.
2014
Research on the implementation of strategy began to require more time and detachment from work. In 2014, I took study leave and left to complete my research at Corvinus University of Budapest. This trip taught me a lot about economics and management, but also about life abroad. I am still a visiting scholar at the University of Budapest.
In 2014, I earned a Doctor of Science degree in strategic management from the University of Vaasa.
2016
In 2016, I started work as a full-time entrepreneur.
Through the commercialisation of innovation projects, I have been a part of founding over a dozen companies. In some of them, I am still a shareholder. Successes have encouraged me to continue consulting and development instead of a single company, which has allowed me to be involved in many things simultaneously.
2018
I was awarded a lifelong adjunct professor position to the Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Oulu. Granting the adjuct professorship was a huge and positive surprise to me. Being a adjunct professor means that I can still keep up with research.
Future – Development and funding of companies
”I still want to get excited again and again and create new things, become a part of growth and internationalisation, as well as support the building, development and implementation of strategies.”
I am particularly inspired by development-friendly and capable companies with technology and scalable products that can be pushed all the way to the international market.
During my career, I have learned a lot about successes, but I have also learned things the hard way. I have had the honour of working with many great clients and numerous great colleagues and partners.
When creating and implementing a successful strategy, I can draw a lot from my background in the business world and the academic path. My path hasn’t been the most conventional. Still, a diverse career is beneficial in business development, strategy planning and implementation, vision searching and change management, commercialising innovation, growth, internationalisation and scaling planning.
What my clients say
"Thank you for good discussion and and good feedback. This chat really made us think about the different financial instruments and about our options regarding company structure."
"Thank you Ilkka! A very good sparring session and we got valuable tips that we can think about and that will help us develop our operations in the future."
"Good attitude and spirit! It was nice to get support for making the right choices and something to think about going forward. A couple of concrete things to think about. I gained faith in myself and the company!"
"Nice talk with a few really good concrete ideas. Thank you Ilkka!"
"A very nice sparring! I got a lot of affirmation for my own thoughts."
"A really nice sparring moment and a lot of new things about using subsidies."
"Ilkka organized the progress really well. The know-how and the generation of new views are top notch!"
"Full marks for the expertise of Ilkka Sillanpää. Things went smoothly, he explained all the details to us well and clearly, helping us at every step of the analysis."
"I received good service and expert guidance during the consultation"
"Ilkka clearly knew what he was doing, clarified the current state of the company and provided tools for the future"
"Collaboration with Ilka was practical, competent and productive. ELY's service enabled us to get very useful help for planned progress."
"Professional and efficient"
Investment activities for startups
I invest in new companies and actively participate in strategic leadership and board work. Through my experience, I bring strategic vision and international business know-how to the company.
I am looking for new ideas or development-minded businesses, and require:
- B2B business
- New technology or apps
- Opportunity to scale the business internationally
I work with these companies, among others
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