SLUSH 2018 matchmaking is open

Last year, over 50k meeting requests were sent via our in-house built Matchmaking Tool, leading to 10k meetings in total. The Meeting Area was fully booked before the event even began. This year, for the first time, we’re including all the Slush attendees and Slush side event venues to be featured in Matchmaking.

Our goal is clear – we want to 10x the amount of meetings during the Slush week.

Everyone’s invited. Are you coming for business, casual or business casual?

We’ve done our research and the numbers are clear. +90% of our attendees this year are open for more casual meetings – meaning that they’re down for grabbing a coffee, quick bite, a beer, what not – instead of strictly businesslike meetups. This is a good chance to expand your networks in a more relaxed atmosphere. Check out our recently updated Helsinki guide for more options of where to meet and mingle, if you’ll be outside the venue!

Mentorship. Now there’s a word you dread. Not because it’s not what you want, but because it’s so damn hard to find. Well… not anymore. Through the Matchmaking Tool you can browse people based on their expertise and request a meeting with them during the event. Or maybe it’s you who’s got a skill to share? About time you passed your knowledge on.

Another thing that we hear year after year is that recruiting is a big headache for startups. This year the Matchmaking Tool will have a recruitment feature exclusively for startups to find new talent to hop aboard. All attendees can browse the recruiting startups and express their interest towards them. Matches can then be put into action right away in our brand new recruiting area, Talent Corner, while both parties are still in the Northern hemisphere. Check out the article our startup team recently wrote about what it actually entails here.

Meet the biggest Slush Meeting Area to ever exist.

Through the years, facilitating meetings has become a key element of what Slush is all about. We began with the concept of our meeting area back in 2012: in the beginning, it was ten tables and one person hustling the meetings for everyone. We were also only facilitating meetings between startups and investors.

This year, together with Amazon Web Services, we are creating the biggest Slush Meeting Area to date. It includes more than 300 tables, 3 different meeting points at the venue, and Framery phone and meeting booths to top it all off.

And hey, why limit ourselves to one meeting area? The tool includes all our official Slush side events and our official afterworks venue, Founders Street located in central Helsinki. And when all of this is filled to the brim, our new Meeting Points are at your service.

How to hack matchmaking?

1. Go wild with filters: finding the needle from the haystack has never been easier!
2. Maximize your time at Slush: don’t be shy with throwing your meeting requests around. Vice versa – remember to be polite to others and reply to them even if you aren’t able to meet up with then.
3. Don’t keep your best secrets to yourself: share your best findings with your company with company bookmarking.
4. Come prepared! 80% of the work is done before the event. Take time to give your profile that sweet finishing touch to ensure that people relevant to you will surely find you. Don’t leave booking your meetings to the last minute, either.
5. Expand your territory, broaden your slushy horizons! Meet people in industry-specific Official Side Events or book your meetings to Founders Street on Dec 3.

All of the actions taken this year have been honed to produce 10x meetings compared to last year. It’s been a long journey, and now it’s time to pass the baton to you, Slush guest. We’d love to hear your feedback – don’t hesitate to drop us a line to hello@slush.org!

Time to jump down the rabbit hole… start browsing here!

Ps. Being a jerk isn’t cool, online or offline. Read our code of conduct here.