Exclusive: Slush 2025 to become Europe’s best founder school, doubling down on diversity. Here’s how.

Slush 2025 is set to cement its reputation as Europe’s premier founder school, returning to Helsinki on November 19–20 with a record-breaking concentration of startup talent and venture capital. The event will bring together 13,000 attendees at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, including 6,000 startup founders and operators and 3,500 investors representing over $4 trillion in assets under management.
With startups and investors comprising 73% of the audience — the highest proportion in the event’s history — Slush demonstrates its commitment to fostering meaningful, high-impact connections. As a not-for-profit organisation run by young talent, Slush continues transforming Europe’s entrepreneurial landscape, one founder at a time.Aino Bergius, CEO at Slush, shares how this transformation is happening.
Founded in 2008 as a modest 250-person gathering, Slush has become the world’s largest venture capital meeting and a global beacon for entrepreneurship. Its unique student-led model relies on a core team of 40 students and recent graduates, supported by 1,600 young volunteers.
This approach has sparked dramatic shifts in Finland’s entrepreneurial mindset. According to Sitra, entrepreneurial interest among Finnish students grew froma mere 1%in the early 2000s toover 30%two decades later. This transformation shows how Slush has helped make entrepreneurship a viable and exciting career path for young Europeans.
Slush’s influence now extends far beyond Finland. Over the past decade, the movement has gone global with more than 75 events and 40,000 attendees worldwide. Major gatherings in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Singapore, along with Slush’D events in unexpected locations like Mandal, Norway, have created a worldwide network of entrepreneurial communities inspired by the original Helsinki model.
“We want to be the best founder school in Europe — by opening doors to the startup world and giving young people the tools and confidence to build world-changing companies. That’s why we trust every Slusher to act as the founder of their domain, to make decisions as if Slush were their startup,” says Aino Bergius, CEO at Slush.
Slush 2025 transcends numbers. The exclusive Founders Day, held on the eve of the main event, offers curated content and peer networking for startup operators. The Startup Stage gives top early-stage startups from Europe and beyond a 10-minute spotlight to pitch their vision, while the coveted Slush 100 Startup Competition sees founders compete for equity investments from leading funds likeGeneral CatalystandCherry Ventures.
Slush’s commitment to founder development continues year-round through Node by Slush, a digital platform launched in 2020. Node offers early-stage founders ongoing support through virtual matchmaking sprints, founder-investor sessions, and exclusive talks with top founders and investors. In 2024 alone, Node facilitated over 25 matchmaking sprints, leading to numerous follow-up meetings and investment opportunities.
Startup Booths, strategically placed at the venue’s heart, enable selected early-stage startups to connect directly with investors and clients. In 2024, 56 startups seized this opportunity, with many securing funding deals on the show floor. Investor Office Hours and Investor Lounges provide private, curated spaces for in-depth discussions, workshops, and pre-booked meetings, maximising value for both founders and investors.
At Slush’s core is its proprietary Matchmaking Tool, which helps attendees identify and connect with relevant contacts among the 13,000 participants. In 2024, this tool facilitated 7,500 meetings between startups and investors, proving its effectiveness in forging valuable relationships.
The event’s influence extends beyond the main venue through more than 500 side events during Slush Week, from deep tech meetups to founder-only gatherings, including a “beach party in Helsinki in November.” The flagship Founders Day, now the world’s largest founder-only gathering, features mentoring, roundtables, unicorn founders on stage, and curated networking.
Slush operates as an entrepreneurial incubator disguised as an event. For 65% of its volunteers, the primary motivation is learning about the startup ecosystem, networking, and taking their first steps into the startup world. Through company visits, comprehensive training programs, and curated networking opportunities, volunteers gain hands-on experience that often leads to future founder roles. This immersive, experiential approach empowers young people to act as founders within their domains, making real decisions and learning by doing.
The volunteer program stands at the heart of this mission. Over 2,000 volunteers from more than 50 countries help make the event happen each year, gaining invaluable skills and connections. The program includes Team Leads, Group Leads, and general volunteers, with international opportunities through initiatives like “The Shortcut Talent Heist” — a week-long experience featuring company visits and networking in Helsinki.
“The youth of today are the architects of tomorrow. That’s why we look for people excited about building and solving hard problems, rather than simply optimising what already exists. That’s needed for building world-changing companies,” Bergius continues.
The impact is clear: over 70 former Slush team members have founded their own companies, including high-profile alumni likeMiki Kuusi(Wolt),Eerika Savolainen(Clair),Miika Huttunen(Realm), andAndreas Saari(Paebbl). The recent Forbes 30 Under 30 list featured four Slush alumni, including current CEO Aino Bergius, highlighting Slush’s role as a launchpad for entrepreneurial talent.
“In a constantly evolving world, drive and a willingness to learn matter more than prior experience or context. That’s why we hire people with potential over experience,” Bergius explains.
Slush’s 2025 full-time team exemplifies its commitment to diverse perspectives. With an average age of 25, the 40-person team represents 14 educational institutions. Forty per cent speak a native language other than Finnish or Swedish, while 58% identify as something other than male. Women and non-binary individuals hold 63% of leadership positions.
This diversity serves as Slush’s secret weapon in challenging conventional thinking. “The secret recipe of Slush is its young, diverse, and often inexperienced team that sees the world with fresh eyes, brings forward bold new ideas, and is eager to challenge the status quo,” Bergius concludes.
In 2025, Slush’s full-time team maintains its youthful perspective with an average age of 25. The 40 students and recent graduates come from 14 different schools, with 40% speaking a native language other than Finnish or Swedish. The team’s diversity shines through with 58% identifying as something other than male, and women and non-binary individuals holding 63% of leadership roles.
In 2025, Slush’s vision of being Europe’s best founder school has become a multi-faceted reality, combining experiential learning, year-round support, sustainability, diversity, and a global network. As Helsinki strengthens its position among Europe’s top startup cities, Slush continues to shape the future of entrepreneurship, one founder at a time.