Cultivating Smartups with Cities as Platforms

CULTIVATING
SMARTUPS
Outi Kuittinen 21 Oct 2015 
Head of Smart Retro Programme & Head of Co-creation
outi.kuittinen@demoshelsinki.fi +358 50 326 5582 
@outikookoo @demoshelsinki #smartups #smartretro #peloton

The Story of Demos Helsinki
In 2005 we realised that nobody is looking what megatrends actually mean when they hit our everyday
life and business. We founded a think tank to do precisely that – to bridge the gap between
understanding the future and making it happen.
Demos Helsinki is a Nordic think tank focusing on Resource Smart Economy & Sustainable lifestyles and
Democracy & Capabilities of the 21st Century. We combine foresight with co-creation to make change
happen. Organisations come to us looking for new ideas, new concepts, and strategic change when old
solutions are no longer working. What makes our work stand out is our broad expertise in futures studies
and open innovation methods.
In 10 years we have grown into an innovation, research and business acceleration powerhouse. We have
successfully worked with hundreds of companies, startups, governments, municipalities, universities and
NGOs globally in creating a better future.
We are politically independent and project-funded. We believe in people, openness and democracy.

THINK ABOUT YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE
IN 2000.
WHAT HAS CHANGED THE MOST
WITHIN THE LAST DECADE?
CLOSE YOUR EYES.

THINK IF A CHANGE OF THE SAME
MAGNITUDE AND INTENSITY  
WOULD HAPPEN IN THE
ENVIRONMENT YOU LIVE IN,
THE CITIES.

Masdar City smart city project, Abu Dhabi
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE CITIES  
IN THE PAST 50 YEARS?

Ongelma: lähiökuvat
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE CITIES  
IN THE PAST 50 YEARS?

Ongelma: lähiökuvat
THE CHANGE IS COMING

L E T M E I N T R O D U C E T H E
C H A N G E M A K E R S ,
T H E S M A R T U P S

USER-FOCUS
RESOURCE
SCARCITY
DIGITALISATION
DRIVERS OF CHANGE

THE SCARCITY OF
NATURAL
RESOURCES IS THE
NEW FUEL FOR
STARTUPS

A S M A R T U P =
A start up developing smart services,
which help free us from inefficient
use of resources.
They are consumer cleantech.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION
PER HOUSEHOLD
30%
30%
housing
= 70%
food+25%
15% mobility+

MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD
EXPENDITURE
329
251
Telecommunication is used as a reference point.
49
200€
400€
600€
800€
30%
678
25%
15%
= 1260€ /
month
678 €
329 €+
251 €+

SHARI
NG
OPTIM
ISATION
IMMATERI
ALISATION
CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
SMART UP TRENDS
Increasing the utilization
rate of physical resources
by sharing.
Optimizing the use of
physical inputs through
the use of smart home,
metering and gasification
applications.
Upcycling and
refurbishment in the core:
Improving physical assets
by implementing energy
efficiency solutions for
homes as well as various
other circular economy
applications.
Smart substitution to
replace resource-
intensive practices.

SHARI
NG
OPTIM
I
SATION
IMM
ATERI
A
LISATIONCIRCULAR
ECO
NOMY
FromFinland:
Sharetribe,KuinOma,Weegos,GreenRiders,Ants,Hukkatila
Aiyanyu,AirBnB,BlaBlaCar,Nimber,Lyft,Xiaozhu,Verybite
AskForTask,Hoffice,Huolala,LanXiNiu,Yongche,BoxatWork
BiTeBi Wifi, Argos, Swap, esolidar, Bettervest, Jaano, eMio,Wundercar
Floatility, Parking PandaBig companies:
Hyatt Hotels / OneFineStay, Daimler / Car2Go
Citi Group / Nyc Bike sharing
Barclays / Santander Cycles
Cemex / Patrimonio Hoy, Peugeot / Mu Mobility
Askareet,Yhteismaa,Venuu,PiggyBaggy,KortteliAuto
Collaplan,CityCarClub,Kyyti,Kliffa,LocalCommunityCatalyser
Aroundtheworld:
PommePomme,Homeaway,Tujia,Uber,RelayRides,Campanda,Coffice
Ford2Go, Avis / Zipcar, W Hotels / DesksNearMe
Zaarly,Taskrabbit,Shangdongprovince/EVcompany,Airtasker upcycling of vehicles
remodeling
digitalservice
innovation
p2pmarketplaceplatforms
ridesharing-hitchhiking
carsharingsocial cookingco-creation platform
homeautomation
energy
management
smart vehicles
need based optimisation
allinoneapplication
turnkey solutions
crowdfunding
substitution of ingredients
product innovation
energysourcesubstitution
replacementofanimalproteinsources
smart routing
replacement of ownership needs
turnkeysolutions
digitalserviceplatform
smartmetering
upcycling of vehicles
tuning
From Finland
Purjebägit, GlobeHope, Pure Waste Textiles
Electric hill assistant unitIkeaSecondhandCampaign
Around the world:
KutsuPlus,MobiGoPilot,CleanWaterMapping,AsmoCharger
FromFinland:
Enevo,Loadbro,Anton&Anton,Fresgo,Blokfood
OptiWatti,Naturvention,Salusfin,EnergyUp,ThereCorporation
BikeCitizens, Ferroamp, Greenpocket, Mapdwell, Wattime, Open Utility
Around the world
Kuaidadi, Capacity Energy Storage, Ethera, Ice Gateway, CoolingInno
Swarco, Agrilution, Changhong, Growen
Kauppahalli24, Finsect, Ambronite, OatKitchen, Digital Foodie, Repack, Tuup
From Finland:OurNeighbourhood, Cubicasa, Masar, Solnet, Savo Solar, Virtuaaliassistentti
WalkIt,WeShareSolar, CrowdPowerPlant, GreenGoEnergy,WashIt
Around the world
eeMobility,Fortum,Eneron,Ensto,Gasum,IkeaSolar,Caverion,Fira
GreenEnergetic, SunRun, Qixxit, Xylophane, Bitty, Beyond Meat
NesteOils,BillGates/HamptonCreekBigcompanies
ST1,Gaia,Alibaba/Alipay
Big companies:
IoTsens, BaseN, RYM Oy,
Oras,RettigICC,SRV,TermopanelsOy,Valtavalo,VantaanEnergia
Bonsum,OculusRift,Solarkiosk,GoWorkaBit
Headsted, YOU, Meedoc, Emotion Tracker, Catalyze Impact, Microtask
Granlund,Greenluxt,Helen,Hydrocell,Motiva,OilonHaltonGroup
BrightProducts,MyForest,NuSpaarpas,Moves,Enerbee,500more
Fourdeg, Ouman, One1, Enefix, Suomen bioauto
Etsy,RainforestConnection,RVS
IkeaSecondhandCampaign
Pantaluren,Bundles,Fairphone,LyfShoes,Lassila&TikanojaHeliix, Yetu, Ferroamp, Thermondo
Solvatten, LifeStraw, Biobean, NaNomaji
Bigcompanies:
Patagonia&Ebay,GoogleProjectAra,Ecomation
nvorGroupOy,GreenSound,KuusankoskiRecycling
Xiaojukeji, Watty, Opower, Viva, 720, 2andgo

OPTIM
I
SATION
homeautomation
energy
management
smart vehicles
smart routing
turnkeysolutions
FromFinland:
Around the world
Big companies:
NAME: Enevo
FIELD: mobility
KEY FEATURES IN BIZ MODEL: Smart
routing and need based optimisation
FROM: Finland
WHAT do they do: Smart waste collection

NAME: Fourdeg
FIELD: housing
KEY FEATURES IN BIZ MODEL: home
automation, energy management
FROM: Finland
WHAT do they do: Smart heating control
system, which use data to optimise
heating and produce data for housing
company or utility company.
OPTIM
I
SATION
homeautomation
energy
m
anagem
ent
smart vehicles
smart routing
turnkeysolutions
FromFinland:
Around the world
Big companies:

IMM
ATERI
A
LISATION
all in one application
turnkeysolutions
productinnovation
replacem
entofownership
needs
energy source substitution
replacement of animal
protein sources
substitutionofingredients
Kauppahalli24,Finsect,Ambronite,Oatkitchen,DigitalFoodie,Repack,Tuup
FromFinland:OurNeighbourhood,Cubicasa,Masar,Solnet,SavoSolar,Virtuaaliassistentti
WalkIt,WeShareSolar,CrowdPowerPlant,GreenGoEnergy,WashIt
Aroundtheworld
eeMobility, Fortum, Eneron, Ensto, Gasum, Ikea Solar, Caverion, Fira
GreenEnergetic,SunRun,Qixxit,Xylophane,Bitty,BeyondMeat
Neste Oils, Bill Gates / Hampton CreekBig companies
ST1, Gaia, Alibaba / Alipay
Oras, Rettig ICC, SRV, Termopanels Oy,Valtavalo,Vantaan Energia
Bonsum, Oculus Rift, Solarkiosk, GoWorkaBit
Headsted,YOU,Meedoc,EmotionTracker,CatalyzeImpact,Microtask
Granlund, Greenluxt, Helen, Hydrocell, Motiva, OilonHalton Group
Bright Products, MyForest, NuSpaarpas, Moves, Enerbee, 500more
NAME: Tuup
FIELD: mobility
KEY FEATURES IN BIZ MODEL:
replacement of ownership needs, all
in one application
FROM: Finland
WHAT do they do: Gathers all services
for mobility under one platform, all in
one solution for mobility

IMM
ATERI
A
LISATION
all in one application
turnkeysolutions
productinnovation
replacementofownershipneeds
energy source substitution
replacement of animal
protein sources
substitutionofingredients
Kauppahalli24,Finsect,Ambronite,Oatkitchen,DigitalFoodie,Repack,Tuup
FromFinland:OurNeighbourhood,Cubicasa,Masar,Solnet,SavoSolar,VirtuaaliassistenttiWalkIt,WeShareSolar,CrowdPowerPlant,GreenGoEnergy,WashIt
Aroundtheworld
eeMobility, Fortum, Eneron, Ensto, Gasum, Ikea Solar, Caverion, Fira
GreenEnergetic,SunRun,Qixxit,Xylophane,Bitty,BeyondMeat
Neste Oils, Bill Gates / Hampton CreekBig companies
ST1, Gaia, Alibaba / Alipay
Oras, Rettig ICC, SRV, Termopanels Oy,Valtavalo,Vantaan Energia
Bonsum, Oculus Rift, Solarkiosk, GoWorkaBit
Headsted,YOU,Meedoc,EmotionTracker,CatalyzeImpact,Microtask
Granlund, Greenluxt, Helen, Hydrocell, Motiva, OilonHalton Group
Bright Products, MyForest, NuSpaarpas, Moves, Enerbee, 500more
NAME: Solnet
FIELD: housing
KEY FEATURES IN BIZ MODEL: energy
source substitution, turnkey solutions
FROM: Finland
WHAT do they do: Turnkey renewable
energy solutions and energy
management applications that allow
for prosumerism

SHARI
NG
FromFinland:
Sharetribe,KuinOma,Weegos,GreenRiders,Ants,Hukkatila
Aiyanyu,AirBnB,BlaBlaCar,Nimber,Lyft,Xiaozhu,Verybite
AskForTask,Hoffice,Huolala,LanXiNiu,Yongche,BoxatWork
BiTeBi Wiﬁ, Argos, Swap, esolidar, Bettervest, Jaano, eMio,Wundercar
Floatility, Parking PandaBig companies:
Hyatt Hotels / OneFineStay, Daimler / Car2Go
Citi Group / Nyc Bike sharing
Barclays / Santander Cycles
Cemex / Patrimonio Hoy, Peugeot / Mu Mobility
Askareet,Yhteismaa,Venuu,PiggyBaggy,KortteliAuto
Collaplan,CityCarClub,Kyyti,Kliffa,LocalCommunityCatalyser
Aroundtheworld:
PommePomme,Homeaway,Tujia,Uber,RelayRides,Campanda,Coffice
Ford2Go, Avis / Zipcar, W Hotels / DesksNearMe
Zaarly,Taskrabbit,Shangdongprovince/EVcompany,Airtasker
digitalservice
innovation
p2pmarketplaceplatforms
ridesharing-hitchhiking
carsharingsocial cookingco-creation platform
crowdfunding
NAME: Verybite
FIELD: Food
KEY FEATURES IN BIZ MODEL: Social
cooking, P2P marketplace platform,
crowdfunding
FROM: China
WHAT do they do: P2P marketplace for
homemade food and delivery service
VERYBITE

SMART
BUILDING
Home
as-a-service
operators
SMART
MOBILITY
Mobility
as-a-service
operators

Resource sharing platforms
Consumer goods sharing
platforms
Digital microwork platforms
p2p task sharing
Locally sourced assistants for:
Grocery deliveries
Cleaning
Handyman
Space sharing
p2p home rentals
Workspace sharing
Turnkey energy production
services for households
Crowdfunding energy projects
Automated energy
management systems
Smart home devices
Optimization and control
of consumer electronics
SMART
BUILDING
Home
as-a-service
operators
SMART
MOBILITY
Mobility
as-a-service
operators

SMART
MOBILITY
Mobility
as-a-service
operators
Multimodal transportation services
Personal travel planners
Smart payment systems
Smart parking
Connected vehicles
Real-time traffic management
Smart routing
Telecommuting
E-Health
E-learning
E-government
Fleet & ride sharing
Car sharing
Free-ﬂoating vehicle services
Bicycle sharing
p2p car rentals
Crowdsourced logistics

SMART
BUILDING
Home
as-a-service
operators
SMART
MOBILITY
Mobility
as-a-service
operators
Multimodal transportation services
Personal travel planners
Smart payment systems
Smart parking
Connected vehicles
Real-time traffic management
Smart routing
Telecommuting
E-Health
E-learning
E-government
Fleet & ride sharing
Car sharing
Free-ﬂoating vehicle services
Bicycle sharing
p2p car rentals
Crowdsourced logistics
Resource sharing platforms
Consumer goods sharing
platforms
Digital microwork platforms
p2p task sharing
Locally sourced assistants for:
Grocery deliveries
Cleaning
Handyman
Space sharing
p2p home rentals
Workspace sharing
Turnkey energy production
services for households
Crowdfunding energy projects
Automated energy
management systems
Smart home devices
Optimization and control
of consumer electronics
SMART CITY IS A SERVICE

S M A R T U P S C A N M A K E  
S M A R T C I T I E S &
S U S T A I N A B L E
L I F E S T Y L E S T R U E
 
– O N L Y I F T H E Y M A K E
I T T O T H E C I T I E S ,  
T O T H E U R B A N L I F E

CULTIVATING SMARTUPS
FACILITATE ACCESS TO MARKETS
BUILD ECOSYSTEMS
PROVIDE ACCESS TO CAPITAL

‣ A community and an accelerator for
cleantech smartups since 2011
‣ 500+ enthusiasts, both startups,
corporates and experts
‣ 50 start up teams with smart services
from transport of goods to street food
and sharing platforms
‣ Peloton Club Nights, changing themes
in collaboration with a partner, 
open for everybody,  
every month in Putte’s bar & pizzeria
‣ 6 month Peloton Acceleration
programs for selected teams
 
PELOTON CLUB

C U L T I V A T I N G
S M A R T U P S W I T H
C I T I E S A S A
P L A T F O R M
FACILITATE ACCESS TO MARKETS
BUILD ECOSYSTEMS
PROVIDE ACCESS TO CAPITAL

1
2
3
4
5
BAGARMOSSEN, STOCKHOLM

Match & co-create between
established & new players to
develop business models &
services.  
Get strategic support from
the city.
Test the new services and
collaboration in real life
with real users
Scale up &
Continue
Find the need Find the new
innovators
S M A R T  
R E T R O
P R O G R A M

Smart solutions
Renovation dept Distruption of retail
Resource-scarcity  
& Climate Change
FIND THE NEED
There is no lack of need of finding a new way in our cities.
Human scale  
& live city

FIND THE NEED
It’s not just the municipality.

Home delivery
Smart
ofﬁces
Ride sharing
Low-carbon foodUrban farming
Shared spaces
Metering
Smart home
Pop up
restaurants
Mobility services
Sharing economy
Street food
Repair services
Community
gaming
Geolocating
Property
management
Crowd funding
Home energy
SMARTUPS
PLACEMAKING
RETROFITTING
URBAN INFILL
r material
s are called
t services
erience,
me time
gy and
FIND THE NEW INNOVATORS
You need smartups, local entrepreneurs, placemakers to make a smart, sustainable, attractive city.

• Peloton Smart Retro Innovation
Camps in Lahti & Stockholm
• The ecosystem:
• cities
• corporates
• startups
• local entrepreneurs
• expert mentors
• community leaders 
= 60 participants/camp
MATCH & CO-CREATE
at innovation camps and workshops to develop the service concepts and business models and to
find matches between cities, big companies and startups.  
Encourage fast cooperation and real-life test experiments together.

TEST IN REAL LIFE, WITH REAL USERS
to find out what works and not both in the service and in the partnership.  
And to get valuable first users & credibility to accelerate access to markets.
• K-Citymarket, Kesko & PiggyBaggy: Peer-to-peer delivery of online
grocery orders
• K-Citymarket, PiggyBaggy & SIIRI of City of Lahti: orders by phone and
peer delivery for elderly
• City of Lahti, PiggyBaggy & local entrepreneurs: 24/7 Smart Container
pick-up point
• City of Lahti & CityCarClub: interest and needs of residents for car
sharing services
• City of Lahti & Yhteismaa: Nappi Naapuri (‘Nifty Neighbour’) online
platform as a new tool for Lahti’s volunteer neighbourhood contact persons
• Nurmi Clothing: Nurmi Clothing Library
• Stockholmshem, Bonne Mécanique & Gamla Enskeda Lådcycklar:
Cycling service point
• Stockholmshem & Generation Ungdom: Oﬀering Generation Ungdom’s
service of small household help by unemployed youth to Stockholmhem’s
residents
• Remarket: Recruiting sellers to Remarket peer-to-peer 2nd hand clothes
retail platform
• Represent: First questions, comments & voting round on Represent
platform
10 tests in 6 months!

“I had two goals for cooperation: to learn and get to
know to new people and to influnece in the future of
Lahti, and thus mys own future. Both goals have been
met.
As a result of Smart Retro collaboration, in my
Citymarket we tested home deliveries of online
orders with peer to peer delivery service  
Piggy Baggy. The cooperation has been
amazingly inspiring and instructive. I have learnt
that ideas should be tested quickly.
I have met many kinds of actors of the area and I think we
might do something together in the future.  
I encourage companies to participate in similar
programds. To find a better future requires looking
around the corner.
Marko Laaksonen, shop keeper,  
K-Citymarket Paavola, Lahti
100 drivers!
43 % of orders!

“It’s been more work than I thought!  
To execute experiments, we have looked for
internal partners from city organisation and
applied for funding.
What thus interests me now is:  
how can a city be a better platform for
developing new smart services and
business?”
Saara Vauramo, development manager,
City of Lahti, Finland
City of Lahti experimented with
CityCarClub
PiggyBaggy
Nifty Neighbour

CULTIVATING SMARTUPS AND BETTER CITIES
1 We need applications for more comfortable,
stustainable and interesting everyday life.
2 Cities are great platforms and markets  
for applications to develop. But we need to  
be the best in partnering up, one city is too small.
3 Develop business models and co-design
services with a diverse ecosystem.  
”The City Pays” is not the only business model &
cities not only ones in need. Citizens are part, too!
4 Have both a far-reaching vision to find your
way & get everybody moving in that direction, 
and rapid experiments to develop solutions and
make the change happen now.
5 Have intermediaries to bring actors together,
to open doors & remove obstacles, to facilitate
co-creation & partnerships and tell the big story.
VISION & PLANNING
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & CO-DESIGN
EXPERIMENTS & REVITALISATION
VISION & PLANNING
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & CO-DESIGN
EXPERIMENTS & REVITALISATION
ACTIVE
COMMUNICATION
TEMPORARY
USES
EVENTS
POP-UPS
TEST AND
EXPERIMENTS
TEST FEEDBACK
USER INTERVIEWS
CO-CREATION
WORKSHOPS & CAMP
B2B MENTORI
INCUBATOR &
ACCELERATOR
PROGRAMS
ACTIVE
COMMUNICATION
PARTICIPATORY
VISION BUILDING
LOCAL
POLITICIANS
CITY OFFICER
RETAIL
STARTUPS
CITIZENS
REAL
ESTATE
THE PREVIOUS PAGES have described new, par-
tially still experimental ways in which cities,
different types of real estates developers and
owners, and startups of new smart services
(‘smartups’) can contribute to and succeed in
the renewal of cities.
The prerequisites for all this include deeper
partnerships between different stakeholders,
and better tools for co-creation to structure
these partnerships. These co-creative activities
have cut across the traditional division of labour tain their position in the market without ferents scales. The me
MODEL FOR
DIGITAL ERA
SMART URBAN
RENEWAL
Figure X. The image above shows the different activities needed in the development of ﬂourishing

– SMART RETRO FUTURES REPORT
NORDIC CITIES BEYOND
DIGITAL DISRUPTION
DRAFTOUT NEXT
MONTH!

Thanks for listening.
We’d love to talk more with you:  
Outi Kuittinen, Demos Helsinki
outi.kuittinen@demoshelsinki.fi, +358 50 326 82, @outikookoo
www.demoshelsinki.fi
smartretro.demoshelsinki.fi
This presentation you’ll find in: slideshare.net/demoshelsinki
You can also read more:
Smart up Manifesto www.demoshelsinki.fi/en/julkaisut/smartup-
manifesto
Cleantech takes over consumer markets www.demoshelsinki.fi/en/
julkaisut/cleantech-takes-over-consumer-markets
Nordic Cities beyond Digital Distruption – Smart Retro Futures Report
FORTHCOMING! Give me your card to be the first to receive it!

Cultivating Smartups with Cities as Platforms

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