Press Release: Platform Economy on the Creators' Terms: Top Performers Collaboratively Designed a New Marketplace

The platform economy is often discussed in terms of work fragmentation and the weakening position of the creator. Typically, a platform is built by a technology company, and creators join on its terms. In Hello Performer, Finland's top speakers and hosts themselves designed a digital marketplace where performers decide the details of their own work. Clients see prices openly and immediately and are in direct contact with their chosen performer.

When discussing the platform economy, food couriers and taxi drivers are usually cited as examples. In these cases, the platform-owning company decides the prices and terms, and the creator's decision-making power is traditionally limited to whether or not to accept the gig.

The Hello Performer platform has been conceptualized and designed together with speakers and hosts based on their own experiences. Perttu Pölönen, Anna Perho, Lauri Järvilehto, and Peter Nyman, among others, have been involved, and the service, launched in May, already features over a hundred well-known performers.

– In the platform economy, the creator often loses control over their own work. We wanted to build a platform where the creator remains in control. In Hello Performer, the performer decides what the gig costs, what they talk about, and which gigs they accept, says the service's co-founder, futurist and speaker Perttu Pölönen.

A New Middleman?

Speaker mediation in Finland has long been based on agencies. Speaker fees must be inquired about separately, and communications go through the agency. The performer does not always know what kind of events they are being offered for or at what price they are being sold. The performer is told their own fee, but not the price communicated to the client.

But isn't a digital platform just a new type of middleman?

– We handle contracts and invoicing on behalf of the performer and receive a commission from completed gigs. But the performer sets their own prices, and they agree on the details directly with the client. The customer relationship is formed between them, says Pölönen.

AI Recommends, Not Favors

One of Hello Performer's most important innovations is the AI assistant Aino, which helps clients find suitable performers. The client describes in their own words what kind of performer they are looking for, and Aino suggests options. Recommendations are based on performers' profile information and the client's needs, not on who is selling the performer. Performers can also be browsed independently or with the help of a service expert, and the final choice is always made by a human.

Why does Pölönen want to build a service that can direct a client to a colleague?

– The most important thing is to serve the client as well as possible, because successful events increase the demand for performers across the entire industry, says Pölönen.

From Team Days to Large Customer Events

Hello Performer believes that when prices and offerings are transparent, the threshold for booking a performer lowers. This makes it easier to consider a speaker for a team day, a management team development day, or an association event. At the same time, new talents can emerge alongside familiar names, as being discovered no longer depends solely on how well-known the performer already is.

– Technology does not replace what arises between people at an event. However, it can significantly reduce the hassle associated with organizing events and booking performers, allowing the organizer to focus on content and people, says Pölönen.

Further Information and Interview Requests

Perttu Pölönen
Founder, Hello Performer
040 735 2752
perttu@helloperformer.com

Images and other inquiries:
support@helloperformer.com
045 491 4441

Hello Performer in brief

Hello Performer is a Finnish digital marketplace where event organizers book speakers and hosts directly and with transparent pricing. Musicians have just been added to the service, and the aim is to expand into other new performer categories in the near future. The platform features over a hundred performers and operates in Finnish, Swedish, and English.

The performer decides their own prices and offerings, and the service only charges a commission on completed gigs. No separate service fee is charged to the client, and bookings are secured by a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, among other things. The service was launched in May 2026, and its co-founder is futurist and speaker Perttu Pölönen.