WHO IS MIIA HILTUNEN?

STARTUP LIFE

THE BASICS

I am a failed business owner. How's that for humility? Took me around around 6 months to accept it before declaring bankruptcy for my company, an e-commerce business, Chic Mini Me Oy in winter 2019.

Good times. I was just a joy to be around. I have a feeling that many struggling startup founders can relate to this. I would be more than happy to hear your story, do send me a message over here or on IG. The more we can share and talk about our pain and unique experiences, the more we can ensure future generations don't go through what we have.

This is my blogs mission.

By sharing my story, that of others, and providing advice and valuable info. you won't have to end up in the jam I found myself in, as it's not a pretty sight.

You might wonder to yourself, Why should I keep reading?

That's a good question.

As I write about in my first post, this blog is a cut-throat tell-it-all all with my honest experiences.

Good and bad.

For example, much of what is portrayed in the startup world is the glamorous success stories of founders making it. For example, all those stories of large pre-seed or seed rounds that help startups get started, happy VCs and investors who praise their startups on LinkedIn, giving aspiring founders a sense of false hope that they too will make it. I look forward to writing my post on startup financing focusing on seed rounds for example. What VCs write on their website, sprout on LinkedIn on their pages, is very different from whom they actually fund. Makes me wonder who doesn't understand the term VC funding, founders or VC's? 🤔

The truth is, the large majority of these startups don't make it, many go silently into the night, never to be heard of again.

There are many reasons so many have to stop their business, or end up worse case like me, having to admit defeat, which for anyone with a competitive edge is a hard thing to do. Hard looking at yourself in the mirror and having to admit this did not work. I FAILED.

This blog will focus on starting and building a startup, how to get your startup financed, general things you should be aware of before launching your business, what happens when things don't go well, going bankrupt, declaring personal bankruptcy, and life beyond bankruptcy, which is where I am at now.

My goal through this blog is that it reaches people around the world, and helps them make wiser business decisions. In today's unstable world that we are living in, there is no room for such massive mistakes that have the opportunity to ruin a person's life. Especially here in Finland, where bankruptcy and debt adjustment laws are strict.

By sharing my story and providing supporting evidence via studies, statistics, stories, and interviews from other entrepreneurs, I hope that you will be able to make a more educated decision regarding starting a business.

There is no freedom like entrepreneurial freedom; waking up each morning excited to start your day. Imagine rolling over in bed, getting up to make yourself a cup of coffee or tea, whatever your poison is, and knowing you get to do something you are 110% passionate about.

It's your DREAM JOB, and you are your own boss. It is literally the BEST feeling in the whole world (at the same time the scariest, most tear-jerking, stressful, we'll get to that in future blog posts).

With this freedom comes much responsibility, as ONLY you are in charge of your success.

Imagine you have put in thousands of hours into your startup, working 12-14-hour days, 6-7 days a week, only to have things go south. Not many options out there if you don't have rich parents to bail you out of your financial woes.

The only thing left to do is declare bankruptcy. And let me tell you what a social pariah, person non grata, you become, at least in Finland.

Bankruptcy is still a very sensitive topic, and if you dare to mess up, you will feel societies wrath on you. You can read more about this in my Fear of Failure blog.

So going back to WHY.

I don't want this to happen to YOU.

I can confidently say I hold expertise in both topics, bankruptcy and life beyond bankruptcy, and I welcome you to my blog! Be sure to check out my IG and Youtube where I will be doing more content.