The winner of the Slush 100 Pitching Competition 2022 will receive a €1M investment from Accel, General Catalyst, Lightspeed, NEA, and Northzone.

The Slush 100 Pitching Competition is the crown jewel of Slush, for pretty good reason.

However, Slush 100 at Slush 2022 is a total reconstruction of the pitching competition you’ve come to know and love, just monumentally better.

Here’s why:

• Up for grabs is €1,000,000 SAFE investment from 5 of the biggest VCs in the world: Accel, General Catalyst, Lightspeed, NEA, and Northzone.
• These VCs don’t invest traditionally in early-stage startups together: this is the first time the world’s seen these 5 collaborate in this kind of project.
• VC partners from each fund will be involved in every step of the Slush 100 journey. For winners of the competition, this transforms into 1-to-1 mentorship from partners in every fund involved.

With multiple companies  going on to achieve a valuation of over €100M after winning Slush 100, the competition has historically given early-stage startups the chance to get international visibility and support from onstage to the business world.

This year, though, we’re looking bigger.

So, who can apply?

Any startup founded in 2019 or later, with <€500k in previous equity funding can apply. Each startup should have one founder for all three pitches, both for online pre-qualifications and in Helsinki on Nov 16–18.

Applications to join Slush 100 have closed.

Here are the key dates and information you need to know to compete in Slush 100:

Oct 7

Deadline to register

You’ll need to apply to Slush 100 by Oct 7. Slush will process all the applications and from there we’ll select the 100 applicants that will compete in Slush 100.

Oct 14

Top 100 applicants accepted, instructions sent

The accepted applicants will be contacted a week later on Oct 14 and from there you’ll be sent instructions to create a 3-minute pitch video.

Oct 25

Deadline to submit pitch videos

All pitch videos will be evaluated by our panel of VC partners, acting as a jury in finding the 20 best pitches.

Nov 4

Top 20 pitch videos chosen

At this stage, the top 20 pitch videos have been selected by the VCs and contacted by us. If you’ve been selected, start preparing to go onstage at Slush 2022: you’re now going to the semifinals.

Nov 16

Slush 100 dinner for semifinalists

The top 20 startups selected for Slush 100 are invited to dinner with Slush 100’s VC partners. The best dinner date you’ve been on, we can assure you.

Nov 17

Semifinals on the Startup Studio stage at Slush 2022

On the Startup Studio stage on Day 1 of Slush, you’ll be sharing your pitch to our VC panel in-person. After your pitch, you’ll be asked a range of questions about your startup.

In the evening of Day 1 at Slush, we’ll be letting the top 3 startup pitches at Slush 100 know who will go through to the grand finals.

Nov 18

Slush 100 grand finals on the main stage, with winner announced as the grand finale.

The grand finals of Slush 100 happen on the main stage, where 3 startups with the best pitches will present to the whole Slush audience, made up of a mere 12,000 people.

Our VC partners on Slush 100 in 2022:

“Now entering our third decade on the ground in Europe, we’ve seen what was a nascent tech ecosystem evolve into a thriving community that has produced a wealth of global success stories. Since its inaugural event in 2008, Slush has become a core part of the European tech ecosystem and consistently brings together the most impressive startups and exceptional entrepreneurs under one roof. We’re delighted to be partnering with the team on the Slush 100 competition and look forward to meeting the next generation of founders”, says Harry Nelis, Partner at Accel.

“At General Catalyst, we have a 20-year history of partnering with ambitious founders to build enduring companies across sectors. This is what the Slush 100 Pitching Competition is about – discovering company builders in their earliest stages, that are focused on new themes and industries ripe for change. As judges, Juliet Bailin and I are looking forward to hearing from 100s of founders from all over the world. See you at Slush”, says Adam Valkin, Managing Director at General Catalyst.

“Slush is always an incredible talent magnet for some of the most ambitious founders in Europe. At the same time, they are helping to lead the way in terms of democratizing access to the startup and venture capital ecosystem”, describes Paul Murphy, Partner at Lightspeed.

“The extraordinary potential of Europe’s startup ecosystem has captured NEA’s attention for many years, and today the region commands more of our capital than ever before. We are excited to deepen our engagement in Europe as the tech ecosystem continues to mature and evolve. We are proud to participate in the €1M investment in the Slush 100 Pitching Competition, and that’s just one signal of our commitment to accelerating innovation in this vibrant, rapidly growing market”, says Rick Yang, Partner at NEA.

Jessica Schultz, Partner at Northzone, a global fund with European roots, agrees: “For the past decade, we’ve been collaborating with Slush on a shared vision: to make Europe a global powerhouse in tech. We believe category-defining leaders are part of this booming, dynamic and resilient ecosystem and we can’t wait to welcome a new portfolio company to the Northzone family!”

From Yousician to Hormona, Slush has put early-stage startups in front of the whole ecosystem and given them the best space to flourish. Find out how Slush 100 has impacted our previous winners here.