Over 500 000 gather for the Lux Light Festival and Lux Helsinki Eat Restaurant Festival

Lux Helsinki Eat

City Digital Group has been organizing restaurant festivals for over 20 years. This Lux Helsinki Eat is concept for all of your senses.

Experience the Lux Helsinki light festival with all of your senses! Lux Helsinki Eat Restaurant festival tickles your taste buds on 4.–8.1.2020. We’ve picked the most dashing restaurants in Helsinki to offer menus and dishes in three price categories: 10 €, 30 € and 50 €. The wide spectrum of choices from gourmet to casual will offer a culinary extravaganza suitable for all.

Gather up your friends and book a table or just pop in at one of the restaurants on the route. The Lux Helsinki Eat food experience is best enjoyed together!

Arranged by the City of Helsinki, the Lux Helsinki light festival offers an experience engaging all five senses, in the dark of midwinter. The festival will be arranged on 4.–8.1.2020. Lux Helsinki is suitable for the whole family and entry is free of charge. Learn more about the festival: https://www.city.fi/luxhelsinkieat/en/

 

Growing online platform company City Digital Group acquires all platforms in Finland from Aller

Growing online platform company City Digital Group acquires all platforms in Finland from Aller

The Finnish subsidiary of Aller Media, one of the biggest media companies in the Nordics, has sold some of it online platforms to a growing Finnish company City Digital Group. The acquisition includes a popular social media platform, Suomi24, which has over 2 million users a month, and a dating platform Treffit24.

For City Digital Group, the acquisition is a part of their wider growth strategy. The company’s long-term aim is to help 100 million users around the world find 100 million services and products every year through its different online platforms, which include, for example, a table booking service TableOnline, an online media City Magazine, a restaurant review service Eat.fi and an ad network Improve Media. The revenue for the media sales of Suomi24 and Treffit24 in 2018 was nearly 2 million euros, which is over 50% more than three years ago.

Ilkka Lavas, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of City Digital Group, says: “We acquired Suomi24 to get an even larger market share of digital media sales and to strengthen our position in the online dating market. After the acquisition, the Top 4 media houses in Finland by digital reach are Sanoma Alma Media, MTV and City Digital Group. We can utilize the growing user base to grow our own and our partners’ services.”

According to Lavas, focusing on online services has been a successful strategy: “The internet is only now in a stage where growth can really start. It took over 20 years before we were able to, for example, stream movies. There are many different areas in which digitalisation will rupture old power structures, and we are forerunners in that rupture.”

“Our recipe for growth is simple: we want to inspire people around the world to find new experiences. By combining different services we will reach an exponentially growing user base and inspire millions of people. Our target for the coming years is a hundred million users, to be exact.”

“In traditional media, revenues keep declining and media houses are being closed down. We’re going in the opposite direction. Platforms such as TableOnline and Suomi24 are growing. We are also excited about Suomi24 now having Finnish ownership, as it was previously owned by a Danish company. I believe it’s crucial to have online media platforms in Finnish hands, because if we only had to rely on the moderation of Facebook and Google, that might be a danger to our democracy.” Suomi24.fi logo

Treffit24 - Best Dating and Match Making Platform in Finland

TripAdvisor.com and TableOnline.fi on co-operation for providing table reservations to Finnish restaurants

TableOnline Best Restaurants HelsinkiBest Restaurant in Helsinki

Through TripAdvisor, tourists are used to booking hotels, restaurants, experiences, flights and more around the world. Now, thanks to the unique cooperation of TableOnline and TripAdvisor, table reservations through TripAdvisor are also possible to restaurants in Finland and Estonia.

TableOnline is a leading table reservation service in Finland and Estonia representing over 400 restaurants. TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel platform, has hundreds of millions of traveler reviews, which tourists rely heavily on when looking for restaurant recommendations. The collaboration between TableOnline and TripAdvisor provides an easy way to book a table when a traveler finds an interesting Finnish restaurant and it’s reviews on TripAdvisor.

“We are delighted to provide our restaurants a new channel to reach international tourists, highlight our top restaurants and enhance Finland’s visibility as an excellent food tourism destination.” comments Ville Heinonen, CEO of TableOnline.fi.

TableOnline.fi on vuonna 2010 perustettu Suomen johtava ravintoloiden pöytävarausjärjestelmä, jolla on toimintaa useissa kaupungeissa Suomessa ja Virossa. Vuodesta 2016 alkaen TableOnline on ollut osa City Digital -konsernia, johon kuuluu mm. Eat.fi, mainosverkosto Improve Media sekä legendaarinen City.fi.

Startup way in finnish – Startup way kokeilukulttuurin johtaminen vihdoin suomeksi

We translated Lean Startup book into finnish language and it has been great success. Finnish language is rare language and unfortunately even universities don’t have proper vocabulary for all terms used in lean methods. Most teaching in universities are now in english so we are missing many words in finnish language. During our translation work we worked with over 400 specialists to translate terms and we published open source lean startup dictionary https://theleanstartup.fi/lean-startup-sanasto/#englanti . These translations are also added to finnish online dictionaries Ilmainen sanakirja and kaannos.com

Eric Ries published Startup Way on October 17th 2017 which is focusing on how modern companies use entrepreneurial management to transform culture and drive long-term growth. This book has new methods and terms that also finns need to learn.

On March 2018 I was preparing our crazy charity motorbike trip from India to Finland over Himalayan mountains, yes you read it right: From India to Finland over Himalayan mountains and I wanted to do something meaningful on my trip also. We had charity project where we helped local girls and children schools to raise awareness and we brought them goods. I also wrote email to Eric Ries and his team if I could translate also his new book. I got license.

My plan was to translate 1 page per day. 400 pages = 400 days. During the trip I got 60 pages ready. Now 400 days later book is translated. Thanks for everyone who has helped in proofreading. Next step is that book will be prepared for print and published in October 17th 2019.


Käänsimme Lean Startup kirjan suomen kielelle ja kirjasta tuli suuri menestys. Suomen kieli on rikas kieli, mutta helposti ilman yhteisiä termejä asioita ymmärretään monella tavalla. Edes yliopistoissa ei ole yhtenäistä sanastoa kaikille lean menetelmissä käytetyille termeille. Yliopistoissa opetus on nykyään isolta osin englanniksi, joten suomen kielen termeille ei synny edes korkeakoulutuksen yhteydessä luontevaa sanastoa alan opiskelijoille. Käännöstyön yhteydessä loimme yli 400 asiantuntijan kanssa yhteisen sanaston ja julkaisimme tämän avoimen sanakirjan ilmaiseksi kaikkien käyttöön  https://theleanstartup.fi/lean-startup-sanasto/#englanti . Nämä käännökset on lisätty myös Ilmainen sanakirja ja kaannos.com sanakirjaan.

Eric Ries julkaisi Startup way kokeilukulttuurin johtaminen kirjansa englanniksi lokakuun 17 päivä vuonna 2017. Kirja kertoo siitä miten modernit yritykset ja organisaatiot hyödyntävät sisäisen yrittäjyyden johtamista luodessaan kokeilukulttuuria ja kestävää pitkän aikavälin menestystä. Tässä kirjassa on uusia menetelmiä ja termejä joita myös meidän suomalaisten on hyvä lukea äidinkielellä, koska äidinkielellä oppiminen on useimmille helpompaa ja näin isojen asioiden oppiminen ei ole helppoa. Olen itse lukenut kirjan nyt noin 40 kertaa ja vaikka olen käyttänyt Lean startup menetelmiä jo vuosikausia niin ymmärrän nyt asioita syvemmin kuin koskaan.

Maaliskuussa 2018 olin valmistautumassa meidän huikeaan moottoripyöräseikkailuun Intiasta Himalaja-vuorten yli Suomeen. Meillä oli ohjelmassa tyttöjen ja lasten koulujen auttaminen sekä tavaralahjoituksilla, että tietoisuuden lisäämisellä. Miljoonat ihmiset ympäri maailmaa lukivat reissustamme ja samalla pystyimme kertomaan miten tärkeää on, että tytöt ja pojat käyvät kouluja ja oppivat laskemaan ja lukemaan. Halusin myös tehdä jotain muutakin hyödyllistä. Kirjoitin sähköpostin Eric Riesille ja hänen tiimilleen jossa tiedustelin voisinko kääntää tämän uuden Startup way kokeilukulttuurin johtamiskirjan myös suomeksi. Sain käännösoikeudet.

Suunnitelmana oli kääntää 1 sivu päivässä. 400 sivua olisi siis 400 päivää. Matkan aikana sain 60 sivua valmiiksi. Nyt 400 päivää myöhemmin koko kirja on käännetty. Kiitos kaikille jotka olette auttaneet oikolukemaan kirjaa. Seuraavaksi kirja valmistellaan julkaisua ja painoa varten.

Kirja julkaistaan 17 lokakuuta 2019. Jos haluat ennakkotilata kirjan, laita Facebookissa viestiä: https://www.facebook.com/IlkkaLavas/ tai pistä sähköpostia ilkka.lavas (at ) city.fi niin saat ennakkotilaustarjouksen josta et voi kieltäytyä. Voit myös käyttää palautelomaketta.

Aamulla kirjan käännöstä ja päivällä maailman korkeimman vuoren, Mount Everstin basecampille 5,2 km korkeuteen.

STARTUP WAY – SUOSITUKSIA

“Eric Ries saattaa hyvinkin olla uusi Peter Drucker. Tämä mestariteos purkaa auki sen, kuinka moderni organisaatio voi synnyttää kestävän kokeilukulttuurin.” – Robert I. Sutton, Stanfordin yliopiston professori, Scaling Up Excellencen sekä The Asshole Survival Guiden kirjoittaja

“Startupit ovat kokeiluja – osa menestyy, osa ei. Joka tapauksessa startuppien kokeilukulttuuri on paras tapa testata uusien ideoiden toimivuutta. Miten sitten korporaatio voisi olla yhtä ketterä kuin startup … tai miten herätetään henkiin se alkuperäinen tekemisen meininki, joka alunperin synnytti yrityksen? Lean Startup -kokeilukulttuuriin pohjautuva kirja näyttää, kuinka kokeiluja johdetaan isoissa organisaatioissa.” – Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitzin perustaja

“Olen omin silmin nähnyt, kuinka Eric Ries jalkauttaa Lean Startup -kokeilukulttuurin johtamista nopeasti ja laajasti isoon yritykseen. Startup Way – kokeilukulttuurin käsikirja on olennainen teos niin pienille kuin isoille yrityksille, jotka etsivät kestävämpiä tapoja, kuinka yritys voi kasvaa.” – Beth Comstock, GE:n hallituksen varapuheenjohtaja

“Jokaisen johtajan, joka haluaa olla kehityksessä mukana, kannattaa pohtia tämän tärkeän kirjan oppeja. Eric Ries esittää jälleen kerran, kuinka parhaat ideat ovat sekä järkeenkäypiä että raikkaita. Elintärkeä opas moderneille yrityksille – jättiyrityksille, perheyrityksille sekä kaikille organisaatioille – tulevaisuutta varten.” – Lawrence Summers, Harwardin yliopiston Charles W. Eliot -professori sekä aiemmin Yhdysvaltain valtionvarainmisteri

“Jatkuva innovointi auttaa menestymään pitkällä aikavälillä. Eric todistaa, miten kaiken kokoiset organisaatiot – eivät vain startupit – voivat synnyttää ja johtaa kokeilukulttuuria. Pivotoi-tai-kuihdu -yhteiskunnassa tämä on elintärkeää luettavaa.” – Reid Hoffman, LinkedInin perustaja sekä New York Times bestsellerien The Alliance sekä The Start-up of You kirjoittaja

“Korporaatio on yleensä sellainen, missä yrittäjät tukahtuvat kuoliaaksi, mutta Eric Riesillä on salainen suunnitelma, jolla nämä saadaan liekkeihin. Tämä kirja on erittäin hyödyllinen opas jokaiselle julkisissa organisaatioissa, yrityksissä sekä yhdistyksissä, joissa on tarvetta saada innovaatioista kipinää sekä vauhdittaa muutoksen voimaa.” – Adam Grant, Originals, Give and Take sekä Option B -kirjojen kirjoittaja yhdessä Sheryl Sandbergin kanssa

TableOnline restaurants can now take WeChat payments

TableOnline restaurant table reservation platform by City Digital and Avaintec cooperate to bring more convenient payment options to Finland’s largest table reservation service for Chinese tourists

In TableOnline you can make table reservations, read reviews, find offers and discover the top restaurants in Helsinki, Turku and all big cities. The service reaches more than 100 000 active restaurant customers per week in Finland and Estonia, making TableOnline the biggest online table reservation site in these countries.

The company City Digital, has partnered with Avaintec to provide TableOnline service for Chinese consumers. Soon Chinese customers can pay with the popular Chinese mobile payment service, WeChat Pay.

“Nordic countries as a travel destination among Chinese is growing its popularity constantly. Finding and booking restaurant experiences have never been easier and with WeChat Pay TableOnline can serve Chinese customers even better,” says Ilkka Lavas from City Digital.

WeChat Pay is the fastest growing mobile payment service in China. With WeChat Pay, users can make payments quickly and conveniently in RMB by simply scanning a QR code, without having to exchange currency or withdraw cash.

“You can search for inspiration, book a table, choose a menu and pay it easily with WeChat Pay – there is no need for currency exchange, cash or credit card payments. The customer can fully focus on enjoying the dining experience,” Ilkka explains.

In Finland, WeChat Pay can be offered with AvainPay, a service provided by Avaintec.

“Local merchant should not ignore the Chinese tourists’ consumption power and payment habits. Offering WeChat Pay allows businesses to serve their customers better,” says Jie Guo, AvainPay’s Service Manager at Avaintec.

In 2019, Chinese tourists will be able to pay for their meal using TableOnline service in over 400 restaurants in Finland and Estonia with WeChat Pay.

TIEDOTE 22.1.2019: SYÖ!-viikot tallinnalaisittain

Stopover.fi if available for arriving, departing or transiting air travelers – also for domestic travelers. We basically sell and market all quality products which are accessible according to Helsinki Gateway idea. Where applicable, stopover.fi provides the airport’s own services and information by means of interfaces. Future developments in the StopOver concept include, for example other language versions, which are added when the demand is there. We believe that the efforts by City of Helsinki, Visit Finland and Finnair, is a good basic marketing for Stopover. Our aim is to offer effective distrbution and relevant supply – and continue the good work already done. We are also very excited for our newly signed partnership with EatAndTheCity scalable restaurant reservation platform“ says Pekka Mäkinen, Chairman of Airtouch Oy.

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Helsinki Airport StopOver is now powered by EatAndTheCity

Stopover.fi if available for arriving, departing or transiting air travelers – also for domestic travelers. We basically sell and market all quality products which are accessible according to Helsinki Gateway idea. Where applicable, stopover.fi provides the airport’s own services and information by means of interfaces. Future developments in the StopOver concept include, for example other language versions, which are added when the demand is there. We believe that the efforts by City of Helsinki, Visit Finland and Finnair, is a good basic marketing for Stopover. Our aim is to offer effective distrbution and relevant supply – and continue the good work already done. We are also very excited for our newly signed partnership with EatAndTheCity scalable restaurant reservation platform“ says Pekka Mäkinen, Chairman of Airtouch Oy.

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EatAndTheCity is a Finalist for the 2018 Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award

The globally growing restaurant discovery platform, EatAndTheCity, has been selected as a finalist for Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe award, a prestigious list honouring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from the European business region. EatAndTheCity is part of a Finnish media corporation, City Digital, which originally grew around a legendary magazine, City.

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Leading restaurant reservation service TableOnline strengthened its position in the market in 2017 and grew by 56%

The restaurant reservation service TableOnline strengthened its position in the market in 2017 and grew by 56%.“We’ve worked hard for improving the Finnish restaurant culture and eating out for eight years, and our work is finally starting to pay off. This is of course primarily thanks to our amazing customers!” says Ville Heinonen, the CEO of TableOnline.
TableOnline is Finland’s leading restaurant reservation platform founded in 2010, and it operates in multiple cities around Finland and Estonia. From 2016 TableOnline has been part of the City Digital corporation, which includes, for example, Eat.fi, Improve Media and City.fi.

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World Economic Forum: Cities need to be smarter to survive

Smart city is an urban area, where data, sensors and networks are used to create better city life for people. Smart city operates and serves us occupants better. In practice traffic jam or accident reports can be communicated to other navigators and traffic can be diverted to other routes for example. Another everyday example of the smart city is that you can look up online which restaurant has free table for the same night. So smart city is not rocket science but is actually partially happening in our everyday life already.

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