How to Hack Slush

The best way to get the most out of Slush is by preparing thoroughly. We know it can be hard to know how to prepare and what to prioritize — but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Follow these 6 steps to make the most out of your visit.

Looking to meet investors or gain inspiration from a top tier mentor? This year we’ve doubled our capacity of Investor Office Hours and have a dedicated mentoring area welcoming early stage founders to learn from those who’ve blazed the trail.

Investor Office Hours (IOH) are curated gatherings tailored around a topic or theme. Hosted by one or more VCs, they offer startups the perfect opportunity to network with potential investors and like-minded peers. Explore the topics and time slots here.

And what comes to the Mentoring Concepts— they are designed to host intimate discussion between a speaker and participants. Our speakers give advice and mentor those who are early on their startup journey.

Check out our 3 kinds of Mentoring Concepts:

1. Speaker Deep-dives. Thematic Speaker Deep-dives are an opportunity to engage in focused discussions with select speakers from Founder Stage and Impact Stage. These intimate sessions allow for open conversations on curated topics.
2. Roundtables. Roundtables offer peer-to-peer mentoring, hosted by a Startup Stage speaker. This is a safe space to share and exchange insights and guidance based on everyone’s own experiences as early-stage startup founders.
3. Speaker Q&A sessions. Each Builder Stage speaker will host a Q&A session following their talk, offering a unique opportunity to ask follow-up questions or seek general advice.

Make sure to apply quickly as all sessions are filled first-come, first-served.

Nearly 20,000 pre-scheduled meetings were held at Slush 2023, all arranged through our Matchmaking Tool. This is the tool you want to use to fundraise from the 3,300 investors at our designated Meeting Area.

Think about it: over $4 trillion in assets under management are just one click away.

Plus, this tool is designed to connect you to some (or many) of the 5,500 startups at Slush. If you’re B2B, perhaps these could potentially be your new clients?

We’ve spent the last few years fine-tuning all the details of our Matchmaking Tool so you get lightning-fast search results, advanced filtering, and in-depth knowledge about the companies, VCs, and everyone in-between at Slush. This year we’ve developed also something totally new — a recommendations system to suggest who to meet.

”Slush has the worlds best Matchmaking platform and an extremely comfortable Meeting Area.” -Claes Mikko Nilsen, NordicNinja VC

Keep in mind that your time (and everyone else’s) is extremely valuable: you’ve got short slots with the people you meet. We’ve got 3 tips to maximize your matchmaking experience:

• Connect using the Matchmaking Tool:
  • Browse people or companies from your industry, investors that could be curious about what you have to offer, and anyone else you want to connect to. Spot their available time slots, compare those to yours and click the person’s name to schedule a meeting.
  • Feeling overwhelmed of the amount of people in the Matchmaking Tool? Check out the “You might be interested in meeting these people” row created by our recommendations system.
• Create an impression:
  • Be transparent, well-prepared, and act as an active listener. Leave your matches feeling optimistic and don’t be scared to be honest. Here at Slush, we embrace transparency to the point of discomfort because honesty creates genuine connection.
• Establish how you connect afterward:
  • An accepted meeting request opens a chat between you and the person you are meeting with. Utilize the chat function also after the meeting to connect with your newfound friends through eg. LinkedIn, and create a timeframe for yourself to get into contact with them after the event.

Keep the conversation going: we at Slush want to see you succeed past the event itself and this is the first way to build those important relationships.

Slush is much more than just the main event at Messukeskus. The whole Slush Week is full of intriguing Side Events and Activities.

Side Events are the perfect way to get connected to people in your industry and beyond, whether its other startup founders or operators, investors, or anyone in-between. Pick from workshops, parties, pitching competitions, and sport events to make your Slush Week an experience for the books.

If we’re honest, the day before Slush (Nov 19) is secretly one of the best days to arrive in Helsinki. We are bringing all the 5,500 founders and operators from around the world together to an exclusive founders-only gathering. Founders Day is the best place to meet other Startup Pass holders exclusively before the event officially begins.

In addition to Founders Day, we’ve got a whole program prepared for the entire Day 0. There are multiple day activities (from 1 PM onwards) providing founders with unforgettable memories.

The day activities include for example:

• Sauna and ice-dipping in the Allas Sea Pool
• Scaleup tour across Helsinki
• Padel & Golf games at Social Sports Club

After you’ve explored what Helsinki has to offer during the day, you’ll have friends to go to Founders Day together. From 5 PM to 11 PM, Biitsi Salmisaari turns into an exclusive beach party with specifically curated program for a founder-only audience.

You need to have both your badge and wristband to access Slush.

You can exchange your ticket for a badge and wristband at any of our Badge Claim points before the event at one of these locations on Nov 18 or 19:

• Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (Arrivals Hall) | Open: 9 AM-9 PM
• Citycenter (Keskuskatu 6, Helsinki) | Open: 12 AM-8 PM
• Elisa Kulma (Aleksanterinkatu 19, Helsinki) | Open: 12 AM-8 PM
• Mall of Tripla (Fredikanterassi 1, Helsinki) | Open: 12 AM-8 PM
• Flying Cinema Tour of Helsinki (Katajannokanlaituri 2B, Helsinki) | Open: 12 AM-8 PM.

Please note: You will be asked to present a pictured ID when picking up your badge and wristband for safety reasons.

Badge Claim is also available upon your arrival at the main event venue, Messukeskus, during the event days at both the Southern and Northern entrances.

We strongly recommend getting your badge and wristband in advance from the Badge Claim points before the event to avoid queuing on the event days. The points will be quietest on Nov 18, and busiest on Nov 19.

Slush has something for everyone, with four stages featuring some of the biggest names in tech. Want to hear NVIDIA’s story straight from founder Chris Malachowsky? Or learn how Milda Mitkute, Co-founder of Vinted, transformed her personal solution into a global company now operating in over 20 markets?

Slush’s stages don’t just bring top speakers—they’re also home to the Slush 100, one of the world’s most coveted startup competitions. The grand prize? A €1 million investment from top VCs General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures.

Witness firsthand the top 20 early-stage companies in the world compete in the semifinals, and the jury deciding which are the top 3. From there, only one startup will win the grand prize.

Our jury will consist of partners from both funds and world-class founders, asking all the right questions and selecting from their wealth of knowledge the startups with the most potential.

Agenda Tool

Explore stage programs, craft your personalized Slush Week agenda, and plan your schedule using the Slush Agenda Tool. Accessible online or via the My Slush app, Agenda Tool is the ultimate guide to curate your own unique Slush experience.

Stay in the loop also after Slush through Slush Online. Slush Online is a year-round online platform to help early-stage startups outside the Slush main event in Helsinki. We host weekly online events to provide founders with mentoring and access to meeting investors.

Slush Online is free to join and open to all early-stage startups and VC or CVC investors.

Benefits of Slush Online for Startup Founders:

1. Get seen by 400+ investors year-round.
2. Join monthly matchmaking sprints for up to 8 intro calls with VCs/CVCs.
3. Learn from top founders and VCs through weekly events.
4. Access expert company-building advice in the Slush online library.

Go interested? Log in to the Slush Platform and create a company profile. If you are new to the platform, your application is reviewed within 24 hours. Same application gives you access to Slush Online and to buy tickets to the Slush 2024 main event in Helsinki.