Global start-ups make their pitch at Finland’s Slush

The event hosts pitching competitions, growth stage start-ups, investor matchmaking and even job postings.

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A device that enables doctors to remotely monitor the heart rate and body temperature of patients round-the-clock, an app that aims to certify e-buyers and e-sellers as authentic, an imagery browser to filter real-time data by location and cloud coverage and an application that automates the collection and secures the distribution of sensitive personal data for groups, effectively rendering the use of paper unnecessary.

These were among dozens of ideas that start-ups from 25 countries showcased at this year’s edition of Slush, touted as Europe’s biggest tech start-up event, in Finland’s capital. Held in a laser-lit hall that resembled an aircraft hanger, the not-for-profit event is organised by a community of entrepreneurs, investors, students and music festival managers and backed by the founders of Nordic tech success stories that include Rovio, Supercell and MySQL.

The event hosts pitching competitions, growth stage start-ups, investor matchmaking and even job postings.

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What began as a tech get together of 250 people in 2008 has now transformed into an elaborate two-day gathering attended by over 1,300 companies and 15,000 people. Other than the conference/talk zones which were completely packed, the areas that saw big queues were the stalls offering a peek into virtual reality and augmented reality devices along with cameras — especially the ones from Samsung and Nokia.

The main event at Slush was the selection of the winner of Slush 100 — a competition where a 100 start-ups had been handpicked by top European investors. Among the ones that had been selected for the finals – Astro Digital from USA, PlugSurfing from Germany and CareMonkey from Australia.

The former allows users to stream imagery from their app from where people can monitor construction, track land management or even calculate flood damage — in real time. The Plugsurfing app allows users to locate charging points for their electric vehicles and pay operators without delving into the numerous contracts that are required at present. For now, the app is operational only in Germany and Netherlands.

However, it was Caremonkey that bagged the top prize of a €6,50,000 investment by Evli Bank, FiBAN business angels and a group of private investors. Founded in 2011, the team aims to automate the collection and secure distribution of sensitive personal data for groups.

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The start-up claims that they save time for organisations and families by allowing them to share sensitive information in a secure and private manner, without the burden and security issues related to paper.

While the atmosphere at Slush was electric with the general vocabulary awash with words such as ‘next unicorn’, ‘scalability’ and ‘funding’, the underlying idea buttressed Helsinki’s emergence as a hub for fostering the start-up culture.