In the third installment of our popular Guru Spotlight series, we sat down with Eva Saarelma, our Marketing and Investor Relations Project Manager.
Eva is a new guru, having only joined the team recently. Raised on her father’s farm in Heinola, a small town in Finland, she subsequently moved to Helsinki, before settling in Porvoo. Her love of nature remains. Find out more about Eva below.
How long have you been part of the EstateGuru team?
It’s been three months now.
What’s your mission at EG?
I’m working as a marketing and investor relations project manager. Maybe you can tell from the length of my job title (laughs) that I have a lot of responsibilities. I’m responsible for our Finnish marketing, which means I need to attract new investors and borrowers in Finland and also strengthen the Finnish EstateGuru brand.
EstateGuru’s key values are growth-orientation, boldness, freedom, honesty, determination, and empathy. Have you experienced these values in the company and which one is your favourite?.
Hmm, that’s a good question, because I really like all of them. And I think if some of them were missing, I wouldn’t be here. In fact, that’s one reason I came to work here. I really like that the company is growing and that the numbers are so good, and that we’re all very nice to each other, but I think empathy is key, and I really feel it.
Very good. That sort of leads to the next question, which is, what do you like most about your job at the moment? I know it’s early days…
It’s very nice to be in touch with our investors because that really is a new experience for me in my work career, as I haven’t done it before. And I haven’t worked with investing before, so I really enjoy that part as well. Perhaps because it’s a little bit difficult for me.
What do you do in your free time? What are your quirks and what makes you, you?
I really enjoy doing things that some people might think are nerdy, like geocaching. People are always asking me what I’m doing in my spare time and I’m like, yeah, I’m mainly at home or out in nature or geocaching, and they’re like wow, that sounds like a nerd hobby! But I really enjoy it. It’s almost like a poker room, but you need to be hiding somewhere, and people kind of see what you’re doing. I also love swimming and playing PlayStation. These hobbies are a good balance for work.
If you could give some advice to people who would like to join EstateGuru, what would it be? Why should exceptional talents join EstateGuru?
I think you should if you’re looking for new challenges, and you’re thinking, I really like my job now, but there is something missing. I had that issue in my previous work. I liked my work, but I felt that there was something missing. I think EstateGuru is now filling that space. EstateGuru is a great place for you if you are ambitious and want to have your ideas truly heard. At EstateGuru, feedback is always welcome and innovation is encouraged.
Tell us a joke.
How does a penguin build its house? Igloos it together.
