Leading European tech startup event comes to Cornwall

Software Cornwall is proud to announce that Cornwall will host one of Europe’s most distinguished tech startup events this September, bringing together founders, business leaders and investors within the software and tech ecosystem from across the south-west region. 

Slush began as a meetup of 250 people with a pitch competition in Helsinki in 2008 and quickly grew to an attendee size of 25,000+ within 10 years, making it one of the leading tech startup events on the planet. 

Keen to keep their grass-roots connections and serve more founders, Slush invites local communities to pitch to host a ‘Slush’d’ event in their area. In a competitive pitch process, Software Cornwall won the opportunity to bring Slush to the UK for the first time in collaboration with Liverpool, with the two regions hosting a Slush’d event on the same day in a Reading and Leeds Festival style event. Host locations were selected from hundreds of applications based on their merit as emerging ecosystems and places traditionally overlooked by investors or government policy but which show incredible promise. 

This event marks a significant development for Software Cornwall which has been serving the local tech community since 2014 through a diverse range of activities including an extensive events schedule featuring quarterly ‘Tech Connect’ conferences and the one-of-a-kind Agile on the Beach conference, an extensive training and upskilling programme and an award-winning education outreach and work experience programme. 

Startup Cornwall, powered by Slush’d reflects Software Cornwall’s ongoing commitment to driving positive social change by empowering the Cornish tech community. The event has 3 main objectives: 

• The tech sector as a means of regeneration/levelling up in the south west

• Equipping our founders to think globally and win in global markets

• Cornwall as a global tech community attracting startups, digital nomads and investors

Holly Patton, Director of Software Cornwall said “After attending Slush in Helsinki last year and experiencing the gravitas of what it could do for founders, I knew we couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to bring it to Cornwall to support our local tech entrepreneurs. We work hard to serve Cornwall’s software and tech communities by tackling their pain points such as helping them attract and upskill talent. By bringing Slush to Cornwall, we aim to leverage our partnerships and create new connections that will collectively serve this growing community and help create sustainable businesses in this high-growth area that will ultimately help level up Cornwall.”

Niki Davies, Director of Software Cornwall adds “There’s a huge buzz of excitement around this event with tickets already selling fast. We’re keen to invite budding entrepreneurs or existing founders with new innovations within the software, tech and digital communities who are seeking investment to pitch their idea. The application to pitch is live on the event website and closes on Friday 11th August. There’s an exciting prize up for grabs that will be announced very soon.”

Startup Cornwall, powered by Slush’d will be held on Thursday 14th September 2023 at Sailors Nightclub, Newquay and will feature inspiring talks and lively panel discussions from entrepreneurs, a competitive pitch competition to investors, opportunities to connect with founders and the Cornish tech community, as well as the notorious Slush’d afterparty. 

Tickets are available now via the official event website www.startupcornwall.co.uk. Founders and budding entrepreneurs can apply to pitch their startup to investors using the application form on the website. The closing date for applications is 9am Friday 11am August 2023. The event also offers a range of sponsorship and exhibition packages. To find out more about sponsoring, contact info@softwarecornwall.org.