Last week’s highlight: Neo4j Founder Emil Eifrem with Inovia Capital's Patrick Pichette (first photo, credit: Julius Konttinen) on stage at Slush on why building and scaling a generational company over decades requires that “You have to stay a founder no matter what” or where in your journey. “Continue to push for product-market fit today, yet don’t forget the 30% in pushing for tomorrow,” said Patrick. Getting it right is about first principles thinking and vision, but also grit, humility, and people with you whose skills and motivation will go the distance to solve the hard problems together.
Talks I loved most were not the brag stories, but those founders who shared what their journeys meant personally for failure and success. Among many were Olivier Pomel with ICONIQ Capital’s Matthew Jacobson on how Datadog “had to perceive ourselves differently than many Silicon Valley companies with great connections”; Signal Messenger’s Meredith Whittaker with Fortune’s Emma Hinchliffe on why we need to rethink incentives and innovation models to solve growing societal problems; and honest founder takes from Oyster®’s Jack Mardack and The Upright Project's Annu Nieminen with Sifted’s Amy Lewin. Equally inspiring was the new generation of founders encapsulated by #Slush100 finalists Cormac Chisholm, Dora Jambor, and Nima Salami, who pitched their hearts out on the reason to believe in their what, why & how. Worthy advice too from its jury of Juliet Bailin, Filip Felician Dames, Cal Henderson, and Jochen Engert. “Fundamental is the importance of storytelling in your pitch, and how the hero’s journey will change the future," said Juliet. Where do you want to spend the most time educating the market? People need to get excited from the beginning." Bingo.
Slush's community is 100% about helping each other support, guide, champion, succeed, and win together. You felt it in Slush curators Niina Niskanen, Julius Thimm & the event’s 262 volunteers; Slush speaker buddies like Elis Hodzic and Niklas Jalonen, whose backgrounds impress in their own right; folks like Inovia's Isabelle Audette, OpenAI’s Laura Modiano, Scopely’s Vanessa Karanja (who is also the best person to share a cab with), Creandum’s Nick Wilkins, Titlehouse’s Toralf Feuchtenhofer, and Slush’s 13K attendees.
This backstage photo features (left to right) Emil, Patrick, Neo4j's Charles Dolan, Niina, Elis, myself, & Niklas. An inspiring week. Kippis kaikille!
