November 2024 was the time for one of the most crowded events this year. Between 20-21 November 2024, Slush 2024 took place — a conference that is the most coveted startup competition in the world among the top 100. By visiting this event, you truly dive into the best of the IT industry. This Finnish-organized annual event in Helsinki in Europe has become the Mecca for startups since its inauguration in 2008. Who would have thought that within the past 16 years, Slush in Helsinki would now be visited by more than 25,000 attendees, exhibit 5,500 startups, and welcome 3,300 investors? All those numbers speak for themselves.
Adexin had an amazing and unique opportunity to visit this year's edition of Slush 2024. Similar to past editions such as Slush 2023, we were truly amazed. Check out our experience from Slush in this article, and look at our insights on the IT industry before the end of the year! Let's buckle up!
Find the Slush 2024 location and other highlights
As usual, the Slush took place in Helsinki. This year's edition was held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Center (Messukeskus), located at Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki, Finland. As for every event of that scale, access to the Slush venue requires both a Slush badge and wristband, which must be worn visibly at all times. Participants could also easily navigate to the venue by using the map Slush 2024 on the organizers' website.
Here are the main highlights of the event:
Slush 2024 speakers: keynotes at the venue and exciting emerging managers
The group of keynote speakers represents a diverse set of prominent entrepreneurs and leaders. Chris Malachowsky is a well-known technology figure and the co-founder of NVIDIA, a leading graphics technology company. Milda Mitkute co-founded Vinted, a thriving online second-hand clothing marketplace. Dylan Field is co-founder and CEO of Figma, a groundbreaking collaborative design platform. Nik Storonsky founded and ran Revolut, a digital banking service known for its innovative features and much more, with many more keynote speakers. This all delivers great learning opportunities to participate for many experts and find potential investors!
Networking and meetings: Slush event app and local entrepreneurs
Slush 2024 brought together a vibrant community. The event welcomed 5,500 startup founders and operators and 3,300 investors. The Slush Matchmaking Tool is usually available, which empowers attendees to connect with the right people. The meeting area allows you to enjoy a hassle-free experience with automated table bookings for 25 minutes upon meeting acceptance. It gave everyone a lot of time for meet-ups. Access to this was exclusive to those who had booked meetings in this area.
Founders Day at Slush event
Founders Day at Slush is an exclusive pre-event for startup founders. It's a relaxed evening focused on peer-to-peer networking and creating valuable connections. During this time, the venue provides a laid-back environment in which to unwind and connect with fellow entrepreneurs before the main event. All is happening during the evening, which features carefully selected content and talks specifically tailored to the needs and interests of founders. There is no doubt that the event is heavily focused on investor meetings.
Investors Day with leading companies
Investor Day at Slush 2024 offered a comprehensive program to foster valuable connections and insights within the investment community that provides equity investment on this unique platform. This time featured presentations and discussions by renowned VCs, LPs, and industry leaders. The program focuses on critical topics such as Europe's current market landscape, which sets up an early stage for investing strategies and helps identify the most promising investment opportunities. This is an excellent moment that provides a platform for in-depth conversations. You can genuinely share valuable insights and explore shared experiences.
Slush 2024 LIVESTREAM: meet Chief Science Officer at the online event
Slush 2024 LIVESTREAM has a dedicated bullet point with a live broadcast option. It included the dates of the live broadcast from the Founder Stage and a link to the live broadcast page. This expanded information provides a complete overview of the Investor Day program at Slush 2024, which included a live-streaming option for those unable to attend in person. You can see more on YouTube about day 1 and day 2 of Slush 2024.
Slush 2024 team and organizers: is it worth becoming a Slush volunteer?
It's not necessarily our scope to talk about volunteers at the Slush venue, but since the beginning, it has been well-known that Slush is also organized with the help of many volunteers. Because of this, the 2024 edition was supported by more than 1,600 volunteers — a tremendous number and a grateful testament to the support of young blood fascinated by the IT industry. Nevertheless, we want to share this because it is obvious that this is what facilitates the event. You people are giving true value to the event.
The Slush team consists mainly of a dynamic group of students and recent graduates united by a common vision. It's all about leveraging entrepreneurship as a force for positive global impact in the IT industry. It's an unparalleled opportunity for organizers to aim to position Slush as a key destination for startups, creating a platform for networking and innovation. Their primary focus is acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to create exceptional products and thriving companies.
This is the true measure of success at Slush. For many reasons, these endeavors bring tangible achievements and contributions and strengthen the future of the IT and high-tech sectors.
Slush Helsinki: focus on the IT industry
Slush Helsinki is a world-renowned startup event with a strong focus on the IT industry. As we said, it brings together a diverse community of founders, investors, and industry leaders to foster innovation and drive progress in areas such as:
cybersecurity
fintech and more
The event provides a platform to showcase cutting-edge technologies. This facilitates valuable networking opportunities with groundbreaking solutions and inspires the next generation of entrepreneurs. Let's summarize briefly why it is crucial for Slush.
What about Slush's mission:
Inspire. To motivate current and future generations to address global challenges through entrepreneurship.
Help. To provide support and resources to founders in building successful and impactful leading companies.
Collide. To facilitate connections between founders, investors, and other key players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Overall goal. To empower founders to create meaningful change in the world.
Slush's core values:
Focus on impact. Prioritizes building companies that address significant global challenges and positively impact society.
Diversity and inclusion. This section emphasizes the importance of building diverse founding teams to ensure a wider range of perspectives and solutions.
Risk-taking and innovation. Encourages founders to pursue ambitious and potentially transformative ideas.
Community building. Fosters a strong and supportive community for founders and investors through year-round initiatives like Slush Online and Slush'D.
Adexin experience from the Slush 2024
If you want to ask about Adexin's experience, it is good to quote you about my personal feelings and experience as I attended this event. I would say that:
"The event emphasizes the importance of the IT industry and how Slush plays a crucial role in fostering innovation and supporting the startup ecosystem. I was happy to visit this event and also this year's edition. The best thing I could benefit from is that, as an IT company's CEO, we could engage in mindful conversations on real business problems about transportation and the supply chain industry. It's great that Slush can also attract key decision-makers from these industries."
Starting from this quote, I want to share our gratitude to the organizers and give you a glimpse of what we're doing. At Adexin, we rely on US and EU markets to provide top-notch software, and our goal is to find a business solution for their problems. Here is what we're doing in very short:
Consulting. Providing expert advice and guidance to businesses on a particular subject. It could involve strategy, technology selection, implementation, and optimization in the IT world.
Custom software. We develop software specifically for clients or organizations to meet their unique needs and requirements. There is no case that we couldn’t tackle. This is also quite opposed to off-the-shelf software, as we help leading companies be more agile.
Location-based services. We provide mobile apps and applications that use location data (GPS, Wi-Fi, etc.) to provide services or information relevant to a user's current location. It is helpful for our targeted industries, such as transportation, logistics, and the supply chain. Some examples include ride-hailing apps, navigation systems, and mobile apps for the trucking industry.
Dedicated teams. We have a team of skilled developers, designers, and industry professionals. We exclusively dedicate our people with the right skills to a specific client or project. It provides a high level of focus and accountability.
MVP development. One of our best approaches is Minimum Viable Product development. It involves creating a basic version of a product with core features to test assumptions and gather early user feedback before full-scale development. This way, you can get an app that can be tested in a real environment and checked in actual business operations.
Digital transformation. We have first-hand experience running processes that integrate digital technology into all business areas. Our custom software fundamentally changes how businesses operate and deliver value to customers.
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Contact usFinale takeaway
During the Slush 2024, we particularly valued the great opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with key decision-makers from the transportation and supply chain industries. It is how we align with Adexin's core focus.
We attended Slush 2024 and emphasized the event's significance in fostering innovation and supporting startups within the IT industry. Slush 2024 was a vital platform for innovation and networking for various industries. At Slush 2024, we particularly valued the great opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with key decision-makers in supply chain, transportation, and logistics software development, which aligns perfectly with Adexin's core purpose. As Adexin, with our focus on delivering cutting-edge solutions, we actively participated in the event to gain valuable insights and explore new opportunities. Contact us if you want to discover more about our solutions. Adexin can be your managing partner.