VOLUNTEER AT SLUSH
Want to take your first step on your path to becoming a startup founder, operator, or VC? This is your chance to get a first-class ticket behind the scenes of the world’s leading startup event.
Volunteer your way into the unique startup ecosystem and contribute to our so-called Slush Magic. Team Lead applications for 2024 are open until May 12.
THIS IS WHY
VOLUNTEERS COME TO SLUSH
BE A PART OF
A COMMUNITY
& BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
“Year after year I keep wanting to come back because of the love for the strong Slush community.”
FIRST STEP INTO BECOMING
A STARTUP FOUNDER, OPERATOR,
OR A VC
“Being a volunteer at Slush gave me a lot of opportunities inside the startup ecosystem and I actually found my current job at Slush.”
EXPERIENCE
THE WORLD'S LEADING STARTUP EVENT
“It was a once in a lifetime experience to be a part of organizing an event in the scale of Slush.”
PRODUCTION
The Production Team’s core is to guarantee a seamless customer journey throughout one of the world’s most complex event productions for 13,500 visitors. In order to create a 7-star experience for our event visitors, we have partnered up with the coolest production companies and industry professionals in event services, creating moments to remember. But we wouldn’t be anything without the production volunteers, they breathe the Slush Magic alive.
FINANCE
If you’re curious to learn world-class finance skills in a hands-on environment, look no further. Our Finance volunteers 1) help us with crucial day-to-day finance operations, and 2) run the coolest clothing store in Finland — the Slush Store which sells merchandise at the event:
- Our daily finance operations ensure the Slush Magic touches all our visitors. This team ensures our customers don’t only get tickets efficiently, but also receive the stellar customer service Slush is known for. These operations are run by the three Tickets Team Leads.
- The Slush Store is fully operated by a volunteer team, led by the Store Team Lead.
MARKETING & DESIGN
At Slush, the Marketing and Design teams are called Studio Team. Like two peas in a pod, we work closely together to create and curate the external communications and visual identity for Slush, online and off.
Studio volunteers film, photograph, graphic design, write, and publish content to Slush’s social media channels during and after the event with the support of the full-time team. Additionally, we ensure Slush’s stage content is livestreamed to our online audience, and we engage with the Slush community in our DM’s, comment sections, and feeds.
MEDIA & PR
The Media & PR team has two core responsibilities at Slush: attracting the world’s leading media representatives to Slush, creating the best media experience of any event on the planet for them, and building compelling narratives to showcase Slush as an organization to media. Media & PR volunteers make sure all guests in these concepts have a stellar customer experience.
PEOPLE
Slush would not happen without our people — the 1,500 volunteers make the real magic happen. The People Team recruits and trains these curious future builders. On top of this, we organize training events and gatherings for the Slush team and volunteers and make sure the volunteer operations run smoothly from start to finish.
Read more detailed descriptions of Team Lead roles here. Team Lead applications open until May 12.
PARTNERSHIPS
The Partnership Team brings the world’s leading companies, scale-ups, country delegations, and research labs to be involved in Slush activities as partners. Our Partners generate a significant part of income for Slush while bringing relevant and value-adding activities for the founder and investor audiences of the event. Partnerships volunteers make sure all partners have a stellar experience with Slush in each encounter.
PROGRAM
The Program team is at the center of one of Slush’s most visible parts of the event: Speakers and stages. We bring the most iconic founders, investors, operators, and tech executives on stage in order to encourage the next generation of people to build companies. Our content focuses on practical company-building advice – everything that an aspiring or early-stage founder needs to know in order to build a groundbreaking venture. Program team volunteers work closely with our iconic speakers and ensure they have a smooth and superb experience at Slush.
INVESTORS
The Investor team is responsible for attracting the world’s leading venture capital investors to Slush and creating the best investor experience of any event on the planet for them. Investor team volunteers work on the concepts and events offered to the investors visiting Slush and make sure they get excellent customer service in every encounter with Slush. The Investor Team volunteers will have a chance to interact with investors having $3 trillion in assets under management.
STARTUPS
The Startup Team has the exciting responsibility of taking care of our largest core visitor group — the startup CEOs and founders. This is done with concepts like Founders Day, Founder’s Day Experiences, and Startup Booths to mention a few.
The Startup Team is also responsible for the Meeting Area and the overall Meeting Experience that is at the core of Slush. People come to Slush to meet relevant people for their ventures – and we’ve taken it to our heart to execute it to perfection for them. Startup team volunteers make sure all founders are treated like royalty in every encounter they have with Slush.
FEEDBACK
The Feedback Team is responsible for collecting and analyzing main event feedback. This includes both general event feedback and concept-specific feedback. The feedback team is part of Slush’s Research team responsible for data analysis and research collaborations with external stakeholders.
It was my first year and therefore it was total new experience and a lot of impressions. It was perfect! The best thing about being a volunteer was challenging myself and learning new things about the ecosystem. It is a yearly tradition for me to join Slush as a volunteer and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
VOLUNTEER
STORIES
VOLUNTEER
FAQ
What is Slush about?
Slush is a student-driven, not-for-profit movement with the mission to create and help the next generation of groundbreaking entrepreneurs, originally founded to change attitudes toward entrepreneurship. Slush features two days full of stage programs, in addition to several side events, talks at networking sessions, roundtable discussions, and facilitated workshops. Our speaker line-up includes successful founders, top-notch investors, and other startup and tech influencers.
When does Slush take place?
Slush 2024 will take place physically from Nov 20–21, 2024, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Center (Messukeskus).
Where is Slush organized?
Slush is organized in the Helsinki Expo and Convention Center. Address: Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki Helsinki Expo and Convention Center is located just a few kilometers from the Helsinki city center – you’ll be able to arrive at the venue within 15 minutes from all around the city.
What is the number of volunteers this year?
In 2024 the Slush Team will be recruiting approximately 1,500 volunteers in total.
What are the different volunteer roles at Slush?
Team Leads are the link between core team members and volunteers. As a Team Lead, you work as part of the Slush Fall Team, consisting of our full-time team members and Team Leads. Following our value trust by default, you’ll be given autonomy and responsibilities that contribute towards making Slush 2024 the best Slush to date.
Group Leads are responsible for running the core operations during the event days. They are also recruiting and training the volunteers for various different tasks.
Volunteers will be the biggest helping hands during the event days. They will be responsible for helping and executing various different tasks, mostly during Slush week.
What is the process for recruiting volunteers?
Team Leads will be recruited during the Spring. The Team Lead recruitment process is done through group interviews and individual interviews, which our core team conducts.
Group Leads will be recruited during the Fall by the Team Leads.
Volunteers will be recruited by our Group Leads during the Fall.
Is there an age limit to volunteering?
Yes, we don’t recruit under 18 year olds to be volunteers at Slush.
When will the 2024 volunteer application open?
The Team Lead application period is open now until May 12, and the Volunteer & Group Lead applications will open after the summer. To stay informed when that happens, follow us on our social media @slushhq.
What are the workloads for different volunteer positions?
Team Lead position approximate workload during the Fall: 10–20h/week. During Slush Week (week 47 one can expect full working days).
Group Lead position maximum workload during the Fall: 10h/week.
Volunteer position approximate workload during the event week: 20 hours (depending on which team and what kind of tasks they have). Adding to the workload during the event days there will be different kinds of Volunteer activities such as Volunteer Day, Talkoot, Volunteer’s Afterparty, and Venue Tour.
Does Slush cover travel and accommodation costs?
Unfortunately, Slush can’t offer traveling and accommodation costs for volunteers. During previous years some Group Leads and local volunteers have kindly offered their places to international volunteers. Although we can’t guarantee accommodation like this, since we can’t oblige anyone to offer a place to stay.
How should I proceed if I need a visa traveling to Finland?
Slush can help the recruited volunteers with their visa applications by providing them with an invitation letter. Contact [email protected] for this matter. Read more about Finland’s visa policies on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
What are the important dates for volunteers?
The Slush Fall contains tons of fun events. In order to get the most out of your volunteer experience these are the important dates that would require your physical presence in Helsinki.
In 2023 the important dates were be the following:
- 11 Nov – Volunteer Day 10-15
- 27 Nov–1 Dec – Slush week
- 2 Dec – Volunteer Afterparty 21-02:30
2024 dates to be updated later this year.
What are the important dates for group leads?
This exciting position offers training sessions to prepare for the greater responsibilities, which means that Group Leads have a larger time commitment and additional attendance. We will announce these later this year.
How do I contact the Slush team?
You can reach the Slush People Team by email at [email protected].
COME VISIT
Malminkatu 16
00100 Helsinki