Back again with the latest edition of getting to know Arilyn. This week, I will be asking our CEO, Emmi, the same serious and other not so serious questions.
Hello Emmi! Please share with our readers who you are and what you do at Arilyn.
Well hi there! I'm Emmi and the CEO of Arilyn. That means that I'm basically doing everything that needs to be done, from making coffee to meeting customers and investors. My job is to see that we are on track chasing our goals, to see that the team has a nice place to work and that customers stay happy. I'm also one of three co-founders.
Alright let's get to know you, Emmi! Tell us, what did you have for breakfast?
Berries, oat-yogurt and muesli plus a big cup of green tea.
Anything you would rather have had?
The same but with fresh berries. These ones came from the freezer.
What about a favourite drink?
Anything with bubbles! Both water and wine. But what I drink most is green tea. About 1,5 litres a day.
Favourite season?
I love both early spring when the nature wakes up and late summer with its softer colours and sunlight.
So, do you like the rain?
No. Nothing to add.
Chocolate or strawberry?
Strawberries! I eat a LOT of berries, all kinds of berries. And in sweets, I prefer salty liquorice any time before chocolate.
In the movie of your life, who would play you?
Tough one... Lassie?
What a particular choice, care to elaborate? Why Lassie?
I trust my intuition and Lassie was the first that came to mind. But if we limit the options to humans, I'd say Julianne Moore might be a good choice.
Ah so true, you look very alike! What about in work, what would be your biggest career fail?
My fails always come down to the fact that I have been too proud to ask for help. The truth is that no matter what it is that keeps you up at night there usually is someone in your network who knows how to handle that type of situation. And one day you'll probably have a chance to help them back.
Best career advice?
If an interesting opportunity presents itself, take it.
And once again, if you have a problem, speak up and ask for help!
If you didn’t do what you do now, what would you be doing?
I get easily excited about new things so I would most likely be setting up another startup with a cool tech idea.
Good call not becoming a pilot, the world is a safer place. Anything you wish you knew more about?
I'm a heavy user of Google search, all the time I check things like "oldest three in the world", "tiniest dog in the world", "how are the skyscrapers built", "famous female explorers". So I would definitely say I love learning about anything and everything that comes to my mind. I'm especially interested when something new is discovered in science, archeology, space and deep oceans.
Yes our news feeds are definitely a hard-to-avoid hotbed for the troubles of the world. What about a hero, or someone who inspires you?
The people who volunteer to help in different crisis situations around the world.
Yes, faith in humanity is easily restored when listening to volunteer stories! What about a favourite band?
When I was little my father used to listen and sing along to Bob Marley all the time and those songs are still some kind of a comfort music for my brain. Many other artists and bands come and go but Bobby remains.
And any unusual hobbies or interests, you would like to share?
I don't know how unusual one this is but I really enjoy Science Fiction movies and series. They play with the imagination and thought of what could be.
Alright time to finish up this interview with a story from you childhood!
Well, I was very interested in exploring places as a kid - a quality my parents were not that thrilled about.
When I was six years old, we lived close to the centre of Helsinki, and one summer evening I was playing out with my best friend, who was 5. This was in the 80`s, and it was perfectly normal for kids of that age to be playing by themselves in the yard. Naturally, we were not allowed to leave the yard.
Well, that night we got bored but still wanted to play outside. I got a great idea to check the small hospital playground on the same block. Unfortunately, it was already used by the young patients of the hospital, so we decided to go to another park a little further away. While on the move, we continued even further and further, park after park. At some point my friend got tired, and I figured it was best to take the tram home. From the tram window I saw my father running like crazy by the seashore and wondered what he was doing... when I got home, I learned that it was not just my dad looking for us but both families, aunts and uncles, cousins and police.
I became a geographer by education later in life.
Haha what an adventure, thank you for this Emmi, been a pleasure!
That was it for this episode of Faces of Arilyn, next week same questions, same setup for another lucky member of our team!
Warm augmented regards,
Frida