THIS IS WHY
VOLUNTEERS COME TO SLUSH
BE A PART OF
A COMMUNITY
& BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
FIRST STEP INTO BECOMING
A STARTUP FOUNDER, OPERATOR,
OR A VC
“Being a volunteer at Slush gave me a lot of opportunities inside the startup ecosystem and I actually found my current job at Slush.”
EXPERIENCE
THE WORLD'S LEADING STARTUP EVENT
“It was a once in a lifetime experience to be a part of organizing an event in the scale of Slush.”
VOLUNTEER TEAMS
PRODUCTION
The Production Team’s core is to guarantee a seamless customer journey throughout one of the world’s most complex event productions for 13,000 visitors. In order to create a 7-star experience for our event visitors, we have partnered up with the coolest production companies and industry professionals in event services, creating moments to remember. But we wouldn’t be anything without the production volunteers, they breathe the Slush Magic alive.
FINANCE
If you’re curious to learn world-class finance skills in a hands-on environment, look no further. Our Finance volunteers help us with crucial day-to-day finance operations, and run the coolest clothing store in Finland — the Slush Store which sells merchandise at the event.
GROWTH & MARKETING
The Growth Team is in charge of of distributing Slush’s products. In practice, this means leading Slush’s marketing and communications efforts across digital channels (e.g. social media, newsletter, website). Growth volunteers ideate, film, record, edit, write, and publish content to Slush’s for social media before and during the event with the support of the full-time team. Additionally, we ensure Slush’s stage content is livestreamed to our online audience, and we engage with the Slush community in our DM’s, comment sections, and feeds.
DESIGN
The Design Team shapes the creative vision of Slush, crafting a brand & annual theme experience that mesmerizes early-stage founders in the global tech ecosystem. Design volunteers support the design full-time team with graphic design, motion graphics, animation previous Slush week. The photography volunteers get onboard previous the Slush week and their role runs during the previous days from Slush event and during Slush.
MEDIA & PR
The Media & PR team has two core responsibilities at Slush: attracting the world’s leading media representatives to Slush and creating the best media experience of any event on the planet for them, and building compelling narratives to showcase Slush as an organization to media. Media & PR volunteers make sure all guests in these concepts have a stellar customer experience.
PEOPLE
Slush would not happen without our people — the 1,500 volunteers make the real magic happen. The People Team recruits and trains these curious future builders. On top of this, we organize training events and gatherings for the Slush team and volunteers and make sure the volunteer operations run smoothly from start to finish.
PARTNERSHIPS
The Partnership Team brings the world’s leading companies, scale-ups, country delegations, and research labs to be involved in Slush activities as partners. Our Partners generate a significant part of income for Slush while bringing relevant and value-adding activities for the founder and investor audiences of the event. Partnerships volunteers make sure all partners have a stellar experience with Slush in each encounter.
PROGRAM
The Program team is at the center of one of Slush’s most visible parts of the event: Speakers and stages. We bring the most iconic founders, investors, operators, and tech executives on stage in order to encourage the next generation of people to build companies. Our content focuses on practical company-building advice – everything that an aspiring or an early-stage founder needs to know in order to build a groundbreaking venture. Program team volunteers work closely with our iconic speakers and ensure they have a smooth and superb experience at Slush.
INVESTORS
The Investor team is responsible for attracting the world’s leading venture capital investors to Slush, and creating the best investor experience of any event on the planet for them. Investor team volunteers work on the concepts and events offered to the investors visiting Slush and make sure they get excellent customer service in every encounter with Slush. The Investor Team volunteers will have a chance to interact with investors having $3 trillion in assets under management.
STARTUPS
The Startup Team has the exciting responsibility of taking care of our largest core visitor group — the startup CEOs and founders. This is done with concepts like Founders Day, Founder’s Day Experiences and Startup Booths to mention a few. Startup Team is also responsible for the Meeting Area and the overall Meeting Experience that are at the core of Slush. People come to Slush to meet relevant people for their ventures – and we’ve taken it to our heart to execute it to perfection for them. Startup team volunteers make sure all founders are treated like royalty in every encounter they have with Slush.
FEEDBACK
Feedback team is responsible for collecting and analyzing main event feedback. This includes both general event feedback and concept-specific feedback. The feedback team is part of Slush’s Research team responsible for data analysis and research collaborations with external stakeholders.
It was my first year and therefore it was total new experience and a lot of impressions. It was perfect! The best thing about being a volunteer was challenging myself and learning new things about the ecosystem. It is a yearly tradition for me to join Slush as a volunteer and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
VOLUNTEER
STORIES
VOLUNTEER
FAQ
What is Slush about?
Slush is a student-driven, not-for-profit movement with the mission to create and help the next generation of groundbreaking entrepreneurs, originally founded to change attitudes toward entrepreneurship. Slush features two days full of stage programs, in addition to several side events, talks at networking sessions, roundtable discussions, and facilitated workshops. Our speaker line-up includes successful founders, top-notch investors, and other startup and tech influencers.
When does Slush take place?
Slush 2025 will take place physically from Nov 19–20, 2025, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Center (Messukeskus).
Where is Slush organized?
Slush is organized in the Helsinki Expo and Convention Center. Address: Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki Helsinki Expo and Convention Center is located just a few kilometers from the Helsinki city center – you’ll be able to arrive at the venue within 15 minutes from all around the city.
What is the number of volunteers this year?
In 2024, the Slush Team recruited over 1,600 volunteers in total. The number for 2025 will be published later.
What are the different volunteer roles at Slush?
Team Leads are the link between core team members and volunteers. As a Team Lead, you work as part of the Slush Fall Team, consisting of our full-time team members and Team Leads. Following our value trust by default, you’ll be given autonomy and responsibilities that contribute towards making Slush 2025 the best Slush to date.
Group Leads are responsible for running the core operations during the event days. They are also recruiting and training the volunteers for various different tasks.
Volunteers will be the biggest helping hands during the event days. They will be responsible for helping and executing various different tasks, mostly during Slush week.
What is the process for recruiting volunteers?
Team Leads are recruited during the spring. The application is open from Apr 24 to May 11. The Team Lead recruitment process is done through group interviews, which our core team conducts.
Group Leads are be recruited during the fall by the Team Leads.
Volunteers are be recruited by our Group Leads during the fall.
Is there an age limit to volunteering?
Yes, we don’t recruit under 18-year-olds to be volunteers at Slush.
When is the application period for volunteering at Slush 2025?
Team Lead applications will be open from Apr 24 to May 11.
Group Lead and volunteer applications will be open from Aug 4 to Sep 3.
What are the workloads for different volunteer positions?
Team Lead position approximate workload during the fall: 5-20h/week depending on the role. In early fall, the workload is smaller, but it increases as we approach the event.
Group Lead position maximum workload during the fall: 10h/week.
Volunteer position approximate workload during the event week: 16 hours (depending on which team and what kind of tasks they have). Adding to the workload during the event days there will be different kinds of Volunteer activities such as Volunteer Day, Talkoot, Volunteer Afterparty, and Venue Tour that are happening before the main event.
During Slush Week (Nov 17-20) volunteers work approximately two full days depending on the role.
Does Slush cover travel and accommodation costs?
Slush 2024 offered 96 hostel dorm beds with a discounted price to volunteers in need that were traveling to Helsinki. We chose the volunteers who are eligible by firstly prioritizing the volunteers coming from outside of Europe, secondly the ones coming from outside of Finland and thirdly the volunteers coming from outside of the Helsinki region. In 2025, we’re looking into having a similar arrangement.
How should I proceed if I need a visa traveling to Finland?
Slush can help the recruited volunteers with their visa applications by providing them with an invitation letter. Contact [email protected] for this matter. Read more about Finland’s visa policies on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
What are the important dates for volunteers?
The Slush fall contains tons of fun events. In order to get the most out of your volunteer experience these are the important dates that would require your physical presence in Helsinki.
In 2025 the important dates include:
- TBA – Talkoot #2
- Nov 1 – Volunteer Day
- Nov 17 or 18 – Venue Tour
- Nov 17 – 20 – Slush week
- Nov 22 – Volunteer Afterparty
What are the important dates for group leads?
This exciting position offers training sessions to prepare for the greater responsibilities, which means that Group Leads have a larger time commitment and additional attendance dates:
In 2025 the important dates include:
- TBA – Group Lead Onboarding
- TBA – Leadership Experience #1
- TBA – Talkoot #2
- TBA – Leadership Experience #2
- Nov 1 – Volunteer Day
- Nov 17 or 18 – Venue Tour
- Nov 17 – 20 – Slush week
- Nov 22 – Volunteer Afterparty
How do I contact the Slush team?
You can reach the Slush People Team by email at [email protected].
COME VISIT
Malminkatu 16
00100 Helsinki