Time flies, but so do we - five years of Korner in my own words
In mid-June 2016, the first working day of the Korner took place. We started the morning with the previous employer's phones until Jätkäsaari Online Store opened, and we were able to pick up our new equipment. An empty studio-office in Liisankatu was waiting for furniture, but the duunar didn't mind. In addition to the musk oxen caused by the summer heat, the air smelled of freedom, brotherhood and (instead of equality) entrepreneurship.
Quite a lot of things related to running a company were learned the hard way, and I guess there were big changes in everyone's personal life as well. Timo will certainly remember the long phone calls with the accounting office. There was a lot of explaining and learning to do. Hands on clay, hearts on sleeves. Baby steps.
"Although the first few months were full of printer installation, furniture assembly, flower watering and Vellu's playlist tinkering, we had a hell of a good time. There was a lot of rattling around, especially when Timo's car had disappeared from Liisankatu during the working day and he was about to call the police. Timo must not have had time to get his parking permit in order and the car had been towed to a better location. "
The second year started on a wistful note when young padawan Antti "Koiris" Koirikivi announced that he was moving to the provinces in search of love. Peetu and Kaarle, who had been working hourly, did their best to fill in, but the boys had their own day jobs and we had nothing to offer the boys but half-wheat for the insane. So we started recruiting, and from there we got Veera, who is now a senior member of the state, and is known internally.
Soon after Veera's arrival, Jussi started training with us and Saku, who grew up in Myllykoski Ballo, was recruited as a summer boy, straight from Prague. We also began to notice that all the tacit knowledge in the heads of our three Jedi masters alone might not always be transmitted through the Force alone.
"In year two, we started to have enough clients to count on one hand and the working community was forming fast. The first development meeting was held on the terrace of our studio office downstairs, and many revolutionary office inventions were introduced into everyday work, such as the weekly meeting and the much-desired shared calendar."
The third year saw the launch of Korner's first general recruitment. For this, the website had to be set up. It was nice to have more than just Joel's phone number on the website. We had so many people applying, we didn't really know how to proceed. In the end, we found five candidates among the applicants that we wanted to interview carefully. And I think we even had to do some pre-assignments. Laura was the first to be selected, but Janette was the last to arrive at 17.00 for the interview. There had already been so many interviews over the long day that mouths were getting dry. The three of us decided to have a snack at the interview and offer Janette one too. If she liked it, she would come to work for us. Suddenly there were eight of us. I think there were about the same number of customers. Or more, surely?
"The Korner immediately conveyed a genuine, suitably direct and, in a good way, special atmosphere. This was confirmed when we met for dinner with the whole team before my contract started. The evening ended with karaoke, as is customary for Korners, and I woke up the next morning thinking: help, did I suck? Even if I had been, the karaoke has thankfully offered me a mickey in the hand. The same bravos are still playing, by the way. "
The next step was the inevitable. Namely, the office move. Our gorgeous studio had served us well, but the fifth floor, steep stairs and a lift that only works in summer - and only one toilet - put us off.
We found our new home on Rikhardinkatu. The space was decorated very nicely, as the change from the impressive Liisankatu to a more office-like space required certain balancing measures to maintain comfort. Whether it was the increased number of staff, the improved client relationships or the electric desks, things started to feel really serious.
"I remember the first time I stepped into the Rikhardinkatu office. Liisankatu had its own atmosphere, no doubt, but the new office suddenly had a je ne sais quoi kind of charisma. I remember the sturdy leather sofas, the dark, soft walls, the neon sign, the baseball bat and the phrase in the frame: 'We're going to skate to one song and one song only'. It could be that they had already been in the previous office, but I just saw them now. You could say that Simba was definitely not just a lion cub anymore."
The fifth year - the year of the ransom? What ransom? The Lunni is an incredibly sympathetic-looking bird that nests in Iceland. It is our mascot. Since day one. It was going to be called Lunni Ltd, but it was taken. And that's good. The Korner has an edge to its name.
The name comes from the fact that at our old workplace, the three of us were called sports corners. We all sat in the same corner, made a lot of noise, and sport defined both work and leisure time.
It had been a special year for everyone, but as a responsible businessman, Mr Korner had put his socks on for a rainy day. Sonja, the best distance runner in the world, was snapped up, even though the industry as a whole cancelled all the bars. We made the big leap from a dull office to remote working and did a hell of a job. Thanks to everyone, but a special mention must go to Saku, who did a great job for our internal communication.
The only adjustment during the height of the crisis was to ban Jussi from working overtime. The guy is pushing them a lot, by the way. And all for the customer. Hard work and strong commitment.
In the autumn, we were hit again with a search for ingots. Either we're mining diamonds or we're too bad to choose, but instead of one more head it was decided that we'd have three new employees starting in early 2021. Two trainees, Saana and Line, i.e. Liine and Sane, and Anni. The new guys bring their own rehearsals, and many had to learn new roles. It was surprisingly well handled. Intermediate stairs!
And it didn't stop there. We are planning to hire a more experienced person for about a year. Finally, the pieces fell into place, and Nina started as Korner's account manager in May. We've had that edge, but now we've got a hefty dose of poise!
A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Korner's birthday with our own team. We went out for a meal together, as not all 12 of us had ever met. That was the night.
We are so proud of our company, our gang, our work, our clients and now our new office in Korkeavuodenkatu. Many people have already called it the finest in Finland. Well, at least it has the best communications agency in Finland.
- Timo, Vellu & Joel
