Care for a slice of gaming, information security or cleantech? No need to restrict yourself to those, mind you.
Startups and investors hard at work at Slush 2012. Photo: Peter Forsgård
Slush 2013 is living up to its mantra of being truly international, with companies, investors and guests flying in from the American, European, Russian and Asian hi-tech hubs. Expectations are high, as the number of visitors is expected to rise and the competition for best pitch is attracting attention among investors and media alike.
During its three years of existence, Slush has grown at Supercell speed. A one-day event with 400 attendees in 2010 has turned into two days, three if you’re a member of media, with side events such as hack days, breakfast sessions, parties and a winding down brunch on the Friday (on day four!), if you’re still around. 5000 guests are expected and to date, the event web site has listed 99 representatives from over 60 investing companies and organizations and approximately 1000 companies.
It seems that a happy combination of the recent Supecell investment news and a host of programs looking to bring Asian and Finnish businesses together has paid off, as there is an increasing awareness and interest in Slush from Asian companies, investors. “The drive to support business between Asia, Russia and Europe is a bubbling undercurrent this year”, muses Tiina Liukkonen, Head of Comms and PR. Among the listed speakers and guests are Taizo Son from GungHo, Wang Jian from the Alibaba Group, Tomoko Namba from DeNA and Zhu Ziqi from Z-Park.
But how do you find what you’re looking for?
On the Slush website, companies are divided into eight categories: B2B Software, B2C Software, Cleantech, Consumer Goods, Gaming, High-tech and hardware, Information Security, Life Sciences and Health. Scroll to your heart’s content! Founder talks look really interesting with names like Ari Tulla from BetterDoctor or Nicolas Brusson from BlaBlaCar.
But to be honest, it might be easier to come over and find out for your self what’s hot this year. Time to start packing!
Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen at Slush 2012. Photo: Peter Forsgård.
Text: Johanna Eiramo
