Slush10 was another awesome event for the startup scene in Helsinki, with lots of amazing guest speakers, thought provoking keynotes and, of course, Angry Birds!

For me the highlight of the event was the talk from Mårten Mickos, the CEO for MySQL before it was sold to Sun. He gave a really straightforward and honest view that to be a successful entrepreneur you need to understand demographics, focus and seek out the big opportunities. The real insight was that first time CEOs make it big precisely because they are naïve and are not necessary prepared to trust experience around them - they go for what they believe in and act accordingly.

I had great conversations with Ville Miettinen, Mikko Alasaarela, Mårten Mickos, Chris Barchak and many, many others during the two days of the event. We picked up a few more customers and I think we had our fair share of compliments on how HammerKit is shaping up. More importantly, we struck a few deals and entered into new business relationships that I know are going to really help us and our new business partners - all in all, a pretty fun time.

Congrats to Peter, Timo and the rest of the Slush team for pulling off the event. In his role as Mighty Eagle, Peter has had a lot on his plate - I have no idea where he gets the energy from ;)

So, if you did not get into the Slush in '10, make sure you do in '11 - there is no other event like it on the calendar!

Image Credit:  Some rights reserved by Chiva Congelado