Finnish startup Flowhaven enters the US

Flowhaven is a salesforce-based software that aims to make the negotiation and agreement procedures in brand licensing more efficient with a cloud-based service platform. The platform offers automated workflows, collaboration tools and analytics.

The Finnish startup has closed deals with US-based digital learning company Timbuktu Labs and technology and design studio bCreative, which will open up the US and Canadian markets that make up 58 per cent of the global licensing market.

“Signing two US customers is a significant win for us. The US is by far the biggest market in the industry,” saysKalle Törmä, CEO of Flowhaven. “In the licensing industry, which is based on personal relationships, references are everything and now we have excellent tools to increase our growth on the other side of the pond.”

Flowhaven’s new customer Timbuktu Labs is looking to expand its best-seller book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls globally and trusts the Finnish startup to streamline its licensing operations.

“Our goal is to reach our fans in every corner of the word, ergo expanding to new countries,” says Michon Vanderpoel, who is in charge of licensing at Timbuktu Labs. “We’re aiming to create new product categories altogether. Flowhaven provides an end-to-end solution for our licensing operations and helps to trim our processes.”

In brand licensing, a company that owns a certain character or work, makes deals with various producers in different markets and gets a share of the profits. According to Flowhaven, most communication on agreements and product approvals is done via email, which causes inefficient workflows between companies dispersed around the globe.

“In exporting branding rights, timeliness and speed is absolutely crucial. The lifespan of viral brand phenomena seems to be getting shorter,” Törmä says. “With our solution, the accepted products can be brought to the stores faster and more reliably from different market areas.”