2016 in review

It’s been almost a year since Columbia Road was founded together with Futurice. Our mission from the get-go was to renew and challenge digital commerce, which we feel has been driven too much by IT. Digitalisation and technology are right in the core of e-commerce and our know-how, but essentially it’s about developing businesses to become more customer driven, and doing that in faster cycles.

So, how was our first financial year?

Within the first 10 months we reached a 1.1M€ turnover on the plus side, which was our original goal. Last fall was defined by investments in recruiting digital experts from the very competitive pool and now we’re a 25 people company with the additional 400 experts from Futurice enabling fast scaling for larger projects.

During the last year we tweaked and defined our service selection, which now cover four main areas:

1. Digital Strategy
2. Omni-channel Customer Experience
3. eCommerce & Digital Sales Channels

It has been a real whirlwind with numerous projects for each these areas, both for B2B and B2C companies. Our clients now include Marimekko, YIT, VR/Pohjolan Liikenne, Sanoma, Vapo, Kesko, Anton & Anton and many others.

One of our main goals has been to invest in the transparent, warm and inspiring working environment adapted from Futurice. We also decided to invest on HubSpot Growth Stack which essentially now has marketing automation, CRM and our website working as one effective whole supporting our own digital sales. In addition and following our own beliefs in omnichannel business strategy, we established our office in a brick-and-mortar space in downtown Helsinki to serve as an important touchpoint for both business and recruitment means.

For 2017 our expectations are high: We’re aiming to double our turnover and have around 40 people in the team by the end of year. We are also very excited about our plans to take our first steps in international operations. We see great potential in e-commerce ranging from startups to nation-wide B2C players to international corporations. We’re continuing on our path of advocating change for how digital business can be done and continue to create meaningful human encounters along the way.