Epicenter Campfire SISU: How to Build Trust with Clients and Partners
Many startup founders struggle to secure partners, pilot projects, early adopters, or paying customers. Often, it’s not because the product or solution isn’t good enough, it’s because trust hasn’t been built yet. For early-stage founders, especially those entering new markets or building without an established local network, trust can be the biggest barrier to growth. It takes time, cultural awareness, and the right approach, and it’s easy to get wrong.
In our first Sisu Campfire session, we explored the basics of trust. In this session, we’ll go deeper and focus on how founders can build, communicate, and maintain trust in real-life relationships with clients, partners, and key stakeholders.
Together, we’ll explore questions like:
- How do we reach the right decision-makers and build trust from the first interaction?
- How do we clearly communicate our goals and value without sounding pushy or unclear?
- How do we present our solution in a way that feels authentic, credible, and relationship-driven?
- And once trust is established, how do we turn it into long-term, sustainable partnerships?
We’ll also keep in mind the challenges founders raised in our first session — such as different communication styles, cultural differences, limited time and resources, unspoken expectations, and hidden biases.
What We’ll Work On
This will be a hands-on, practical session designed around real situations startup founders face every day when working with clients and partners. You can expect expert insights grounded in real startup experience, interactive discussions and group exercises, and plenty of opportunities to share challenges, lessons learned, and best practices. After the session, you will leave with:
- A clearer understanding of how trust is built between founders, clients, and partners
- Practical tools to strengthen and maintain professional relationships
- Concrete steps you can apply immediately in your own startup journey
This session is especially relevant for early-stage founders, international founders, and anyone navigating new markets, who want to build stronger, more trusting relationships with clients, partners, and key stakeholders.
The event is held at Epicenter's Revelation Space, 2nd floor.
About Sisu Factory:
Sisu Factory is run by the capital region of Helsinki, providing Soft Landing services for international startups founders who have relocated to Finland or are planning to do so. With hundreds clients and more then 70 established companies, our team is well aware of the opportunities and challenges for international entrepreneurs. We are looking forward to host this series on Trust where we want to provide a platform for founders to meet, connect and learn form each other. More information about our Sisu Factory you can find here: https://www.sisufactory.fi/
Epicenter's Campfire membership is for those who want to explore meaningful questions alongside other leaders. These monthly gatherings offer a space to connect, share insights, and discover new ways of working together. You'll also have access to a variety of knowledge-focused events to deepen your learning and conversations.
