Cornwall is set to 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. 

Software Cornwall, the hub that connects, promotes, represents, and supports Cornwall’s digital tech community, is excited to be welcoming the conference to its region on Thursday 14 September. You can sign up here now to get involved.

And if you’d like to take part in the event, there is one day left to submit your pitch! Founders and budding entrepreneurs can apply to pitch to investors here by 9:00am tomorrow.

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.

Bringing Slush to Cornwall

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. 

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 is a global tech community attracting startups, digital nomads and investors

“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,” says Holly Patton, Director of Software Cornwall.

“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.”

Startup Cornwall, powered by Slush’d, will be held on Thursday 14 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 here. 

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