Twin Mom Entrepreneur: Let the Play Begin

In our guest room, the floor is often covered in Duplos and wooden blocks, magnetic trains, and safari and farm animals living in peace with the dinosaurs. Palm and birch trees frame the imaginary towns, and tiny play coffee cups—already missing a few sips and followed by a satisfied “aaaahhhh”—complete the scene. Like true Finns, my twins already love the smell and taste of coffee, no doubt influenced by their Finnish äiti (mom). There is one important rule in our home: coffee first—only after that can the real play begin.

My twins are a bit over two years old, and it’s wonderful to see the creativity in their worlds. They mix materials in ways I envy and show such determination as they try to balance a LEGO figure on top of a wobbly tower of wooden blocks. One of my favorite scenes they created is a theater backdrop (inspired by Tove Jansson’s Moominsummer Madness) with a girl figure holding a toy camera, taking a picture of her brother. It lasted a record three minutes—just long enough for me to snap some photos—before a small hand reached in to move the girl away, tiny toes appeared at the edge of the frame, and only the boy figure was left standing in the scene. The laughter that comes with it all is the best part.

Just like in Moominsummer Madness, where an unexpected theatre becomes a stage for new roles, experiments, and emotions, our guest room floor turns into a small stage every day—full of improvisation, surprise, and connection.

Maybe it’s no surprise that one of my early roles was in a real theatre in Helsinki, doing B2B sales for a small stage filled with creative people. Looking back, I think that might have been the quiet beginning of my own creative journey: learning how stories, spaces, and experiences can move people.

As a twin mom and founder of FINN-X – customer experiences with a Finnish heart – I spend a lot of time noticing these small moments. They may look like simple play, but to me, they say a lot about creativity, connection, and what it means to design truly human customer experiences.

That tiny morning ritual of taking a moment for myself—brewing coffee, breathing, and grounding—matters more than it might seem. It’s where calm, presence, and intention begin. And after that cup of coffee, I bring those same qualities to my clients too. Just as my twins’ laughter warms my heart, I wish that lightness for my clients as well. Many come to me tired, stressed, or a little “stuck,” and my hope is that, through our work (and sometimes play), we move together from frustration to ease, from tension back to smiles. With small steps taken together, we can make the world feel just a bit happier again.

Let the play begin.

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Calm, grounded presence – in the middle of Duplo chaos

Raising twins while running a business is many things: beautiful, exhausting, loud, funny, and at times completely overwhelming. There are days when our entire house looks like a Lego explosion, and my home/work calendar looks just as full. But somewhere inside that chaos, I’ve had to learn calm, grounded presence.

With twins, you quickly understand that you cannot control everything. Someone is always hungry, tired, curious, or climbing somewhere they shouldn’t (more often than needed). If I react to every small thing with stress, the whole room feels it. But when I slow down, breathe, and respond instead of react, the energy changes for all of us.

I see the exact same pattern in customer experience work. My clients come with their own pressures, deadlines, expectations, and uncertainties. Projects shift, timelines move, stakeholders change their minds. My role is not just to deliver a solution; it’s to be a calm, stabilizing presence in the middle of that movement.

Calm doesn’t mean slow or passive. It means grounded. It means listening deeply, holding space for complexity, and helping others feel safe enough to be honest about what they really need. The ability to stay centered in the middle of Duplo chaos at home translates directly into staying centered in complex CX projects.

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Genuine care – for family, clients, and people behind the data

One thing that motherhood has sharpened in me is genuine care. With twins, care is not theoretical; it’s practical, constant, and sometimes messy. It looks like being there in the middle of the night when only äiti will do, and again at 6 a.m. when someone wants to build a new train track through the Duplo city.

This kind of care goes beyond just “doing your job” as a parent. It’s about really seeing each child as an individual. Even as twins, they are not the same person. They have different personalities, needs, and ways of expressing themselves. When I pay attention, I notice the small details: who needs a bit more reassurance today, who is feeling brave, who is testing boundaries (especially now with the terrific twos).

That same mindset shows up in my work with FINN-X. In customer experience, it is easy to get lost in journeys, funnels, KPIs, and dashboards. Data is important, but behind every number there is a real person with a life, context, hopes, and frustrations. Genuine care means remembering that.

When I design or improve a customer experience, I think about the human on the other side of the screen or service touchpoint the way I think about my twins: as unique individuals who deserve to be seen, heard, and understood. Care is not a “soft” extra. It is the foundation of trust and loyalty—and often, it’s the path back to those real smiles.

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Sisu – the Finnish resilience that keeps you going

If calm presence and genuine care are the soft powers, sisu is the quiet strength underneath. Sisu is a Finnish word that doesn’t translate perfectly into English. It’s a mix of resilience, determination, grit, and the ability to keep going even when things are hard.

Twin motherhood is a daily practice in sisu. There are nights when sleep is a stranger, mornings when coffee doesn’t feel strong enough, and days when everyone needs something at the same time: the children, the clients, the household, and my own body and mind.

In those moments, sisu is the voice that says: “Take one more step. Breathe. You can do this. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be honest.”

Entrepreneurship asks for the same quality. Growing a business, serving clients, and building something meaningful is not a straight line. There are setbacks, doubts, and times when things move more slowly than you’d hoped. Sisu helps me show up anyway. Not with a big heroic gesture, but with consistent, small steps forward.

At FINN-X, this means being committed to long-term relationships and real outcomes, not just quick wins. It means staying with clients through complexity and challenge, and bringing that Finnish resilience into every phase of the work.

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Learning through play – at home and in CX

Recently, I met with a CX colleague, and we talked about how you can sometimes get to know someone better in one hour of play than in months of formal meetings. I see this every day with my twins. When they play, their personalities shine. You see how they negotiate, imagine, solve problems, and comfort each other.

Our Duplo worlds are never just Duplos. Wooden blocks become new architecture. Magnetic trains weave around tall Lego towers. Play coffee cups travel through the city, because we Finns always manage to bring coffee to the table somehow. Everything is connected, mixed, and constantly reimagined.

That same spirit of play is powerful in customer experience work. When we bring a playful, curious mindset into workshops, ideation, and journey mapping, people open up. They become more honest, more creative, and more willing to experiment. Instead of defending their current processes, they start to imagine what could be better.

Play is not childish. It is a serious tool for understanding how people think, feel, and behave. Whether we are building with Duplos or designing a service blueprint, the principles are similar: experiment, iterate, connect pieces in new ways, and stay open to surprise.

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Bridging home and work – one experience at a time

Being a twin mom and an entrepreneur is not about achieving a perfect “work–life balance.” Some days are more work-heavy; others are more family-centered. Sometimes the Lego city wins over the laptop; sometimes a deadline takes priority.

What matters most to me is showing up as the best version of myself in both worlds. That means:

• Protecting small rituals that keep me grounded – like that first quiet cup of coffee before the day begins.

• Allowing my children to remind me of what truly matters: presence, connection, laughter, and curiosity.

• Bringing those same values into FINN-X: calm, grounded presence, genuine care for people, and Finnish sisu when things get tough.

The Lego Duplo figures in the photo – the girl taking a picture of her brother – are more than just toys. They are a little snapshot of my life right now: creativity, relationships, and a playful balance between home and professional life.

At FINN-X, “customer experiences with a Finnish heart” means exactly this: designing experiences that are calm but strong, thoughtful but practical, playful yet deeply human. Experiences that respect the person behind the data, and leave them feeling a little more seen, supported, and understood.

In the end, my twins are my greatest teachers in customer experience. They constantly remind me that how we make people feel matters just as much as what we build for them. And that, whether with Duplos, a theatre stage, or CX strategies, the magic happens when we combine structure, creativity, care, and a little bit of sisu.

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