Finland

Wouldn’t it be great to have skilled developers volunteering to hack on your startup? Sounds like a dream? It might. but that’s exactly what’s going on at Ultrahack this weekend. Almost 400 developers are gathered in Helsinki for Ultrahack, part of Slush Hacks, to hack this weekend. Most of them have their on their startups, but some extraordinary people are …

Mobile phones have changed the way people experience the world. People daily use digital interfaces, as software has become  integrated into the products we use in our lives and work. By extension, people now have certain expectations for a UI (user interface), where the interaction between humans and machines occurs. But how does this affect the traditional industries? Olli Laiho …

Marta Sjögren’s debut to the venture capital world resulted from a passion for innovation and a desire to make an impact in the world. Today, she is the Principal at Northzone,a Danish VC, nd focuses on companies in the early stage. Northzone, established in 1996, is a leading technology investor. Today Northzone has raised over $700 million and invested in …

In 2014, Fortune Magazine  broke down how hot the food industry is among venture capitalists. In in 2013 alone, VCs had allocated $2.8 billion into food-related startups. Various factors, including sustainability, health, and digitalization, influence the food industry, making it increasingly diversified and interesting. Fascinating concepts and services are evolving around food. EntoCube, PlateCulture and EpicFoods are among the startups …

The UBI Global Awards, held this year on October 26th,  is an annual ceremony announcing the top rankings of business incubators and accelerators worldwide. Since 2013, UBI Global has done comprehensive benchmarking of over 400 incubator programs across 70 countries. This year, Swedish and Finnish accelerators took home top rankings, including Finland favorite Startup Sauna and the prestigious Uppsala Innovation …

Eco-­consumption is a growing trend in Finland, thanks to Pure Waste Textiles – a Finnish startup revolutionizing the way clothes are made. This article was originally posted on Arctic Startup. About five years ago, the founders of Costo, a Finnish company that produces accessories from unused materials in the textile industry, decided to explore opportunities to go further and produce …

Solu Machines is developing a radically new approach to computers by reshaping how devices and people coexist in the connected world. Will this small group of innovative people from a basement in Helsinki be able to alter the course of an entire industry? The founder and CEO of Solu Machines, Kristoffer Lawson, talks about why they chose to take on …

Today, the way we learn differs significantly from the past. Much has changed over a relatively short period of time, and will continue to do so. Developed education technology, or ed-tech, has been fundamental in altering our learning style.  One fascinating part of the field includes educational games, which have received much attention and interest. This year, Slush will welcome …

Ultrahack is part of Europe’s biggest hackathon leading up to the annual Slush conference. You can join with your pre-existing software or start from scratch during the online pre-game period lasting until October 30th or join the 48 hour hackathon taking place in Helsinki on November 6-8. Here are six reasons to join Ultrahack: Ultrahack has top notch industry players to provide never-before-published …

This analysis of Q3 investments in the Nordics is based on a combination of publicly available and proprietary data gathered by Index. In Q3, tech startups based in the Nordic countries collectively raised $296.5 million in 73 rounds. This falls short of Q1 for the region by 21.9 percent. Compared to Q2, it comes in significantly lower ($812.8 million total) …

Crowdfunding as a fundraising method has had tremendous momentum in recent years, with multiple platforms competing for the multi-billion dollar pie.   What does the future hold? Crowdfunding as alternative finance has been on the rise for the past few years, with around €710 thousand being raised in 2010, €14.4 billlion in 2014, and an estimated €83 billion in 2025, …

Urska Srsen met her co-founder Sandro Mur on a kitesurfing trip in Croatia. For her, becoming an entrepreneur was a very spontaneous and almost accidental process. Something that started as a project ended up as a business. It all started when Urska’s friend Sandro contacted her mother, one of the leading obstetrical gynecologists in Europe, and started to inquire about …

This video was originally posted on HYBE. Finnish biohacking expert Teemu Arina talks about the many ways you can track and measure your life to stay on top.

Inspired by SXSW, Reeperbahn Festival is Germany’s largest club festival and since its debut in 2006 it has grown to become one of the most important meeting places for the music industry worldwide. In 2009, the organizers introduced a business and startup space at the conference and has partnered with Hamburg Startups to highlight the local and international startup scene …

Slush 2015 will, for the first time ever, feature a Recruiting Area. The focus is to eventually make recruiting an as important part of the event for startups as funding and media coverage are today. The ability to build and grow the team is crucial for flourishing the next generation of world-conquering companies. This year’s Slush will include an unprecedented …

With sleep measurement and gadgets both being red hot topics on crowdfunding platforms, when one of the companies combining the two says, “We made a strict decision not to do an Indigogo or Kickstarter campaign,” it does raise some questions. This article was originally posted on HYBE. Heikki Räisänen, CEO and primary owner of Emfit, a 25-year old company which earlier this year brought …

While a lot of effort goes into marketing and advertising to get new customers to buy a product or service, companies somehow do not share the same enthusiasm when it comes to providing a good experience. However, in a world where traditional monopolies are being broken by new age innovations, retaining customers is increasingly rising in importance. Companies, both startups …

In preparation for Slush x Ultrahack on the 6th through 8th of November, we talk with author, CEO, and Biohacker Teemu Arina. This article was originally posted on HYBE. He explains to Hybe: “Biohacking is the art and science of optimising your health and performance with the help of technological and biological tools.” “Food to me is a form of …

In preparation for Slush x Ultrahack on the 6th through 8th of November, Mikko Järvilehto, Ultrahack Executive Producer and CEO of Futuretournaments, interviews a series developers and partners for different challenge tracks.  Today, we talk with Jaakko Kaidesoja of the Finnish Postal Service, Posti. By Mikko Järvilehto & Niilo Korkiakoski Has your company partnered with other hackathons in the past …

In preparation for Slush x Ultrahack on the 6th through 8th of November, Mikko Järvilehto, Ultrahack Executive Producer and CEO of Futuretournaments, interviews a series developers and partners for different challenge tracks.  Today, he talks with Teemu Kinos, inventor of SOSHO. By Mikko Järvilehto & Niilo Korkiakoski AI powered shop clerks are taking over.  So thinks Teemu Kinos, the inventor …