Helsinki in December? Discovering Finland’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
About the author: Isabelle Foster is currently a second-year graduate student at Stanford University in the Ford Dorsey’s Masters in International Policy (MIP) concentrating in Governance and Democracy. She spent the fall quarter (2018) studying in Vienna as part of the Stanford-Vienna exchange program coordinated by the MIP program.
Fog. Music. And… Saunas?
It is not what you expect a typical conference to look like. But then again, Slush is not your average event. Run by students and held in Helsinki in the heart of the winter, thousands of people flocked to the city for the annual Slush conference on entrepreneurship. This December, the event attracted over 20,000 people, nearly enough to populate a small city itself.
Combining policy, business, and sustainability, the Slush conference is a force to be reckoned with. Organized by students from Finland and run by student volunteers from around the world, the event was infused with an edgy and bold attitude that only college-aged young adults would dare to bring.
And it worked.
In attendance were some of the most well-known companies from Microsoft to Google, PwC to Eventbrite. Investors, entrepreneurs, technology companies, and governments themselves were represented at the event. The annual Slush conferences only debuted in 2015, yet they have had incredible success in garnering the attention of the global entrepreneurial community. This year, people from over 130 countries attended, including more than 3,100 start-ups and 1,8000 investors.
As a student at Stanford, my perspective on entrepreneurship has been flavored by Silicon Valley and the United States ecosystem. However, experiencing the European entrepreneurial scene was fascinating. Unlike those of the Bay Area, many of the voices at the conference were from places like Latvia, Sweden, and countries in Central Europe. Each of these regions face a different business environment, consumer market, and set of government policies — all of which fundamentally shape the local business context.
As a student in the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy (MIP) at Stanford, learning more about the policy side of entrepreneurship has been fascinating. This past year, I have spent time investigating the link between entrepreneurship and international development, focusing on Paraguay specifically, I conducted interviews with both entrepreneurs and government workers in the country. This fall, I was eager to continue my research on entrepreneurship by learning more about different cultural contexts and how they influence their respective business environment. Having this awareness is undoubtedly useful for understanding the global — and increasingly interconnected — ecosystem.
While at the conference, there were several government delegations, often lead by the local ministries or departments from the areas of trade, business, and economics, hosting booths. It was fascinating to talk with these representatives and hear about each government’s progress in fostering innovation. Programs varied from the creation of federal-level accelerators to offering special visas to attract entrepreneurs. In particular, learning about government investment was quite fascinating. I had the chance to speak with someone from Tesi, the state-owned private-equity branch of the Finnish government. Financing is often one of the most critical components of entrepreneurship, and having the proper financial resources in place for new companies is necessary. Therefore, seeing how Finland expects its investments in start-ups to have at-market returns, or returns at the same rate as private invests expect. Learning this was quite interesting, especially considering that many other government funding agencies will accept discounted rates of return, assuming that they will have to shoulder more risk when investing in startups. Tesi has also built partnerships and jointly invests with private funders to stimulate the local economy and build a more sustainable funding ecosystem.
Although there were different methods used to support and attract entrepreneurs across countries, there still existed a shared energy and enthusiasm that each government had for increasing their country’s entrepreneurial drive. Much like the Bay Area recognizes the potential that entrepreneurs can bring to the region, many European countries have invested considerable resources to scale the growth of these businesses. After speaking with several startups from various countries, I found that many of them were able to attend due to government sponsorships. And much like the Bay Area, there was a common energy among the entrepreneurs present. It was the feeling that almost anything is possible and that collaboration is key for scaling impact.
At the same time, it was also interesting to witness the presence of non-governmental organizations at the conference. In particular, the United Nations Technology Innovation Labs (UNTIL) was there, promoting its work in using emerging technologies to help tackle some of the world’s global challenges. This agency is trying to harness the innovative spirit that many startups have for creating technologies that could help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Each United Nations (UN) member country has been offered the opportunity to host a special innovation hub where they can focus on making progress towards a specific SDG. At the same time, UNTIL also works with players and organizations at both the regional and local level, such as specific companies or municipalities. Additionally, multinational organizations were also present, such as the European Space Agency (ESA), which showcased its Business Incubation Centers to help space-related technologies and startups. Speaking with selected space entrepreneurs demonstrated that these countries are thinking not just globally but also interplanetary in terms of economic opportunities and development.
Overall, this trip was one of the highlights during my time in Europe. Seeing the role that governments play in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship — both at a regional and national level — was incredibly informative. This experience will undoubtedly shape how I view the global business and startup ecosystem and has provided me with a useful perspective as I consider how I can work in this space in the future.
