The idea of Brain Hunt finalist Pagerr is challenging to summarize and write down. In a TV show, they named themselves the Tinder for printing houses. However, they are a company with an enormous mission and social nerve – they have promised to save 200,000 trees this year with their solution.

Getting closer to the finale, we had a chat with the team lead of Pagerr, Rudolf-Gustav Hanni, to find out how they are preparing for the finals and how their business has been affected by the corona crisis.

If you compare your team and idea before Brain Hunt and now before the finals, what has been the biggest change?

We are keeping our focus. We did a lot of testing before, and the focus wasn’t so set. Now we have established our expansion strategy and have successfully started our expansion to Germany.

Also, our team and expertise have grown significantly. We have new team members that have joined us from Germany, Belgium, and Sweden. We also have our print specialist and have found our first printing house partner in Belgium.

Have your teammates surprised you in any way during this time?

The team has been surprising me with the ability to adapt quickly. We are firmly focused on achieving our goals, which is why the team’s motivation to work even in the middle of the night, when needed, is a rewarding one.

Which feedback from the jury has been most helpful?

Most of all, we have benefited from the feedback of our mentor, Janne Laik, Sales and Marketing Director at Maxima, who has done her mentoring with the right attitude from the start. Working with her has given us a lot of valuable feedback and tips on how to keep the focus sharp. She has motivated us to work harder, brought us in with new people, and has shown that our idea can have an even higher value than we initially thought.

Sami Seppänen has had a lot of questions about numbers that we usually don’t prepare too much. For the finale, we focus primarily on numbers and the business model so that these questions can be answered as well.

The corona crisis disrupts and even destroys many business models and supply chains. Has your team been affected by this crisis?

After the crisis began, we are now focusing more on Pagerr’s development. However, we had to postpone the marketing campaign planned for the two weeks before the final.

Turnover in the printing industry has dropped by up to 80%, but we see it as an opportunity to create leads. We have focused on those who have fixed costs for their publications and printing. We are also seeing opportunities to increase market share, as cheaper options are now being sought, and the environmental aspect is increasingly important.

What teams will you keep in touch after Brain Hunt?

Hopefully, we’ll keep communicating with all the finalists, and we’ll find common ground with other teams.

What do you do with the prize money?

We are investing the prize money in the expansion of Pagerr to Germany. In Germany, we see the potential of EUR 340 million and the potential to save up to 4 million trees. It inspires us the most. We have already started our expansion, and already 11 printers are interested in the integration. Germany is a real goldmine!

The Brain Hunt Communication Team thanks Pagerri for his excellent collaboration and exciting conversations!