First project cross-border event was held in Riga

Yay! We are happy to announce that on 19 August we conducted the first cross-border event in the framework of the GirlPower project – Idea-generation workshop “Come with nothing, leave with a goal”. It took place in Riga and gathered together Latvian and Estonian girls aged 15-18 years, secondary school teachers, successful entrepreneurs and business experts. The day was full of excitement, inspirational stories and valuable information.

After a brief introduction into the GirlPower project, a word was given to Janis Svemps, a Senior Client Relationship Manager at Development Finance Institution “ALTUM”. “ALTUM” is a state organization that provides financial support to new entrepreneurs, companies at initial stages of development and businesses aiming at expansion even when banks refuse lending. Janis, who is daily exposed to various business concepts at work, emphasized that it is crucial to have a team and a road map to turn an idea into reality. He also told the audience about some recently born businesses that attracted his attention the most.

The second speaker was Jelena Gromova, a founder of Nakeid Sportswear and Activewear Business Lab. It was simply astonishing that she managed to fit so much useful information in just half an hour! Jelena, who holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration, told about 7 famous companies that started operations in a garage and provided an overview of idea generation techniques, such as first principles thinking, SCAMPER, brainstorming, reverse brainstorming, analogy thinking, mind mapping and story boarding. She also shared her personal business experience. Being a huge fan of cycling, Jelena identified a free niche in a sportswear market: there was no beautiful clothes for female cyclists. This is how her company came into the world. She finished her speech with the words: “It is better to try than to be sorry for losing an opportunity.”

The following speaker, Marina Potjomkina, told about her long and exciting way as a serial entrepreneur. She started her business 10 years ago after she got fond of making flowers out of polymer clay. She was the first to bring this technique to Latvia and her creations simply amazed people – they looked exactly like real flowers! During her first year of operations, Marina sold her products to more than 100 clients worldwide. But that was only the first step! Since then she generated and implemented numerous business ideas: she conducted workshops and master classes, held lectures on how to sell handmade goods on Etsy, became a distributor of Japanese polymer clay in Europe, launched a statement leather jewellery brand and opened a candle atelier. She even came up with business ideas for her parents! Marina gave several practical tips to the audience and stressed how crucial it is to run business both by heart and research.

The last speaker was Arta Latisa, co-founder and Managing Director at “Anybelly”, student at Riga Graduate School of Law, and “New Best entrepreneur of the year 2020 in Latvia” award winner. Arta, who has always been surrounded by pets, came up with a business idea when her beloved dog got spine problem. This is when she discovered that there was a lack of high-quality bowls for pets on the market. The majority of them were cheap, uncomfortable to use, unattractive and some plastic and metal options even caused allergic reactions. Arta invented an alternative – ergonomic feeding tables for dogs and cats made out of oak and combined with stylish ceramic bowls. They are a great interior element, too! Now her products are exported to more than 10 countries in the EU, the USA and other locations.

After the lovely presentations, the girls and teachers engaged into a group work. The task was to develop business ideas for six completely different people: Olga, a 52-year-old woman who feels empty because her kids moved out of the house, Alex, a 35-year-old party animal who spends all his free time in bars and night clubs, Pille, a 27-year-old lady who is in love with art and everything creative, Uldis, a 30-year-old programmer who cannot imagine his life without a computer, Toomas, a 40-year-old dedicated fitness trainer and young father, and Frida, a 19-year-old exchange student from Mexico. The teams really impressed us and business experts with fresh and feasible ideas, dynamic presentations, smooth and productive cooperation and sense of humour!

We sincerely thank all speakers, students and teachers for taking part in our Idea-generation workshop! Looking forward to seeing you again soon!