Nordic Startup News Early Stage Startup News From The Nordics
Slush CEO Noora Saksa. Photo: Carlos Perez.
HELSINKI, FINLAND — Slush CEO Noora Saksa, 25, has spent the past five years growing the most founder focused event on the planet. According to her, the golden age of European startups is key to Europe’s future.
“Startups are our best bet for GDP growth in Europe, and we need new global success stories in technology. Here. Now”, Noora Saksa stresses.
Slush is the world’s most founder focused startup event and largest gathering of venture capital. The not-for-profit organization employs over 40 students and recent graduates annually with the main event made possible by 1,800 volunteers.
Saksa will lead Slush together with Charlotte Alholm (President), Santtu Vaalamo (Chief Growth Officer), Kasper Mäkelä (COO), and Anshul Mahajan (CTO).
In 2026 Slush will downsize the audience by 10% to better serve its core, early-stage startups, with a more segmented approach. The event experience will be tailored more precisely through personal recommendations based on each startup’s growth stage.
“This year we’re not doing more—we’re doing less, but more intentionally. We know that Slush alone can’t solve Europe’s problems, but we can significantly increase the odds of success by accelerating the earliest stages of company building faster than ever before”, Noora says.
Europe needs to pick up the pace
The regions where new technology companies are built, become the places where economic growth and prosperity will concentrate 20 years from now: In the world’s most successful economic areas, startups are not a side hustle—they are the engine of economic growth. For example in the US, startups account for 50% of the public market and 77% of market capitalization (Pitchbook 2022).
“The goal is simple: by 2050 at least two European tech companies should be in the global top 10 by market cap. It’s not about a lack of potential, but daring to build the best possible environment for success”, Noora says.
From rural Finland to CEO of Slush
Growing up in the Finnish countryside, becoming the CEO of one of the most influential tech conferences of the world was far from a given. However, at university Noora found people who believed in startups and that even a small group can change the direction of the world. She began her journey at Slush 2021 as a volunteer.
“I’m from a tiny rural village where people had a natural bias toward action. Early on, I learned from my entrepreneur dad that you don’t have to wait for great things to happen—you can build them yourself,” Noora Saksa says.
Slush 2026 will take place in Helsinki on Nov 18–19. Pre-registration for the event is open here: www.slush.org.
Slush 2025 volunteers. Photo Agustin Garagorry.
