Risto Lähdesmäki

Founder & CEO, Idean

Risto Lähdesmäki is a Founder and CEO of Idean Inc., one of the leading UX design companies in the world. His passion is to create world-changing user experiences and make design driven business impact for his clients. Since 1999 Risto has been working with a huge number of UX projects around the world for major leading consumer and b-to-b brands – from mobile to ubiquitous screens. He has a special talent for identifying business opportunities for his client companies – and he is somewhat water-resistant for a phrase: “this is not possible to do”. Luckily he is surrounded by a group of other similar mindsets at Idean. Currently Risto is growing Idean business in the US and as a Chairman of the company he oversees global business development. Risto is an designer and entrepreneur by heart and has worked with Start-ups all his professional career.

Articles by Risto Lähdesmäki

Startup Guide to AI Visibility: Be the Brand ChatGPT Recommends

Introduction Today, users aren’t just searching on Google. They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Google’s Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems for advice. AI visibility is the new frontier of brand awareness....

Practical Uses of AI & Automation for Startup Operations

In a recent Mucker Growth Series session, we invited Rock Vitale, Founder & CEO of Easie, to share how he’s helped early-stage teams move from manual, fragmented workflows to streamlined,...

2025 New York Tech Week Recap Of Mucker Sessions

Last week during New York Tech Week 2025, we joined more than 1,000 events hosted by founders, investors, and VCs. This post is a full Mucker recap of the three...

How to Build a Customer Support Function for Startups Using AI Tools with Alex Velinov

Delivering high-quality customer support can be one of the most resource-draining parts of a startup. The good news: we’re at a turning point where founders can use AI tools to...

Zero → 100: The Exact Steps We Took to Close Our First 100 Paying Customers

Going from zero customers to 100 in just four months sounds impossible—unless you’re a founder willing to roll up your sleeves and hustle relentlessly. I’m Gaurav Bhattacharya, co-founder of Jeeva.ai,...

Unblocking Startup Growth: Best Practices for Sales Discovery & Qualification with Richard Harris

Startups are in a constant race against time and resources, navigating complex sales environments with lean teams and limited margins for error. In a recent session from the Mucker Growth...