More than two weeks after Slush it’s good to look back and remember what Slush actually was and is about. Slush is clearly the planet’s most vibrant tech and startup gathering with almost 20k people in dark, slushy Helsinki, but it’s also much more. To me Slush is mainly about personal encounters and even surprising mysteries, that just happen.

Pick this year, I had of course a little over a half of prebooked program, but the remaining 30-40% is the part that surprises you the most. I mean, would you have guessed that out of nowhere you are doing a deep interview on Slush together with CNN’s star reporter Richard Quest? Would you have seen that your story ends up in the CoFounder Magazine’s Investor Special? Or that you and your girlfriend discuss cooperation with Finland’s Prime Minister? Or a prince? Or those stories, where you make a deal in a toilet queue? 🙂 That sort of surprises you don’t guess. And those always need space. Don’t book fully your calendar. Leave the 30% (at least) space for these sudden wonders to happen.

To me Slush is of course much about the energy and commitment shown by the community, belonging and being part of something bigger than you. That excites and motivates people in all times of history. Slush has managed to grasp that power and is doing great job.

With this general introduction I’ll share a daily story for the next few weeks, of those elements that most shook, or touched me during the extravaganza. Around its grandiosity Slush is also so much about personal small moments. Those are the ones that I love.

Here we go!