ArcticStartup, the Helsinki-based news blog covering breaking startup news from the Nordics and Baltics, has announced over 20 international speakers attending its conference, Arctic15: Exit Path.
Among these include Trip Hawkins, Founder of Electronic Arts and Digital Chocolate, Justin Waldron, Zynga co-founder and Rami Ismael, Co-Founder of Indie Game Studio Vlambeer.
With key partners Nokia and Tekes, the event will pull in an estimated 600 entrepreneurs, investors, corporate M&A advisors and media into the Telakka event venue in Helsinki on May 27th and 28th.
Hard talk
Rather than a celebration of startup companies, Arctic15: Exit Path is focusing on providing real business value to attendees through practical talks and key networking sessions.
Over the two days the conference will cover the funding, scaling, and exiting challenges that entrepreneurs and investors face.
"As tech writers we love a narrative, which is why we're leading our attendees through every stage of a startup's lifecycle - from forming a team, getting that first funding, scaling, and then the exit," says Dmitri Sarle, CEO at ArcticStartup.
In terms of investors Arctic15: Exit Path has rounded up $35 billion of investor capital, including names like DFJ Esprit, Balderton Capital, Accel Partners, Highland Capital, T-Ventures, BDMI Fund, Sunstone Capital, Wellington Partners, Creandum, Butterfly Ventures, OpenOcean Capital, Inventure, Conor, Lifeline Ventures, Techstars, Wayra and many more.
Gaming it
It's impossible to talk about startups in Finland and the Nordics without pointing to the booming gaming industry, so Arctic15 will be featuring a gaming track with speakers and a separate Indie Games Panel, featuring Frogmind, Neogames, Theory Interactive, Vlambeer and Cornfox & Bros.
Arctic15: Exit Path will additionally have a small focus on acquisitions and IPOs of startup companies supported by a pre-conference workshop for business angels and entrepreneurs by Dr. Basil Peters, author of Early Exits.
At the event. corporations will be up on stage 'reverse pitching' to entrepreneurs in order to build ties for partnerships or acquisitions. Successful exits, like acquisitions, are the lifeblood of the startup ecosystem by giving investors return on their investment.
