Hi, it’s Ilkka from Johku here! I’m the Ecosystem Director at Johku and took on this role in 2021. I first got involved with Johku as a user of the service back in 2017, when I was acting as CEO of the nature tourism company I’d founded. Natura Viva was founded back in 2007, and we were one of the first companies in Finland to start selling our services – namely canoeing courses – via an online shop.
When should you get in touch with me?
If you’re wondering whether Johku might be the right travel management system for you, then you should get in touch with me. I can usually help with the following questions:
what Johku is and what it can be used for
how Johku suits a specific tourism business
how to get more out of Johku and boost sales
how collaboration works within Johku and what it involves
I’m happy to chat with individual tourism businesses, tourism regions, tour operators and, really, anyone involved in the tourism industry.
Why do I work at Johku?
In 2007, I founded Natura Viva together with my parents. We bought a Sprinter van and 10 white-water kayaks. We started offering white-water kayaking courses on the Kymijoki River. We also organised various adventure holidays abroad outside the summer season. In 2008, we expanded our summer range to include sea kayaking and opened our first permanent base in Vuosaari, Helsinki.
Alongside the day-to-day operations, as the company’s managing director I was also responsible for everything else. My view on this from the very beginning was that high-quality service and expertise alone are not enough to grow a company and ensure a profitable business. Systems and tools are needed to help with this.
Natura Viva was one of the first companies to start selling travel services digitally. At first, my brother and I built our own tools. We then used external service providers, but that proved expensive and time-consuming for a small business. When Johku was founded in 2016, Sami rang me to tell me about it. In 2017, Natura Viva started using Johku.
Natura Viva’s business grew. In 2016, we opened our own canoeing centre in Vuosaari. It was a huge investment, but it paid off. Since then, the business has developed and expanded. Today, we operate from several locations across Southern Finland. As well as canoeing, we offer stand-up paddleboarding, mountain biking, rowing boats, cafés, saunas, accommodation, a caravan site and much more.
Over the years, Johku has evolved as a system, and Natura Viva’s business utilises it in a wide variety of ways. As well as the online shop, we also use point-of-sale systems, lock integrations, OTA channels for accommodation and activities, and financial management integrations. All within the same system.
By 2021, I had already spent nearly 15 years as Managing Director at Natura Viva. Both I and the company needed a change. The day-to-day running of Natura Viva was handed over to Jesse Marttila and Arhi Leveelahti, and I took on the role of Chair of the Board. By this stage, I had also been putting my expertise in digital sales for the travel industry to good use. I ran training sessions and spoke about Natura Viva’s solutions. Johku played a key role in these activities.
I told Sami about the changes, and he suggested I come and work for Johku. And I seized the opportunity. By that stage, I’d already been an investor in Johku for a few years and knew that the business offered plenty of opportunities and that the work aligned with my own values. So, since August 2021, I have been working full-time at Johku and am a co-owner of the company.
And why do I do this work? I have a good understanding of what running a tourism business in Finland entails, and I’ve been involved in building a tourism business from the very start. So I know exactly what it takes to run a business, and I want to do my bit to help and support other entrepreneurs too. What motivates me at Johku is precisely the opportunity to contribute to the success of many businesses. We’re building a single system, but its features and benefits help all our merchants. Here at Johku, we want to help you succeed, and that’s why we’re doing this.
I bring my own expertise in the travel industry, digital sales, marketing, product development, the use of artificial intelligence and much more to benefit all our customers.
Contact details
Telephone: +358 50 376 8855
Email: ilkka@johku.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ilkka-lariola
Meetings: Book a time to chat