Recent learnings and my upcoming travels 🏔️🇹🇷🇬🇪🇮🇹

I was so intrigued about scenario analysis and Monte Carlo simulation after publishing my thesis about the topic that after building an easy to use three-scenario FPOM calculator with Python Django, I went all-out and created an easy to use simulator add-on for Google sheets I called Simulate. After some back and forth with Google’s review team it is now finally downloadable from the Workspace Marketplace!

Using Simulate, which is currently available in free public Beta, it is super easy to generate hundreds of scenarios simply by highlighting the variables you are uncertain about in your Google Sheet document and letting the simulator sample the specified ranges so you can better understand risks and uncertainties in your model. I firmly believe it will work with almost any model of yours, and I encourage you to try it out. Scenario thinking, analysis and better decisions for the win!!

I’m so proud to have built something I myself will use, and if it’s helpful and there will be more demand, I’ll keep improving the tool in the future. However, for now, I’ll just let it simmer for a while.

Oh – and I’ve also recently migrated most of my hosting over to Hetzner from Digital Ocean after learning about their great customer feedback, some of the industry’s lowest prices and, most importantly, the fact that they originate from Bavaria 🇩🇪 (not so far from where I lived). And what’s more, one of their main server locations is in Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮. So it looks like I’m starting to bring some of my apps and infrastructure back closer to home!

The LBS blog will remain on Digital Ocean VPS in Amsterdam for now though, whereas the transition to Hetzner for Simulation DSS was easy thanks to it being a fully dockerized application. I have to say I’ve had some weird small performance issues with Hetzner in the beginning, but currently it seems to be stellar ✨

I’ve recently gotten interested in fishing and I’ll be storming some downstream rivers with my SUP board while sleeping the nights in shelters. I didn’t even know it is possible to fish salmon in North Karelia close to some of these rivers! For now, when I still live close the pristine eastern Finland's wilderness areas, I want to get the best of it while I can! Here are some pictures from last summer as I was just getting into traveling on the thing:

Fun times, but this year I’ll be hitting the rapids 💪🌊🏄‍♂️

Thanks to my professors I’m taking the chance to fly over to one of the world's oldest universities, University of Bologna in Italy 🇮🇹 to attend a Real Options conference where I’ll meet some of this interesting field’s most distinguished scholars and present a paper to the audience. This paper is my first proper academic publication in collaboration with some professors (and probably the last one, but you never know, haha) 🤓🎓.

Additionally, in a couple of days, with one of my best friends I’ll be flying to Istanbul from where we’ll travel east and cross into Georgia to spend some time in the mountains while getting to know this beautiful country. I’m super much looking forward to the trip! 🇹🇷🇬🇪🏔️

New article: Account development 🌪️

😴 After the critical implementation stage, your strategic sales journey transitions into what is commonly labeled "account maintenance", or more aptly, account development. Thinking of this crucial stage merely as "maintenance" is misleading because it implies a passive approach.

Per definition, whereas the word "maintenance" is about keeping things the way they are now, active account development is actionable and dynamic ⚡️

Continue reading here.

Favorite quote  💭

You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life – Steve Jobs.

Random remark  📖

A note to myself on bold writing

Like most of us, I tend to gravitate towards hedging my words and using too many of them. Instead, I need to write boldly and make a point. Words like “probably”, “maybe”, “could be”, etc., feel good in the moment, but during the editing stage all this wariness should be removed in order to make a strong point that comes across loud and clear.

It’s crazy to realize that nobody cares about my unclear carefully considered and thoroughly “hedged” points I put forward along with all the unclear nuance and complicated words. Hell, I might be losing you right now.

What the reader remembers instead are my boldest statements that I can proceed to discuss and analyze face-to-face if a need be. Provocative, bold and brave! It doesn’t mean I’m coming across as dumb, right?

Nobody will read my stuff otherwise – I wouldn’t. It all makes sense. But once again, this is mega difficult thing in practice. I’ll keep learning.

End note

As always, thank you for your time and for being a great subscriber!  🎉

In case you find this stuff interesting or useful, I'd be super thankful if you'd share the LBS with a friend or two.

Talk to you soon.

All the best, Santeri