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

Build Alignment Before You Burn Out

Everything Feels Urgent At early-stage companies, everything feels urgent: shipping product, closing customers, raising money. In that environment, planning can feel like a luxury, or even a liability. In my...

How To Use Reddit To Scale Organic Growth For Your Startup

In this Mucker Growth Series session, Colin Belyea, founder of Karmic and an expert in Reddit organic growth, breaks down how Reddit has become one of the most influential discovery...

Sales Comp Kick Start: Keys to Getting It Right as You Begin to Build Your Sales Team

Webinar Recap featuring Donya Rose, Managing Principal from The Cygnal Group Sales compensation is one of the most critical aspects of building a successful sales organization. Many early-stage founders stumble...

Austin Tech Week 2025 Recap

Mucker Capital hosted two powerful days of programming during Austin Tech Week, bringing together founders, operators, and growth leaders to share real-world insights from the startup trenches. Across four sessions,...

LA Tech Week 2025 Day 3 Recap: AI Search – Wednesday Oct 15

After two packed days exploring AI startup building and go-to-market growth, Day 3 of LA Tech Week shifted focus to the evolving world of AI Search, how new AI technologies...

LA Tech Week 2025 Day 2 Recap: Startup Growth – Tuesday Oct 14

After a packed AI Building Day, we continued LA Tech Week with Startup Growth Day, a full schedule of sessions focused on go-to-market strategy, founder journeys, and scaling startups in...