The journey began in August 2022 when Roald, as a member of the student organization AFT, engaged with AaltoES and Slush. Intrigued by the opportunity to host a Slush’D event, he submitted an application on behalf of AFT. The original idea was to transform an existing AFT event into a startup job fair tailored for 200-300 students. Emma, Arthur, and Nathan tagged along in refining the pitch and concept, leading to our successful acquisition of a license to host a Slush’D event in 2023.
However, the initial months from September to November 2022 were primarily spent brainstorming and negotiating a potential collaboration with the and& connect festival. The plan: let’s host the first Slush’D in Belgium in May 2023!
One of our initial slides in the pitch to Slush.
Due to a lack of whiteboards, we had to be creative 😅
As the concept was refined and discussions expanded, it became apparent that there was potential for growth beyond the initial scope. Recognizing the need to attract both students and founders from early-stage startups, the team identified that a traditional job fair format would not suffice. Startups, typically constrained by budget, would be unlikely to afford a spot, while scale-ups might only send their HR representatives. To better serve the startup community, the event's value proposition was tailored to be founder-first, necessitating the involvement of investors. However, attracting investors required a significant startup presence, prompting a reevaluation of the event's scale.
Negotiations with and& connect faltered, and by December 2022/January 2023, it was clear the event needed to double in size. In the process of scouting venues in Leuven and further planning, the to-do list grew exponentially, revealing a need for additional preparation time. Consequently, the decision was made to postpone the event to October 2023, allowing for the finalization of the concept and the recruitment of a new team dedicated to this expanded vision.
No more time for kids play 👶,
Slush’D is coming to town!
The phrase "turbo turbo" aptly describes the period from May to October. Expanding the team from four to twenty members within just 1.5 to 2 months presented its own set of challenges. The adage "building the plane while flying" resonates with the frantic pace and nature of the work undertaken. The journey involved evolving from vague concepts to securing major partnerships, attracting world-class speakers, marketing the event to the entire Belgian startup ecosystem, and developing the necessary team infrastructure to support these endeavours.
Time to turbo turbo,
with the most fantastic team!
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THE NUMBERS
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoOZ2ZRwbzE&t=20s&ab_channel=LeuvenSlush'D