Packing the bags

So… After eight very interesting years, I'm leaving the Mothership and taking a plunge into the great unknown. But the fact is - I have been with Nokia for eight years, and while the relationship has been mutually quite beneficial, fun and rewarding, I feel like I have seen now enough of this particular valley for a while, and I'm yearning to see what is on the other side of the mountains.

I am very grateful to all the people I have met during this journey, and who have taught me, both in good and bad. And it's been a long journey. Remember, I joined Nokia in 2002 when 7650, the first S60 phone, was still under wraps and was the thing which pretty much started all this smartphone brouhaha. Now, smartphones are everywhere, and there's a good, fresh and exciting competition on that promises to be every bit as interesting as the introduction of the internet to the whole world. Good luck to everyone, since no matter what happens, it's the people who win.

What's next then? Well, I'm taking up something more ambitious and challenging: I've accepted the offer to join Thinglink as their CTO. Yes, it's a startup. Yes, it's going to mean plenty of work. And yes, if stuff breaks down, it will be all my fault.

But Thinglink will also be a fertile ground to grow some seeds of fresh thought and opportunity. We'll be doing some really exciting stuff, and hopefully knock over a few established thoughts while doing so. As the "Godfather of NFC" (as I am sometimes jokingly referred as) at Nokia I've had my hand in making a part of the Internet of Things to go live, and I ain't done yet.

(Oh, and BTW, we'll be hiring. Watch this space.)




Comments

Wow..Congrats man! What a great opportunity and an interesting move. Good luck with your new challenges at Thinglink. I'm linking there too :-).

--Hessu, 12-Apr-2010


Onnittelut! *nostaa samalla käden ylös* ;-)

--AnonymousCoward, 12-Apr-2010


(se olin minä tossa edellä. homma lipesi käsistä.)

--Marjut, 12-Apr-2010


Congrats to the new job! And welcome to the mad world of startups.. ;)

T

--Torulf, 12-Apr-2010


Thanks guys! Torulf, would love to see your pitch some day :-)

--JanneJalkanen, 12-Apr-2010


Congratulations! I'm looking for something new myself, and seeing encouraging signs everywhere. Like here.

--Katri , 12-Apr-2010


hey congratulations Janne. We'll miss you!

--SeanRooney, 12-Apr-2010


Congratulations! Thinglink is already really interesting and it is interesting to see what it will be

--Jarno, 12-Apr-2010


Good luck Janne! It sounds like a great opportunity and match for you!

--James, 12-Apr-2010


Janne, Sounds it was not that bad a move to join Nokia back then ;-) Thanks for your efforts and friendship. Yes, the life is different on the other side of the mountains, drop a line some time to share thoughts.

--Heikki H, 13-Apr-2010


Heikki, one can never know what would've happened :-). But yeah, it's been fun!

And I'm meaning to catch up.

--JanneJalkanen, 14-Apr-2010


Congrats on the move Janne! Thinglink should be a good match for you. New setting, new challenges ahead...

--Harri Lakkala, 14-Apr-2010


Congratulations! I should really read blogs more often. I wish you a lot of success!

--Adriaan, 07-May-2010


Adriaan, these entries also are on my Twitter feed ;-)

--JanneJalkanen, 08-May-2010


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