Episode 113 · 2021-12-19 · 52:51 · Original in Finnish
Investor School and Little Entrepreneurs | Mikko Nurminen and Timo Holmström | Negotiator 113
Originally published as “Sijoittajakoulu ja pikkuyrittäjät | Mikko Nurminen Timo Holmström | Neuvottelija 113”
Two initiatives with one shared observation: financial matters are not learned in theory. The serial entrepreneur Mikko Nurminen's Little Entrepreneurs brings a programme into primary schools where fifth and sixth graders found their own company, build a business idea, a brand and a price list, and sell their products to a real customer; the decisive moment, he says, is when money changes hands. The history and social studies teacher Timo Holmström's Investor School runs the length of upper secondary school and does not aim to tell pupils about investing but to get a sixteen-year-old actually to open a securities account; the essential ingredient is community, because for young people social incentives do the work. For pupils with nothing to spare there is a charity portfolio in which a sponsoring company keeps the capital in its own account and donates the returns. Holmström rejects the claim that ten hours are enough to make a reasonable investor, argues that entrepreneurs need investor education most of all, and proposes a business ID for every citizen — which, the host notes, would force a fix for entrepreneurs' social security.
Core theses
- The learning happens when money actually changes hands, which is why a simulated exercise and a real sale are not versions of the same lesson.
- The measurable objective is an account opened, not a curriculum covered — a far harder target and a far better one.
- The theory of investing fits in half an hour; the psychology and the monthly discipline of personal finance do not fit in ten hours, which is where Holmström parts company with the quick-course view.
- Entrepreneurs carry concentrated risk in their work, time and capital, so they are the group with the greatest need for a personal savings buffer.
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Key moments
- 00:00 — Three tips on investing, and the importance of the team
- 01:26 — A teaching background and the social studies angle
- 04:51 — Why entrepreneurship has been unfamiliar in schools
- 06:44 — Learning by doing, with real money
- 10:17 — The basic idea of Investor School: live below your income
- 12:02 — Community and social incentives
- 14:14 — A charity portfolio for low-income young people
- 15:47 — Investing teaches you to see a company as an owner does
- 18:19 — The Little Entrepreneur's proceeds into investments
- 19:48 — The entrepreneur needs investor school most of all
- 21:57 — Your own holding company and bringing the children in
- 24:33 — Visiting lecturers and the limits of geography
- 25:58 — Communities, business mentors and the village joining in
- 27:35 — Aaron's Hot Dog: from bankruptcy to success
- 29:07 — The reflector duo and Taaleri's general meeting
- 34:54 — Could the finance sector come along
- 37:28 — Has the equity savings account brought momentum
- 39:45 — Then the entrepreneur's social security would have to be solved
- 41:44 — Why the absence of a market is a problem
- 43:32 — What companies can do for Little Entrepreneurs
- 45:35 — The risk-free structure of the charity portfolio
- 47:22 — Gofore and Etelä-Tapiola upper secondary school
- 49:32 — Three tips on entrepreneurship
- 51:07 — The team as the most important factor
- 52:33 — Closing words
Summary
Two initiatives with one shared observation: financial matters are not learned in theory. The serial entrepreneur Mikko Nurminen’s Little Entrepreneurs brings a programme into primary schools where fifth and sixth graders found their own company, build a business idea, a brand and a price list, and sell their products to a real customer; the decisive moment, he says, is when money changes hands. The history and social studies teacher Timo Holmström’s Investor School runs the length of upper secondary school and does not aim to tell pupils about investing but to get a sixteen-year-old actually to open a securities account; the essential ingredient is community, because for young people social incentives do the work. For pupils with nothing to spare there is a charity portfolio in which a sponsoring company keeps the capital in its own account and donates the returns. Holmström rejects the claim that ten hours are enough to make a reasonable investor, argues that entrepreneurs need investor education most of all, and proposes a business ID for every citizen — which, the host notes, would force a fix for entrepreneurs’ social security.
The moment money moves
A classroom exercise in which nothing is at stake teaches the vocabulary and not the thing. Nurminen’s programme runs until a real customer pays real money, and his claim is that the joy of the first sale is what lights the spark. Children who have felt it, he believes, are more likely to look for the next step later — a year-long company programme or an investor course.
An account, not a syllabus
Holmström’s course meets once a month throughout upper secondary school, and its success measure is behaviour: a securities account opened and saving begun. Community carries it — when one pupil in a group of thirty shows a first investment, others follow. For pupils who cannot save, a sponsoring company opens an account in its own name, the teacher places the orders the pupils decide on, and the return goes to a charity they choose.
Not ten hours
The episode’s clearest disagreement: told that ten hours are enough to make a reasonable investor, Holmström says he strongly disagrees. The theory is easy; reacting to crises and keeping monthly discipline over spending and debt come only with experience.
Entrepreneurs first
Holmström argues that the people most in need of a savings buffer are entrepreneurs, whose work, time and capital sit in the same place. His proposal of a business ID for every citizen would lower the threshold for small jobs — and, as the host points out, would force Finland to fix how entrepreneurs are treated in social security.
Watch
The recording lives on the Neuvottelija channel: Sijoittajakoulu ja pikkuyrittäjät | Nurminen Holmström | #neuvottelija 113. A Finnish edition of this episode is published at www.neuvottelija.fi.
In depth
The Neuvottelija AI editions carry a long-form write-up of this episode: English · suomeksi.
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People and topics
Guests: Mikko Nurminen, Timo Holmström