Original text in Linkedin. This is the second time my tenure at Qvik has spanned nearly a decade. Yesterday marked the end of my role as a board member, so this is a natural moment to reflect on the journey.

Phase 1: Strengthening Design Competence

I was initially invited to the board to enhance the company’s design capabilities. We successfully built our own, homegrown design operation, avoiding the need for design studio acquisitions, which were a trend at the time.

Another major shift was the transition from fixed-fee projects to a more flexible time-and-materials model – a change that significantly boosted our bottom line.

Phase 2: ”We were mobile first – now we’re so much more”

I vividly remember the board meeting where we debated two strategic directions: should we remain focused on mobile applications and expand into new markets, or should we broaden our expertise to include web services and cloud operations while staying in Finland?

We chose the latter. I even crafted a slogan that played with different meanings of ”mobile first” and aimed to position our mobile expertise as an advantage when entering the crowded web development market. Admittedly, defining a clear offering wasn’t entirely seamless at this stage. It was during this period that Esa Matikainen joined as our first external board member, guiding us toward a more professional way of working.

Phase 3: Payments, Monetization – and Sweden

When COVID hit, Qvik reshaped its board, bringing in two senior advisors, Markko Vaarnas and Turkka Oksanen. A year later, I stepped down from my operational role as Head of Design to pursue an in-house position that brought me closer to business operations. I was grateful that Lari and Tuukka allowed me to remain on the board, enabling me to stay connected to the IT consulting world.

By this time, our core business had found its rhythm, allowing us to focus on expanding our payments and monetization consulting and keeping our fresh Swedish operation afloat.

Phase 4: Bocap Investment and Scaling Up

The final major phase centered around Bocap, a private equity firm. The first milestone was securing the investment itself – a fascinating experience to witness from the front row.

Bringing Vilma Torstila onto the board added new energy, and the additional capital opened up fresh opportunities. In a well-structured process, we identified the Stockholm-based qte development as a strong strategic fit. It soon became clear that this was meant to be. Qvik acquired qte in 2024, and today, our Swedish operations have never looked better.

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A big thank you to Lari and Tuukka for allowing me to be part of this journey and to all my board colleagues for the good times and valuable lessons. Now when the board is renewed to be more international, it’s time to retreat to the sidelines and assume the role of an unofficial cheerleader.

(The photo is from 2018. When expanding to Sweden, it’s only natural to participate in a party at the rooftop terrace of Spotify HQ.)