The sibling dynamic is one laden with turbulence, care, and connection in equal measure. Developing the level of emotional intelligence and maturity to translate this family partnership into a business one requires remarkable growth and evolution – the ‘Sauna Twins’ behind Finnmark Sauna are a perfect exhibition of exactly that.
Finnmark Sauna’s Max & Jake Newport are the Director of Design & MD behind the venture honouring Finnish sauna culture through their passionate love of the practice. The pair join us this week to discuss the values that drive the industry-leading team, their appreciation for holistic wellbeing, and how the twins connect to their business’ mission & successes.
This episode covers:
- Adjusting from a standard sibling relationship to forming a business partnership
- How Finnish culture inspires Jake & Max’s drive to deliver the experiences that they themselves enjoy
- The down-to-earth involvement that sees the twins muck in anywhere within the business
- Encountering the difficult challenges that come with rapidly outgrowing their initial processes
Episode Highlights
“A lot of siblings are very similar and so there’s a clash of similar personalities, whereas Max and I are two very, very different people. We have two very different sets of skills, which lend ourselves to operating two quite distinct arms of the business.” – 5:10 – Jake Newport
“We both ended up trying a real sauna and just thinking this is so different from everything that we have here in the UK, so much more enjoyable, so much more relaxing.” – 13:10 – Jake Newport
“If something happens, if there’s a problem on our site, then the first thing Max will do is ask, ‘Do I need to go and get hands on with the guys on site?’” – 21:20 – Jake Newport
“When I’m winning, my brother is winning too. It’s a really fulfilling feeling to know that every time I progress, or Jake progresses, we progress as a pair of people, as a family, and you could extrapolate that metaphor for the whole Finnmark team.” – 29:00 – Max Newport
“There are a few times when you’re growing very quickly and you’ve spent some time building a process, and by the time you implement the process, you’ve grown so fast that it’s redundant. That’s just the most exhausting thing.” – 42:47 – Jake Newport
“If you look at where you’re going, break it down into steps, work through the checklist, you will get there. If you just stand still and you feel sorry for yourself, then you’re still going to be feeling sorry for yourself tomorrow and the next day.” – 46:35 – Jake Newport
“I’m a firm believer that you always pay for education; you either pay a university or a college, or you pay for it in the mistakes that you make, and you learn from them.” – 56:25 – Jake Newport