We just heard yesterday that Jyri Engeström, Jaiku co-founder, is leaving his Product Manager job at Google after his two year earn out is up. Today Petteri Koponen, the other Jaiku co-founder announced that he is leaving Google and joining Lifeline Ventures, a Finnish startup accelerator that’s part of the Vigo program (See our previous stories on Lifeline Venture here and here).
This not such a big jump as Petteri worked at Google in a wide variety of roles that gave him an ideal view into what was happening in the market. First Petteri worked at the Android product team and subsequently on Google’s New Business team, which continuously searches for and works with startups that partner with Google. It’s exciting to follow how the Vigo program evolves. At least Lifeline Ventures seem to be already hard at work. Petteri told me that they have already done some investments even though the whole program is just coming together.
Jyri on the other hand told me that after rather intensive three years, first with Jaiku and then with Google, he will use the opportunity to reflect and take his time before the next adventure. Along with traveling and spending time with his family, he told me that he will be helping out a few startups and considering doing some angel investing. He will also be helping out her wife Ulla-Maaria Engeström with her startup, Thinglink, that operates in the design space. (see our story here). Jyri also organized an Open Web workshop here in Helsinki, Finland just recently, bringing Chris Messina with him to Finland to talk about the developments in the Open Web arena. Read their thought provoking article here.
We wish the best of luck for Jyri and Petteri in, as Jyri put it, making meaning and welcome the guys back home to the Arctic region.
