If you can do it for someone else’s account, why not make it your own business?

“I had always thought that I did just well as a servant. I worked well as an employee and wanted to move forward in my career and so on,” says Ilkka-Cristian Niemi. Little did he guess by then. Now Ilkka-Cristian runs the company he founded in Croatia and expanded in Northern Macedonia – a software development company Software Sauna.

Technology industry is a relatively new sector for Ilkka-Cristian. He left Finland in 2009, when he moved to Poland to start his journey in finance and accounting outsourcing. Later he ran the country operations of a Finnish recruitment and staffing company. Only later in 2016, he changed to an IT consulting company to run their nearshoring operations, again in Poland. 

“Until then, I had done accounting outsourcing, sales and marketing. IT consulting was something new for me,” he says.

The gained experience had, however, built Ilkka-Cristian the skills he would need as an entrepreneur in the consulting sector. He had seen how nearshoring works and saw the potential in the software development business. The idea of founding Software Sauna grew.

“I started to think I could do consulting business for myself. Full profit and loss responsibility, recruitment, marketing, accounting, project management – everything I had good experience of. My background had trained me for this business, so it turned out quite natural to choose that path,” Ilkka-Cristian explains.

In 2018, Software Sauna was founded. The idea had been shaped with co-founder Timo Hakkarainen and sparred with the founder of another Fusion Ecosystem company Wunderdog. For the Ilkka-Cristian and Timo, it was clear from the start that they would need partners to get a good start for the business.

“We wanted to have some initial funding to start business with. Of course, there was also the risk that the money would run out before we could actually get started. I was the only one who quit my day job at that point. Luckily and with hard work, we succeeded in grinding the business up and running“, he recalls.

Ilkka-Cristian sees that rationality and his ability to think things through twice before taking actions has helped him on his entrepreneurial path. Simultaneously, he thinks it is important to balance his considerate side with the ability to get excited and make things actually happen. He says one cannot make miracles overnight, but making decisions quickly is important in entrepreneurship. Yet again, he recommends checking the risks before acting.

“For many people, crunching numbers is a bit boring. But then if these critical things are not in order, then you will surely not have a good night’s sleep. It’s good to keep in mind that in the income statement, there is still the last row to remember,” he says.

When asked about how it has been as an entrepreneur Ilkka-Cristian answers quickly he would not change a day.

“Or that is not true, haha! There are bad days too”, he continues immediately and smiles. 

According to Ilkka-Cristian, the most stress he experiences in his role is rooted in his responsibility over the people in the company. Sometimes, the stress turns into “the nights of lizards” as he describes it amused yet seriously. However, having a close supportive relationship with the company’s board members helps overcoming those stressful situations. All in all, the good days trump all the bad ones.

“It is a crazy wonderful feeling when success and achievements come. It’s when the work begins to bear fruit. For example, last year from January to July, sales records were set month after month! Think that! But individual customers also raise enthusiasm. And the fact that our gang is happy,” Ilkka-Cristian says proudly.

Building life and business in the Mediterranean area has shaped the overall way of living as well. Former enthusiastic hockey fan Ilkka-Cristian says hockey has had to give room for more appropriate hobbies in the South. Together with Software Sauna came sun, golf and sailing. Tough trade!

“Yeah, seven months a year in shorts, lovely people and the turquoise sea. The struggle is real, welcome to visit!”

Explore the full series for more co-founder stories:

1. Finding meaningfulness in entrepreneurship – Jani Kallio
2. Curiosity leads an entrepreneurial path – Mikaela Nyman
3. Courage, smart risk-taking and a club – Vesa Härkönen
4. The story an entrepreneur would tell – Emma Grönlund
5. Building a company is a journey worth experiencing – Jaakko Karhumaa
6. If you can do it for someone else’s account, why not make it your own business – Ilkka-Cristian Niemi
7. On a mission to transform learning through a purpose-driven business – Marjut Sadeharju
8. From corporate world to GenAI pioneer – Daniel Arroyo
9. The converge of art, people and data – Kira Sjöberg