Slush '11

We attended this two day fair called Slush’11 which was held at Kaapelitehdas in Helsinki on the 2^nd and 3^rd of November. Slush is a fair for new start-up companies where they can meet investors and get plenty of new contacts and visibility.

http://www.slush.fi/main/

There were about 2 500 visitors in two days from all over the world. We met plenty of young entrepreneurs as well as founders of big companies. They had two main stages, the other one was for keynote speakers and panel conversations and the other one was a pitching stage. There was a Slush100 pitching competition for new start-up companies. We also applied to it but didn’t get to participate. We think the reason for this was that all the other start-ups were two steps ahead of us with their own companies and ideas. So next year it will be our chance. It turned out to be a good thing as now we got to listen and learn what is correct and what is absolutely not. The most interesting part was listening to others’ ideas. Be aware as a lot of great things will happen in the future, so good luck to all the others.

Besides the two stages there were also around 50 demo tables in the middle where people were presenting their own companies to everybody. There were both start-up companies as well as already exciting companies which were helping out the start-ups. It was really interesting just to go around and talk to other people about their ideas and how they’re managing with their companies.

In general people were really generous and helpful. We talked about GlobeOut to a lot of people and got them really excited about it. We even found a law firm called HH Partners that had an open application for a mentoring program which is designed for start-ups. The conditions were that the start-up company shouldn’t have a lot of money or sponsors (that’s us), a lot of experience (that’s us, again) and hasn’t registered the company yet (that’s still us). This program is called Pro Bono during which the start-up company will have experts in their field helping out the company with all sorts of agreements and things with law and order. After the fair we completed the application and hope for the best as it would be one of the best things ever that could happen to us at this point.

After the first day at Slush there had been organised an after-party for all the participants at the Ahjo Bar & Club in Helsinki. We arrived just after seven pm and got two drink coupons each. They had a special drink for the night called the Slush special which included blueberries and lime squeezed with sugar, smashed ice and vodka. There we met a lot of new people who helped us out quite a bit with their own experiences and advice. The night was a success.

The program during these two days was really interesting but also very hectic. The pitching competition as well as the panel discussions and the speeches happened at the same time so we divided us into two groups. This way we got way more out of everything.

It seems like we are heading in the right direction because gaming and social media is the number one thing now and that industry keeps growing like crazy! Thank you, Slush11’, for giving us an awesome opportunity to learn more and to meet new people. We got a lot of new ideas and contacts and afterwards slept like babies.

This is what inspires us for the next year to come:

Congratulations Ovelin!!! (They have a game called Wild Chords. Check it out!!!)