Meet Me

Modern commercialization is a strategic business process requiring the company's capability and capacity.

My name is Mirja Tapio (MSc, MBA), and I’m a modern commercialization strategist and executive.

Please, read more about what I mean related to the concept of modern commercialization >>

I found BlocksLab® to help organizations and brand marketers turn ideas or innovations or elevate current business into actions and successful business.
My role over the years has varied from C-level or mid-management employee positions to entrepreneurship and interim roles – involving profit and loss (P&L) responsibilities. My work experience has been building up from strategic business development and execution in multiple contexts, such as CEO, senior advisor, board member, branding, marketing, sales, concept design, product and service development, including testing and piloting.
Today, in the complex, hybrid, and global markets, organizations and brand marketers are struggling with how to turn ideas into successful businesses. Therefore, I help your organizations to commercialize and monetize businesses in the hybrid local or international markets. In the era, when competition is global – you want it or not. Improving your organization’s strategic modern commercialization capability and capacity to operate internally, in networks, or in business ecosystems will elevate your competitiveness and lean use of resources in complex markets. 
The key to success is customer-centricity, an organization’s capability to deliver expected omnichannel brand and holistic customer service experiences combined with a product and market fit. To enter hybrid markets and meet strategic business goals, organizations need a novel mindset and capabilities in B2B, B2C, B2B2C, or D2C industries compared to the era before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Typically, my customers need an advisor who thinks strategically and can offer hands-on practical support and networks. An advisor, who understands the all phases that need to be taken to turn an idea into business, enter new markets, grow a current business, or make a turnaround for a new start.
BlocksLab® is also my platform to share my thinking related to modern commercialization – so, stay tuned!

Please, check Blog & Insights >>

 
My permanent location is in Helsinki, Finland. But I also work internationally remotely via video channels or in the local destination. My working languages are Finnish and English.
 
Autan asiakkaitani sekä suomeksi ja englanniksi F2F ja etänä videon välityksellä. Hyödynnän työssäni fasilitointia sekä soveltuvia digitaalisia työkaluja.
 
Years strategic and tactical marketing and sales
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Commercialization and business excellence projects
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eComs, marketplaces, applications
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Strategy, brand and concept design projects
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Market insights projects
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My passions are omnichannel strategy, business, and commercialization projects. I ground my work in insight into markets, industries, competitors, trends, phenomena, and the behavior of customers from the customer-centric perspective. Specifically, I am interested in the capability of organizations to deliver a unified omnichannel brand and the customer experience in the business ecosystems. What I am focusing on today is an outcome of 25+ years experiences combined with continual learning of novel business development and design methods in the B2C, D2C, and B2B contexts.

I believe an omnichannel capability of organizations is an essential competitive advantage for growth and success in the digital age. To reach this goal, an organization must apply a holistic approach, shared knowledge and experiences, and strong process execution to tackle complex problems to the unified cross-functional data flow to deliver a seamless brand and customer service experience.

Currently, I work under the BlocksLab® brand as a solo entrepreneur. I believe that today’s experts work like nomads, who are gig workers who are passionate about their fields. So, my value for your company is to do the job you are not capable of or need extra resources.

BlocksLab® is my platform to work, study and share ideas, such as an omnichannel business, marketing, brand and customer service experience, organization’s capabilities, processes execution, and business ecosystems.

My working style is founded on systems thinking, leanness, and a systematic approach. I apply the selections of methods and tools that I’m comfortable mixing to find the best solution for the problem.

Every problem is unique, so I don’t want to offer any copy-paste consulting framework to my customers. Thus, I apply and combine those methods and tools that are the best medicine for your business problems, such as facilitation, business research, and frameworks including qualitative and quantitative data, agile, design thinking, and service design. Only the result is what matters.

Industry Experiences

I have worked in C- and mid-level positions in business, concept, marketing, and sales development and design in the companies such as Sokos, Asko, Lindström, Silmäasema, and Evet Design.

I am a founder-entrepreneur of Concept Office Blocks Ltd, a business and concept design agency, co-working with customers like Expert ASA, Hongkong, Nivea, Vepsäläinen, and Alko.

Over the years, I have worked with both medium and small size as startup phase companies with turnover from 0€ to 300 M€. They have been B2B, B2C, and D2C brand marketers and manufacturers. Overall, I have worked with more than 50 brands and companies from different industries.

Retailing

Alcohol store chain

Cosmetic chains 

Eye wear store chain

Fashion and Design brands

Furniture and Furnishing store chain

General discount store chains

Home electronics store chains

HVAC and electronic accessories brands

Lifestyle brand and chains

Special department store chains

Services

Professional strategic consulting services.

Product and Service concept consulting (B2B, B2C, D2C)

Store design, furniture, fittingsand construction services

Workwear and textile leasing services

Children’s musik playschool

Technology

OEM platfrom and SaaS system, energy saving

Marketplace, consumer business

ERP system’s sourcing and implementation, furniture assembly and installation

Organization and portfolio development

Business turnaround projects

Brand and marketing organization

Design organization

Solution sales organization

Private labels design and production
Industrial product design and production

Clothing and textile design and production

Graphic and visual design and production

ERP system implementation (full-integrated)

Private healthcare

Optician

Eye hospital

Cafes and Food

Cafe chain

FMCG in-store

Softwares & Platforms

To me, studying has always been a hobby, but it also offers tools to construe and manage complex problems. Therefore, besides working, I have graduated MBA and MSc in Business and Management Research at Henley Business School (UK). I constantly follow trends and phenomena to ensure that the solution to problems is updated. But do not worry – I work practically within the projects.

Design

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Photoshop

Illustrator

Indesign

+ mobile versions for social medias

Canva

Figma

Sales, marketing, CRM & ERP

Hubspot

Klavyo

Pipedrive

A bunch of related applications

Experience with couple of ERP systems (retail chain and B2B business architectures )

Co-creation/visualization & communication

Miro

LucidChart

Figma

Slack

Trello

Basecamp

Howspace

Teams

Web design

Shopify

WordPress

Elementor

Research & office

MS 365

Word

Powerpoint

Excel

MAXQDA

EndNote

SSPS

Memberships and Volunteers

To me, studying has always been a hobby, but it also offers tools to construe and manage complex problems. Therefore, besides working, I have graduated MBA and MSc in Business and Management Research at Henley Business School (UK). I constantly follow trends and phenomena to ensure that the solution to problems is updated. But do not worry – I work practically within the projects.

Alumni of Henley Business School

Alumni of Boardman Ltd

Founding member of European Customer Experience Organization (ECXO.org)

Member of  Boardman Ltd, Management Research

Member of Systems Change Finland Society

Volunteer of Kasvu Open 

Volunteer of Suomen Mentorit ry (Finnish Mentors Association)

Education

To me, studying has always been a hobby, but it also offers tools to construe and manage complex problems. Therefore, besides working, I have graduated MBA and MSc in Business and Management Research at Henley Business School (UK). I constantly follow trends and phenomena to ensure that the solution to problems is updated. But do not worry – I work practically within the projects.

MSc Business and Management Research, Henley Business School (UK)

MBA, Henley Business School  (FI)

Aalto Open University (FI): Facilitating Change (2 ECTS) | Customer Experience Management (6 ECTS) | Vähittäiskaupan Kilpailustrategiat ja Kilpailukeinot (6 ECTS) | Consumer Research (6 ECTS) | Logistics Systems and Analytics (6 ECTS) | Global Marketing Management (6 ECTS) | Capstone: Information Systems Development (6 ECTS) | Digitalisation of Markets and Consumption (6 ECTS) | Service Business Strategy (6 ECTS) | Managing Information systems (6 ECTS, in the making) Design of WWW Services (5 ECTS)

Tampere Open University (FI): Managing industrial e-business and B2B (6 ECTS)

Åbo Academi, Open Univeristy: Development of Digital Services (5 ECTS)

BBA, Business Administration, Marketing, Helia (FI)

Graduated, Clothing design, Wetterhoff (FI) (today the same with BBA level)

Arts, nine months program, Orivesi Institute (FI)

Certifications and Courses

The latest courses and certifications.

Boardman Ltd, Board work training program (FI)

Integrated Leader, Henley Business School (FI/UK)

My Hobbies

Adults gymnastics

Ashtanga yoga and traveling 

Sailing

Ice skating

Finnish Sauna and ice swimming

Golf

Studying

Volunteering