Slush (event)

Last updated

Slush
Slush Black Logo.png
StatusActive
GenreTechnology, startups
VenueMessukeskus Helsinki, Expo and Convention Centre
Location(s)Helsinki
CountryFinland
Inaugurated2008
Attendance25,000 (2019)
Website www.slush.org

Slush is a startup and tech event held annually in Helsinki, Finland. Slush facilitates meetings between the founders of startups and investors such as venture capitalists, accomplished with events such as matchmaking and pitching competitions. Slush aims to build a worldwide startup community. In 2021, Slush brought together 8,800 attendees from around the world to participate together in this global networking festival. [1]

Contents

Since 2015, Slush also run events throughout the world. These include previous events such as Slush Tokyo, Slush Shanghai and Slush Small Talks events. [2] Since 2021, Slush'D has served as the primary avenue for international offshoots of the main Helsinki event.

Slush has created various products and resources available year-round to support and inform founders and investors. Among these products are Soaked by Slush, a startup media platform established in 2019, [3] and Node by Slush, a startup and investor community established a year later.

The company's turnover is more than ten million euros. [4]

History

Slush was founded in 2008 by Peter Vesterbacka and Timo Airisto. [5] The event has grown from a small event with a few hundred visitors [6] to an internationally known event attracting more than 10000 visitors from around the world. [7]

At Kaapelitehdas, 2009-2015

Slush was held for the first time in 2008 at Kulttuuritehdas Korjaamo. In 2009, the event moved to Kaapelitehdas. For the first three years, the event was aimed at local entrepreneurs and investors. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of participants increased from 250 to 500. The winners of the Slush pitching competitions in those years were Illtags, Sibesonke and Dealmachine. The 2011 event had 1,500 participants, 150 growth companies and 15 private equity companies. The pitching competition was won by Ovelin (now Yousician), a developer of music-related technologies.

In 2011, Miki Kuusi became the CEO, and together with Atte Hujanen and Jenni Kääriäinen organized the event at Kaapelitehdas, with 1500 attendees. The event was staffed mainly by student volunteers from Aaltoes (Aalto Entrepreneurship Society) of Aalto University. [8]

Slush 2019 Slush 2019.jpg
Slush 2019

In 2012, 3,500 people, 560 growth companies and 41 private equity firms participated in Slush. FishBrain, the social media aimed at fishermen, won the pitching competition of the year.

In 2013, Slush gathered a total of 7,000 people, 1,200 growth companies and 120 private equity companies at Kaapelitehdas. The event received a great deal of international attention and was listed in The New York Times [9] and The Wall Street Journal, [10] among others. Speakers at the event included Toomas Hendrik Ilves (former President of Estonia), John Riccitiello (CEO of Electronic Arts), and Niklas Zennström (Founder of Skype).

The 2013 pitching competition was won by Weekdone, which is developing a job tracking tool for teams.

At Messukeskus, 2014 - present

In 2014, 14,000 people from 79 countries visited Slush. The event was attended by about 1,400 growth companies, 750 investors, 700 suppliers and 140 private equity firms. Speakers at the event included Martin Lorentzon (founder of Spotify), Wang Yang (Deputy Prime Minister of China), Leland Melvin (astronaut at NASA), and Esa-Pekka Salonen (conductor and composer). Nokia unveiled its first Android tablet, the Nokia N1.

The event in 2014 was the largest technical production in Finnish history, surpassing the Eurovision Song Contest held in Finland in 2007. [11] The 2014 pitching competition was won by Enbrite.ly, which develops internet traffic management services.

Slush 2015 was held from 11 to 12. November. Slush Hacks was held for the first time with the participation of Ultrahack, Junction, Industryhack and the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) Hackathon. The winners of each challenge were able to pitch their ideas on the Slush stage and the best idea / team won €20,000. [12]

Slush received the President of the Republic's Internationalization Award in November 2015.

In 2016, Slush was held from November 30 to December 1. At the Helsinki Fair Center. A new sister event was Slush Music, which was expected to bring 1,500 technology and music professionals to the Cable Factory for one day. [13] Slush, in cooperation with Finnair, organized a direct scheduled flight from San Francisco to Helsinki. [14] The nickname "Nerd bird" is also used for scheduled flights. [15]

The 2017 event was held on November 30 and December 1. The main trends were analytics and artificial intelligence. [16] The 2018 Slush was attended by 20,000 visitors. The content of the event sought to highlight the actors and background influencers of technology companies, which are not usually presented in public. Experienced entrepreneurs as well as executives such as Werner Vogels (Amazon's CTO), spoke at the event.

In 2019, Slush grew to 25,000 participants and Slush also organized major side events on product management and game development, among other things. The event featured 200 speakers, including investor Michael Moritz and Stripe founder John Collison.

Event summary by year

EditionYearDatesTheme(s)Notable speakersAttendance
1st2008November 24N/A Risto Siilasmaa, Ilkka Paananen, Michael "Monty" Widenius 250
2nd2009November 23–24N/AAnssi Vanjoki, Jani Penttinen, Andreas Weigend, Risto Siilasmaa, Jussi Pajunen 600
3rd2010N/AThe premier entrepreneurship event in Northern Europe Mårten Mickos, Burton Lee, Ilkka Paananen, Taneli Tikka, Peter Vesterbacka, Jan-Erik Nyrövaara400
4th2011March 1N/A Sonali De Rycker, Mikko Hyppönen, Timo Vuorensola 1,500
5th2012November 21–22N/A Marko Ahtisaari, Serguei Beloussov, John Lindfors, Aydin Senkut3,500
6th2013November 13–14N/A Taizo Son, Jian Wang, Niklas Zennström, Taavet Hinrikus 7,000
7th2014November 18–19N/A Wang Yang, Martin Lorentzon, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leland Melvin 14,200
8th2015November 11–12Digital healthcare & life sciences

Innovation in developing countries

Entertainment & media [17]

Caterina Fake, Martti Ahtisaari, Niklas Zennström, Ilkka Paananen N/A
9th2016November 30 – December 1The Mind of an Entrepreneur Chris Sacca, Steve Jurvetson, Joel Spolsky, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Danae Ringelmann (co-founder of Indiegogo)17,500
10th2017November 30 – December 1A Call for Solvers: how entrepreneurship can solve the biggest problems of the world Al Gore, Martin Lau, Daniel Ek 20,000
11th2018December 4–5Arrival Werner Vogels, Justin Rosenstein, Julia Hartz 20,000
12th2019November 21–22Futurism Re-Imagined Michael Moritz, John Collison 25,000
13th2020N/AN/AN/AN/A
14th2021December 1–2Entrepreneurial Renaissance Tony Xu, Renate Nyborg (CEO of Tinder), Tony Fadell, Luciana Lixandru 8,800
15th2022November 17–18Break of DawnTBA12,000

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki</span> Capital and most populous city of Finland

Helsinki is the capital, largest and most populous city in Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the Uusimaa region in southern Finland and has a population of 673,011. The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296, making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland and the country's most important centre for politics, education, finance, culture and research. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical links with these three cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki University of Technology</span> Former technical university in Finland

Helsinki University of Technology was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in 1849 by Grand Duke of Finland, Emperor Nicholas I and received university status in 1908. It moved from Helsinki to Otaniemi campus area in 1966. The merger of HUT with two other schools created the Aalto University in 2010, and HUT briefly held the name Aalto University School of Science and Technology before being split into four schools in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venture capital</span> Form of private-equity financing

Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which have demonstrated high growth. Venture capital firms or funds invest in these early-stage companies in exchange for equity, or an ownership stake. Venture capitalists take on the risk of financing risky start-ups in the hopes that some of the companies they support will become successful. Because startups face high uncertainty, VC investments have high rates of failure. The start-ups are usually based on an innovative technology or business model and they are usually from high technology industries, such as information technology (IT), clean technology or biotechnology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elisa (company)</span> Finnish telecommunications company

Elisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882. Its previous names were Helsingin Puhelin and Elisa Communications Oyj. Elisa is a telecommunications, ICT and online service company operating mainly in Finland and Estonia, but it also offers digital services for international operators and other companies. Elisa is the market leader in mobile and fixed network subscriptions in Finland. Elisa provides services for communication and entertainment, and tools for improving operating methods and productivity of organisations. It cooperates for example with Vodafone and Tele2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame</span> Ice hockey museum in Tampere, Finland

The Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame is housed in and administered by the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo, a part of the Vapriikki Museum Centre, in Tampere, Finland. The mission of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame is to record, document, and exhibit objects, photographs, and printed materials related to Finnish ice hockey. The original Kanada-malja and the Aurora Borealis Cup are on display along with a number of active-use Liiga awards and hockey memorabilia including sweaters and game-used gear from past seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Risto Siilasmaa</span> Finnish businessperson

Risto Kalevi Siilasmaa is a Finnish businessperson and the chairman, founder and former CEO of F-Secure Corporation, an anti-virus and computer security software company based in Helsinki, Finland. He is also the biggest shareholder of F-Secure, owning around 40% of the company. He was chairman of Nokia from 2012 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aalto University</span> Public university in Espoo, Finland

Aalto University is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. The close collaboration between the scientific, business and arts communities is intended to foster multi-disciplinary education and research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taneli Tikka</span> Finnish entrepreneur (born 1978)

Taneli Tikka is a Finnish serial entrepreneur and IT influencer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suvilahti</span> Cultural center in Helsinki, Finland

Suvilahti is a cultural center and former energy production area in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. It encompasses nine buildings and two large gasometers.

The startup scene in Finland has given birth to companies such as Angry Birds, Supercell, Wolt, and many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaltoes</span> Entrepreneurship society

Aaltoes, also known as Aalto Entrepreneurship Society, is a non-profit organization run by students, based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 2009, Aaltoes has helped the rapid emergence of a startup culture in Finland in 2008-2011.

Nordic Business Forum (NBF) is a Finnish company, based in Jyväskylä. The company is best known for its eponymous business and leadership conference in Helsinki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Web Summit</span> Annual technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal

Web Summit is an annual technology conference held in Lisbon, Portugal. Founded in 2009 by Paddy Cosgrave, David Kelly, and Daire Hickey, Web Summit was originally held in Dublin, Ireland until 2016, when it moved permanently to Lisbon. The conference's topics center on internet technology, emerging technologies, marketing and venture capitalism. Web Summit's partners range from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, with attendees representing all levels and sectors of the global high technology industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saara Aalto</span> Finnish singer, songwriter, and voice actress

Saara Sofia Aalto is a Finnish singer, songwriter and voice actress. In 2012, she came second in the first season of The Voice of Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conquest BITS Pilani</span>

Conquest, an initiative by students at the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus is India's first Student-Run Startup Accelerator. Their program includes online mentoring to the ten most exciting startups from across the country over six weeks, connecting them with field experts. Following this, the startups undergo a ten-day mentorship program in Bangalore. The program ends with the Grand Finale where these startups pitch before India's biggest investment firms and media houses.

Junction is a hackathon organizer with headquarters Espoo, Finland. Started in 2015, Junction grew to be one of the largest organizers in Europe. In 2018 it expanded globally with a Junction event at Tsinghua University in China and cooperation with Chinese and South Korean universities bringing high performing students to attend the event in Helsinki.

SHIFT is a two-day international business festival held every year in Turku, Finland, at the Turku Castle. It was first held on May 31 and June 1, 2016. The attendees included over 1,000 visitors, 80 partner companies, 150 startups, and over 20 investors. Around 100 volunteers were part of this event. SHIFT 2017 is slated to be held on May 31 and June 1, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolt</span> Online food delivery service

Wolt is a Finnish technology company known for its delivery platform for food and merchandise. On Wolt's apps or website, customers can order food and household goods from the platform's restaurant and merchant partners, and either pick up their order or have it delivered by the platform's courier partners. Wolt also runs its own chain of grocery stores called Wolt Market. Wolt is headquartered in Helsinki.

Maarit Toivanen is a Finnish business executive and investor, notable for being only the second woman to receive Finland's highest civilian honorary title of vuorineuvos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wäinö Palmqvist</span> Finnish architect (1882–1964)

Wäinö Gustaf Palmqvist, commonly known as W. G. Palmqvist, was a Finnish architect best known as a designer of industrial and commercial buildings, especially the timber and paper mills and their wider factory milieus of the 1920s and 1930s, as well as several notable buildings in central Helsinki.

References

  1. ↑ "Slush 2021 for attendees" . Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ "What Is Slush". Slush. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  3. ↑ "About Soaked". Slush. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. ↑ Lappalainen, Elin (June 24, 2019). "Miki Kuusi nappasi entiset Slushin toimitusjohtajat Woltiin – Onko Slush-nuorisosta muodostumassa Suomen oma PayPal-mafia?" [Miki Kuusi captures former Slush CEOs in Wolt - Is Slush Youth Becoming Finland's Own PayPal Mafia?]. Talouselama (in Finnish). Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  5. ↑ https://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/a/201611292200033906
  6. ↑ https://www.iltalehti.fi/digi/a/201611292200033906
  7. ↑ https://www.hs.fi/visio/art-2000009154847.html
  8. ↑ "How Slush started from a casual coffee shop chat in 2011 – and became Europe's leading tech conference three years later". November 25, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  9. ↑ Scott, Mark (November 15, 2013). "Finns Pitch Frightful Weather as a Competitive Advantage". Bits Blog. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  10. ↑ Grundberg, Juhana Rossi And Sven (November 14, 2013). "Finland's Prime Minister Looks to Startups". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Slush tavoittelee ennätysyleisöä Suomen suurimmalla tuotannolla – "isompaa kuin Euroviisut"". mtvuutiset.fi (in Finnish). September 15, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Slush Hacks | Slush 2015". January 20, 2016. Archived from the original on January 20, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  13. ↑ Welcome to Slush Music 2017 , retrieved May 5, 2022
  14. ↑ The Slush Flight 2017 Teaser , retrieved May 5, 2022
  15. ↑ "Piilaakson kerma lentää Slushiin luksuskone "Nörtti-Tipulla" – Mukaan pääsee myymällä heille liikeidean laskuvarjohypyn aikana". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). November 27, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Analytiikka ja tekoäly ovat tämän vuoden trendit Slushissa". ts.fi (in Finnish). November 29, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  17. ↑ https://assets.slush.org/2015/08/Slush-20151.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.