Funding strategy
Do you need external capital, what kind, and how does funding fit into your company’s strategy?
INVESTOR READY · EDITION 01
Road to Slush.
We are not going to Helsinki just to “attend a conference”. We prepare startups for meaningful conversations with investors, customers and partners — before Slush, during the event and after returning home.
SLUSH 2026
18–19 November
LOCATION
Helsinki, Finland
WHY ROAD TO SLUSH?
Two days in Helsinki start weeks before the event.
Slush brings together investors, founders, technology companies and potential business partners. But simply being there does not automatically lead to valuable conversations.
Road to Slush turns a conference trip into a structured business project. Each startup defines who it wants to meet, why those people matter, what outcome it wants to achieve and what should happen after the first conversation.
This is the first edition of Investor Ready — the Gdańsk Bay Tech pathway combining investor preparation with participation in international missions.
SLUSH 2026
Helsinki
One of Europe’s major meeting points for startups and venture capital.
12K+
participants
3.3K
investors
25K+
meetings during the event
ROAD TO SLUSH
We do not start with a flight to Helsinki.
We start by defining what the startup actually needs and who it should really be talking to.
01
Does your startup really need VC?
VC, bootstrapping, angel investment, grants or corporate venture?
We look at different funding paths and assess whether fundraising
is the right next step for the company at its current stage.
02
Road to Slush Kickoff
We define the mission objectives and the profiles of investors,
customers and partners to target. We also work on research,
matchmaking, meeting schedules and preparation before the event.
03
Access Day
A checkpoint before Slush. Conversations with investors,
large companies, founders and experts help validate
the pitch, target list, mission objectives and follow-up plan.
04
1:1 consultations
Final review of the pitch and messaging, investor and partner lists,
meetings already scheduled and any remaining gaps.
Each startup defines measurable objectives for the mission.
05
Slush
Time to execute the plan: conversations with the right people,
structured documentation of contacts and clear next steps
agreed during the event.
06
Debrief & report back
We review what worked, the objectives achieved,
the most important contacts and what the team learned
about investors and the market. Each startup leaves
with a short action plan for the following weeks.
07
1:1 follow-up
We return to the actual outcomes: second meetings,
investment processes, pilots, partnerships and customers.
If further support is needed, One Stop Shop can help
identify the next pathway.
29.10
GDAŃSK BAY TECH ACCESS DAY · STARTER GDAŃSK
FINAL PUBLIC CHECKPOINT
Testing readiness before Helsinki.
Access Day connects startups with investors, large companies, founders and experts. For Road to Slush teams, it is a moment to validate their profile, pitch, meeting list, mission objectives and follow-up plan before Helsinki.
WHAT WE WORK ON
More than a pitch deck.
Investor fit
Which funds, investors, corporates and business partners actually match your startup?
Pitch & messaging
How do you explain clearly, in a short conversation, what you are building, for whom and why now?
Target list
Who should you identify before Slush and which meetings should you try to arrange before arriving in Helsinki?
Meeting strategy
How do you build your schedule, use matchmaking tools and prioritise the conversations that matter most?
Follow-up
How do you turn a first conversation into another meeting, a pilot, a partnership or an investment process?
MISSION OBJECTIVES
We go for concrete outcomes.
Before the mission, every team defines its own KPIs, adapted to the company’s stage and objectives for Slush.
01
meetings scheduled in advance with relevant people
02
conversations with investors matching the startup’s profile
03
meetings with potential customers and business partners
04
contacts leading to a second meeting
05
concrete follow-ups agreed during the event
06
market and investor feedback supporting the startup’s future fundraising strategy
WHO IS IT FOR?
For startups ready to work before the mission — not only during it.
ROAD TO SLUSH · RECRUITMENT
Want to arrive in Helsinki with a real plan?
Recruitment for the first Investor Ready: Road to Slush pathway will open soon. Participation in the international mission will be available to startups selected through the qualification process.
APPLICATIONS OPENING SOON
The application will ask about your startup, its current stage of development, your funding and business needs, and what you want to achieve during Slush.
Road to Slush is the first Investor Ready pathway delivered within Gdańsk Bay Tech. The detailed scope, schedule and participation conditions will be provided to selected participants.