Why Does Wicked Exist #1

Welcome to Wicked Helsinki 🐇🌪

We are a community and what brings us together is the will to create a better future. By we I mean you, me and the mighty 156 active members of Wicked Helsinki.

In April 2021, an Aaltoes activist was searching for an impact ecosystem in Helsinki which wasn’t there – so he began building one. That was Antti Heiskala. During that time, I was doing my civil service at the Startup Foundation, which is where I myself became interested in impact and how I discovered this group of people with aspirations of creating more startups whose main goal is to address wicked problems, rather than maximising profits for shareholders. I was curious and jumped in.

I’d like to pay homage to some of the key contributors over the past 2 years, including OGs Hilla Klemetti, an Aaltoes board member, and Venla Parkkila, a team member of Helsinki Think Company. And the board of last year Aayush Kucheria, Emilia Ståhlhammar, Milja Mäkelä, Riikka Savolainen, Themis Atsaloglou, and myself. A special mention to activists Santeri Tuovila and Sakari Mesimäki.

Impact entrepreneurship is a process of measurably improving upon social, environmental or cultural conditions through entrepreneurship. 

In essence, impact entrepreneurship is profit-agnostic. While we do recognise that every organisation must be economically sustainable, we question how value is measured in our society. E.g. if a company generates €1m in economic value but wastes €10m in ecosystem services, should we consider it a profitable company?

Business-as-usual is changing, right? Endless GDP growth on a planet with finite resources is impossible? Mental health is a worldwide pandemic? Our society is more polarised than ever?

Right. Now you have some context… let’s begin.

Why Does Wicked Exist? 🤔

We believe in a thriving world – one which guarantees social foundations for all within the living means of the planet. Key to shaping this future is harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit and applying it to uncover innovative solutions in all sectors.

In the 21st century “wicked problems” seemingly exist at every turn and are universal across the globe. Wicked problems are complex social or cultural problems with an unknown number of potential solutions (1). They are all unique, which means that solutions cannot be directly transferred from one problem to another. They should therefore be discussed widely in all parts of society (2). 

We are humans, entrepreneurs, activists, artists, employees, students, researchers, scientists, politicians, investors and citizens. We are leftists, rightists and everything in between. There are no straightforward answers but we can agree on a North Star to guide us: a world which guarantees social foundations for all within the living means of the planet. This is not a radical idea but based on the basic tenets of democracy.

How do we reach the North Star? 

We listen, share, innovate, challenge, explore, discover, fail and try again. Crucially, we must include everyone - regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, age or limitations - in the process of creation. We must harness the innate human potential of every individual as well as the unlimited potential of the collective intelligence, commonly referred to as the hive mind. To reach this state of being, people need more than legal rights, they require agency and ownership. 

We must rethink economics and business. Is GDP the best measure of wellbeing? Why do economies have to grow endlessly? Is profit maximization the best purpose for an enterprise? Are these structures still serving us? Who are they serving? Who are they not serving? What is value? 

We need hope

56% of young people think humanity is doomed (3). This is worrying because such a belief can lead to a sense of hopelessness, despair, and apathy, which can undermine efforts to address pressing global challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and political instability. This can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, where a lack of action and a sense of fatalism lead to the very outcomes that people fear.

By supporting impact entrepreneurship, Wicked’s work will help to cultivate a sense of optimism and agency in people by providing them with opportunities to make a positive impact on the world around them. Impact entrepreneurship does this by creating a sense of purpose, empowering individuals and building community.

Impact entrepreneurs need Wicked

Wicked is the place where impact entrepreneurs can connect with each other, talents and partners as well as discover ideas, information and resources to help them on their journey.

Many impact entrepreneurs are constrained from fulfilling their mission because they must fit their business into a traditional venture funding model. Lack of alternative options makes it too difficult to turn an idea into reality, since bootstrapping is not always an option, for example if one must build a new materials or chemicals factory. 

We innovate, discover and promote alternative business, ownership and funding models so that entrepreneurs do not need to compromise on their mission for the sake of maximising shareholder returns.

Wicked is for everyone

With impact entrepreneurship at its core, Wicked connects and engages with people, organisations and ideas that are inside and outside of the traditional entrepreneurial spheres. By engaging with a variety of stakeholders we create greater alignment between all sectors – so that society is more armed to address the wicked challenges upon us, and those that are to come. 

We are open for you, no matter your geography. If you share this vision and want to be part of a movement with a systemic mindset and practical approach to reach the North Star, ping @verneriv on Telegram or email [email protected].

Verneri Välimaa (written with the help of the Wicked community)

Chairperson

Wicked Helsinki Ry

Sources:

1. https://urbanpolicy.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Rittel+Webber_1973_PolicySciences4-2.pdf

2. https://www.sitra.fi/en/dictionary/wiched-problem/ 

3. https://www.vice.com/en/article/88npnp/fifty-six-percent-of-young-people-think-humanity-is-doomed