"Joining Fiksuruoka was a chance to combine my interest in marketing with my technical background," says Riku Poutanen, reflecting on his decision to join Foodello–Fiksuruoka as Chief Marketing Officer and co-founder back in 2018. Together with his team, he has scaled their marketing function into two new markets and established next-level data-driven strategies. How did they achieve this? What has he learned over the years?
It all started in 2016 when Riku Poutanen met Juhani Järvensivu at university.
“We were both studying industrial engineering and management. During Juhani’s second year, he was recruited to Foodello–Fiksuruoka by Richard “Ricke” Lindroos, who founded the company,” Riku says. Juhani ended up becoming the CEO and co-founder of the company. As Juhani and Ricke started to build the company, Juhani noticed that Riku had strong marketing skills they were lacking in the team.
“My strengths were in optimizing online marketing and marketing automation, so I started to spar and help Juhani with those. I remember he was always joking that he would hire me someday, but I was happy at my job then,” Riku smiles thinking back. "But I sure was captivated by the unique business idea and the mission to build a more sustainable future."
Eventually, Juhani put his words into action, and Riku joined the Foodello–Fiksuruoka team in 2018 to fight against food waste. Riku also joined as a co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer. “In my role, I got to blend technical and analytical challenges with marketing and do it all in the e-commerce context. I find it fascinating.”
Joining as one of the earliest team members, Riku faced the challenge of establishing foundational marketing strategies with limited resources. “In the beginning, I started in the marketing team as the only team member. But very soon we noticed that we needed more creative skills for the marketing team and hired two more people in my team to complement my strengths which are more on the technical and numbers side of marketing. With the team, we scaled our content creation process and started to really scale the marketing efforts”, he says.
At the same time, Riku was building the foundations of marketing, which are strongly seen today.
"From day one, we've focused on testing a lot of things to understand what works and what doesn’t", Riku explains. "We look closely at the data, and our dedicated data team helps us optimize our marketing actions." Creativity is also a key part of their approach. "We try creative ideas and different kinds of offer campaigns," Riku notes. "Offer campaigns are at the core of what we do in marketing."
For marketing professionals looking for a role with a twist, Riku has good news: "In all of our marketing roles, you get to combine the analytical side with the creative part of marketing. We aim to build an environment and ways of working, where even the creative marketing professionals can make data-driven decisions.”
When asked about his biggest milestones over the years, the answer comes right away: “Building the team. The first time hiring for my own team was memorable.” At first, Riku led the marketing team in Finland, but with the growing business he has grown to lead team leads in marketing and product development functions.
What has been your key to building a great team?
“I've focused on putting together a group of talented people who are great at what they do and share our vision for data-driven growth," Riku says.
Riku's leadership style is all about being data-driven and supportive.
"I love diving into business discussions, and I'm always ready to help my team with the details, not just from a high-level perspective. I believe in being hands-on, understanding the ins and outs of every project, and lending a helping hand whenever needed. At the same time, I trust my team members and give them plenty of ownership over their work. When people feel trusted and valued, they're more motivated to do great things."
Foodello–Fiksuruoka’s expansion into international markets was another big milestone during Riku's time.
"In 2021, we started expanding into the Netherlands, which meant adjusting our processes and building a new local team," Riku explains. “It was hard because, at the same time, we were hiring a new team but also still setting up different processes to prepare for onboarding multiple people at the same time.”
In 2023, Riku transitioned from CMO to Chief Growth Officer. It was a natural shift, reflecting his broader role in business development and new growth initiatives.
"As CGO, I can focus on strategic expansion and product development, steering us toward new market opportunities. It is also personally an opportunity that I am really excited about" Riku says. Now, he's working on innovative projects like pop-up stores and teaming up with different departments to drive sustainable growth. "Again, it's all about testing new ideas thoroughly and making sure our product development meets market needs," Riku adds.
#1 Trust the process: “In the early days of a startup, you can’t expect everything to be perfect. You have to start somewhere.”
#2 Your team is number one: “The team is the most important thing you need to focus on. Hire smart people, give them ownership and support, help them grow, and your company will grow.”
#3 Test, test, test and try again: “You need to test a lot of things to see what works. Accept that you will try a lot of things that end up failing, but at the same time you can find a few amazing ideas that will drive the business forward for years to come."