About 17 000 people are being Slush-ed in Helsinki.Slush / Jussi Ratilainen
Slush is hard to explain in words; it’s best seen through your own eyes. If your eyes weren’t there, these photos will give you an idea of what you missed.
I see fire! The opening ceremony saw so much pyrotechnics, the room started to feel even warmer. Image: Anne Salomäki
At Slush, no one is complaining about people following the events through the screens of their tablets and smartphones. Here, technology is everywhere, and in everyone’s hand at all times. Image: Anne Salomäki
Chris Sacca, the founder and chairman of Lowercase Capital was the first one to get on the Founder Stage after the opening ceremony. He pointed out how simplicity is the hardest thing to do, and he talked about what he looks for when companies pitch ideas to him. “I look for companies that are already great without me, but that I can help make greater.” Image: Slush / Jussi Ratilainen
At Slush, there’s no waste, just raw material for further use. Image: Anne Salomäki
Wolt took care of the hungry. Guests ordered the meals through the app, and the customers would be informed when their food was ready for pick-up. Co-founder Juhani Mykkänen sees this as the future of fast food. “Now people don’t need to spend time in the queue and waiting for their food. Instead, they can stroll around and only come get their plate when it’s ready for them. We can prepare 40 plates in just two minutes.” Image: Anne Salomäki
The queues in the food court got long and curvy. KleenU founder Markku Oksman was walking around distributing the company’s product: a hand towel without any chemicals and that only uses a fraction of the water washing hands with running water does. The company was funded just six months ago. “Now we’re actively looking for funding to go further,” he told Good News from Finland. Image: Anne Salomäki
Crown Prince Haakon and philosopher Pekka Himanen discussed how we all long and seek for dignity in our lives. Crown Prince Haakon encouraged everyone in the audience to seize the opportunity to change the world. “Have you touched other people with your eyes today?” Himanen asked, quoting a little boy he’d learned the concept from. Image: Slush / Kai Kuusisto
Sustainability is at the core of the event, and so are volunteers. Nele Korhonen is one of 2 000 volunteers helping out this year. As a creative sustainability student at Aalto University, she’s a member of the sustainability team. “I’m quite startup-minded too,” she says. “It’s not impossible that I’m here in a different role in the future.” Image: Anne Salomäki
Finnfacts’ media tour team hosted several groups of international journalists at Slush. One of them was Austrian Patrick Dax from Futurezone. It’s not his first time in Finland, but it’s his very first Slush. “The number of people here has surprised me,” he notes. “I’ll be going back home feeling inspired and with a lot of news ideas.” Image: Anne Salomäki