From Biochemistry in Helsinki to Sustainability in Zagreb: The Startup Life of a Finn in Croatia

He came to Croatia for love and stayed for the sense of community. Now at Miret, he leads sustainability processes and enjoys our climate and friendly people. Meet Mikael Hietala, a Finn who started a new chapter of life in a startup incubated in ZICER.

– I had just graduated, and my girlfriend, now my wife, and I concluded that it was one of those moments in life when you can leave everything familiar behind and move to a completely new place. The opportunities for career development, and we are both in biological sciences, were not great in Finland. We first considered moving to countries like Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Then we realized we had no family or friends there, and they are an important part of life. In the end, we decided to come to Zagreb and keep the option open to return to Finland if we did not succeed here. This turned out to be an excellent decision. We enjoy the climate in Croatia; it is better than in Helsinki, where we have six months of winter, and we also like how the locals welcomed us here – that is why I call Croatia my home – Mikael opens up.

In Zagreb, he first volunteered and then worked an office job. Then he opened his own business to have greater professional freedom, and after that, he connected with the startup Miret.

– I have been working for Miret for a year now, and I connected with Domagoj Boljar through LinkedIn. A few years ago, I had already noticed their eco-friendly sneakers. I reached out to ask if they were interested in expanding into the Nordic market. We met, got along well, and after a few months, I got the job as the sustainability manager at Miret. I must also say that it is a great honor for me to have the opportunity to join this ambitious team of people – says Mikael, who is a biochemist and economist.

We were curious about how he contributes to the development of Miret with his expertise.

– When I talked to the Boljar brothers, Domagoj and Hrvoje Boljar, about what I could offer Miret, they asked me the following question: 'What are you good at?'. After thinking for a moment, I replied that I am good at explaining how different processes work, in a simple way that will be understandable to someone who is not in that field. I decided to show them a presentation I made, in which I explained to the engineers how fossil fuels are formed and how crops from plants can be converted into the ethanol necessary for creating bioplastics.

At Miret, I often read research and scientific literature to find the advantages or disadvantages of a particular material for our sneakers, and then I have the task of presenting what I found in an interesting way to everyone in five minutes. My economics studies are also useful because I participate in business development meetings and can easily switch from dreaming about creating a new material to focusing on how we can achieve our business goals in a given year – Mikael enthusiastically tells us.

For Mikael, one of the biggest advantages of working in a startup is flexibility, and he believes that the '9 to 5' work is on its last legs. Flexibility comes with responsibility, but Mikael claims he enjoys taking responsibility for his tasks. Another advantage he mentions is the unique experience gained in a startup.

– Since I arrived at Miret, I have learned a lot about how the startup ecosystem works. I can say that I previously had a very simple, perhaps naive view on the subject, and it is astonishing how much I have learned in the past year. It is important to note that working in startups also brings a lot of stress and uncertainty because everything can change in an instant. This can make planning for the future difficult. However, such a pace is good for individuals who like to be surrounded by a certain degree of chaos, but the kind of chaos that pushes you to find your own strengths – says Mikael.

Of course, we wanted to know from Mikael what it is like to work at ZICER.

– I was very happy when I got the opportunity to lead sustainability at Miret, and I also enjoy spending my days at ZICER. This is a unique environment where everyone works hard to achieve their dreams. For that reason, support is available everywhere. Whether you ask someone more experienced about how to develop your business or discuss an idea you have, you will receive valuable feedback. You can feel the sense of community here from the very first week – explains Mikael.

And finally, we asked Mikael what he thinks Croatians can learn from Finns, and what Finns can learn from Croatians?

– Croatians are very open people, and that is a valuable characteristic for anyone involved in a startup. Both Domagoj and Hrvoje exude a special kind of enthusiasm when they talk about Miret, and that drives other people to want to be part of their startup journey. We Finns, on the other hand, are quite quiet and reserved. I consider myself quite extroverted, but I have also noticed that I can sit at my laptop for several days without speaking a word to anyone.

So, I think Finns can learn from Croatians to be more proactive in communication, to talk more, and to express their emotions more. Also, Croatians are very good at networking, probably because it is a small country surrounded by large, successful markets like the DACH region. Thus, Croatians quickly transfer their ideas abroad and expand into larger neighboring countries. Finns tend to do this slowly and surely, and Sweden is the only foreign market for many small Finnish companies. We should learn to expand across Europe from the very beginning.

On the other hand, Finns, although reserved, usually do not lack confidence. This is not surprising, as we have been told for decades that we have an outstanding education system. This confidence could serve Croatians well during negotiations with international clients, as the level of English, as well as German, in Croatia is excellent, and technical knowledge in many areas is also at a high level.

Simply put, Finns could benefit from some of the conversational skills that are abundant here in Croatia, while Croatians could take from Finns the belief in themselves and their skills – concludes Mikael.