Startup talking about Startups: Sponsta at SLUSH 2015

Last week Daniel J. Mierzwinski, head of product at Sponsta, a Denmark-based online platform that connects brands with influential Instagramers across the world, went off to Helsinki to attend SLUSH, one of the most hyped startup events of 2015. When he came home we asked him how it all was

Last week I joined more than 14,000 people at SLUSH in Helsinki to build relations, meet investors, and learn about the many cool startups out there. Oh, and also – to sing karaoke!

Great birthday at #SLUSH. Shared my love for Kanye in a duet of “Gold Digger” w. Neil. He cleared the rap-part but I nailed the chorus.

A photo posted by Daniel Jaatinen Mierzwinski (@dnlmzw) on Nov 16, 2015 at 8:15am PST

SLUSH was initiated back in 2008 when around 300 people gathered to make more people care about startups andhave since grown to become one of the biggest European startup conferences. 7 years later people in the Nordics definitely care about startups. I took part of the startup celebrations and really noticed how fast things are changing here in the Nordics. 🙌 Nordics United 🙌 The Nordics are one of the biggest contributors to tech, but at the same time, we’re historically bad at highlighting our own successes. In order to attract money and talent to the region, we need to make our voices heard internationally and to address this topic. Nordic media and community builders gathered at roundtables to discuss how to improve the ecosystem, which is a great step in the right direction. Previously some of the discussions have been about whether Copenhagen, Stockholm or Helsinki is “Europe’s next tech hub”, but this won’t help us much in terms of standing out on the global tech scene. The Nordics are beginning to realize that we stand stronger together and that we must form alliances across borders and build on our similarities and common values, to become noticed. I was thrilled to spend time with community builders from #CPHFTW and #malmostartups and hear just how much effort is being put into uniting the startup scene across our borders. “>

#NordicMade opening #Nasdaq at #SLUSH #CPHFTW A video posted by Daniel Jaatinen Mierzwinski (@dnlmzw) on Nov 16, 2015 at 8:42am PST

SLUSH made it clear just how excited we should all be about the future in the Nordics. More money than ever is flowing into the region and we have a lot of successes to be proud of. SLUSH made it clear that being a Nordic startup rocks!