# Slush Impact Report Series — Startup Report 2026: Full Reference

**A matched benchmark of 2,108 pre-Series B European startups against 229,866 peers.**

> This document is the complete, plain-text reference for the Slush Startup Report 2026, part of the Slush Impact Report series. It is a superset of the interactive report: it carries every finding, number, definition, population count, and caveat, plus the quarter-by-quarter trajectories and per-cohort sample sizes that sit behind each chart. It is designed to be read by a human or handed to an LLM for analysis or Q&A. Where the interactive report shows a headline, this document also shows the denominator.

---

## Contents

1. What this study is
2. Key numbers at a glance
3. Finding 1: The fundraising premium
4. Finding 2: The cap table premium
5. Finding 3: Growth velocity
6. Who attends Slush
7. Methodology
8. Definitions
9. Appendix: Data notes (population counts behind every figure)
10. Credits

---

## What this study is

Slush is the largest gathering of venture capital in Europe, held in Helsinki each November. The question this report asks is simple: do the startups that attend Slush go on to outperform comparable peers?

To answer it, the study tracked 2,108 European companies that attended Slush for the first time in 2022, 2023, or 2024 (all pre-Series B at attendance and founded 2016 or later) and compared their post-attendance outcomes against 229,866 matched European peers from the same stage, country, and founding vintage. The observation window opens the day after each company's first attendance.

The 2,108 companies are drawn from a paid-ticket universe of 4,501 unique companies across Europe and the US over the 2022–2025 events, de-duplicated to first attendance year per company. Europe-only, 2022–2024 cohorts, founded 2016 or later, and pre-Series B filters reduce that universe to the analysis population.

The study is observational, not causal. Matching controls for founding year, geography, and growth stage. It cannot control for the ambition, network, or fundraising-readiness of the companies that choose to attend. The premium reflects a combination of who attends and what attending does; the data cannot separate the two.

---

## Key numbers at a glance

| Metric | Slush | Peers | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post-event VC fundraising rate | 26.40% | 7.50% | **3.5×** |
| Bootstrapped companies: VC rate | 17.00% | 5.60% | **3.1×** |
| VC-backed companies: follow-on rate | 35.00% | 23.20% | **1.5×** |
| Backed by top-0.1% global VC | 5.60% | 0.80% | **7.0×** |
| Backed by top-1% global VC | 17.30% | 2.80% | **6.1×** |
| Backed by top-2.5% global VC | 24.30% | 4.20% | **5.8×** |
| Backed by top-10% global VC | 36.00% | 7.10% | **5.1×** |
| EU company with US investor | 22.20% | 4.50% | **5×** |
| US company with EU investor | 37.00% | 4.60% | **8×** |
| Median post-event round size (funded) | $3.8M | $1.8M | **2.1×** |
| Stage graduation rate | 13.70% | 5.40% | **2.5×** |
| Headcount growth (companies with data) | 61.10% | 49.40% | **1.2×** |
| Grant / support-program received | 23.80% | 7.10% | **3.4×** |

---

## Finding 1: The fundraising premium

Attendees raised institutional capital at 3.5× the rate of matched European peers: 26.4% against 7.5%. The premium holds in all three cohorts and every region tested.

Among the 48% who arrived without prior backing, the post-event VC rate runs at 3.1× that of bootstrapped peers, a measurable catalyst on the path to first institutional capital.

### Cohort breakdown

| Cohort | Slush n | Slush rate | Benchmark rate | Premium | Observation window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 809 | 32.80% | 7.20% | 4.6× | 3 years post-event |
| 2023 | 667 | 26.80% | 4.90% | 5.5× | 2 years post-event |
| 2024 | 632 | 17.90% | 2.80% | 6.4× | 1 year post-event |
| All cohorts combined | 2,108 | 26.40% | 7.50% | 3.5× | — |

The benchmark is a single shared pool of 227,758 companies observed from November 2022 for the cohort rows, and 229,866 for the all-cohort total. Newer cohorts show higher apparent premiums partly because their benchmark comparison window is shorter; the pool anchored to November 2022 posts lower cumulative rates over shorter windows.

### By starting stage

| Stage at first attendance | Slush n | Slush rate | Benchmark n | Benchmark rate | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bootstrapped (no prior VC) | 1,009 (48%) | 17.00% | 204,925 | 5.60% | 3.1× |
| Already VC-backed | 1,099 (52%) | 35.00% | 24,941 | 23.20% | 1.5× |

In the European benchmark, 89% of companies are bootstrapped; the Slush population is unusually skewed toward already-backed companies. The aggregate 3.5× exceeds either subgroup multiple because of this composition effect (Simpson's paradox): backed companies post higher absolute rates in both populations, and Slush over-represents them.

### Median round size

Among funded companies only: Slush median $3.8M against benchmark $1.8M, a 2.1× premium. Based on n=557 Slush companies and 17,163 benchmark companies with at least one qualifying post-event VC round. Round size is as reported in Dealroom at the time of extraction.

**VC round types counted:** Seed, Angel, Early VC, Series A–H, Growth Equity VC, Late VC, Convertible, Private Placement VC. Grants and debt are excluded. Acquisitions, IPOs, spinouts, and post-IPO rounds are excluded from both sides.

---

## Finding 2: The cap table premium

It is not just whether you raise. It is who you raise from. Attendees are 7.0× more likely than matched European peers to be backed by a top-0.1% global VC, ranked by Dealroom's global investor index. The headline fundraising premium is 3.5×. The fund-quality premium is twice that.

The ratio climbs from 5.1× at the top decile to 7.0× at the top 0.1%; the Slush cohort is concentrated toward the upper end of the VC quality spectrum.

### Investor tier definitions (Dealroom global rank)

Dealroom assigns a global rank to approximately 40,000 investors based on deal activity, portfolio quality, and exits. For each company, the analysis uses the single best investor rank across all qualifying post-attendance rounds.

| Tier | Rank threshold | Slush backed n | Slush rate | Benchmark backed n | Benchmark rate | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 0.1% | ≤ 40 | 118 | 5.60% | 1,817 | 0.80% | 7.0× |
| Top 1% | ≤ 400 | 364 | 17.30% | 6,408 | 2.80% | 6.1× |
| Top 2.5% | ≤ 1,000 | 512 | 24.30% | 9,535 | 4.20% | 5.8× |
| Top 10% | ≤ 4,000 | 759 | 36.00% | 16,200 | 7.10% | 5.1× |

Approximately 24.5% of Dealroom-tracked investors hold a power-law rank. Companies whose cap tables contain only unranked investors are excluded from tier comparisons; their fundraising activity is captured in the overall backing rate but not attributed to any tier.

### Post-event investor acquisition (Slush companies only, n=2,108)

The qualifying round must be dated after first attendance and the investor must be new to the company's cap table.

| Metric | Rate | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Any new investor post-event | 28.90% | New to cap table; all investor types included |
| New top-10% global VC | 12.20% | New to cap table; Dealroom global rank ≤ 4,000 |
| New top-1% global VC | 4.40% | New to cap table; Dealroom global rank ≤ 400 |
| New US investor | 7.00% | New to cap table; investor headquartered in the United States |
| New international (non-European) VC | 10.30% | New to cap table; investor headquartered outside Europe (US, Asia, other) |

### Cross-border investor reach

Slush also attracted roughly 135 US-domiciled companies over the study period; these are excluded from the main 2,108 analysis but tracked separately. The rate is the count divided by the relevant total population.

| Direction | Slush rate | Benchmark rate | Premium | Slush n | Benchmark n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European company + US investor | 22.20% | 4.50% | 5× | 469 | 10,177 |
| US company + European investor | 37.00% | 4.60% | 8× | 50 | 8,580 |

The EU→US row divides each count by the full populations (Slush 2,108, benchmark 229,866). The US→EU row is restricted to US-domiciled companies: the Slush denominator is the ~135 US-domiciled companies in the ticket universe, and the benchmark denominator is Dealroom's global US company dataset (~185,800 companies), not the 229,866 European benchmark used elsewhere. Investor geography is taken from the Dealroom headquarters field.

---

## Finding 3: Growth velocity

### Stage graduation

Attendees advance at least one funding stage at 2.5× the rate of peers: 13.7% of the cohort moved up at least one stage, against 5.4% of peers. Counted transitions: bootstrapped→seed, seed→early VC, and early VC→growth/late, each occurring post-event.

The graduation premium is widest at the bootstrapped layer. Using the 2022 cohort (three full years of post-event data, the most mature reference):

| Stage at attendance | Slush 2022 rate | Benchmark rate | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bootstrapped → first VC round | 20.6% | 5.6% | 3.7× |
| Seed / Angel → Early VC | 23.0% | 11.9% | 1.9× |
| Early VC / Series A → Growth | 10.3% | 5.5% | 1.9× |

The 2023 and 2024 cohorts show higher apparent premiums (4.2× and 5.7× for the bootstrapped layer) because their shorter observation windows produce lower absolute benchmark rates. These are expected to converge as the data matures.

#### Graduation trajectory: Bootstrapped → First VC (cumulative % graduated, by quarter)

Quarters are counted from November 1 of each cohort's attendance year. Milestone columns Q4, Q8, and Q12 correspond to 1, 2, and 3 years post-event. Blank cells mark quarters the cohort has not yet reached at time of extraction.

| Series | n | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 (1yr) | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 (2yr) | Q9 | Q10 | Q11 | Q12 (3yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Slush | 634 | 2.8 | 5.3 | 7.2 | 11.1 | 12.2 | 13.6 | 14.7 | 16.7 | 17.2 | 18.6 | 19.4 | 19.7 |
| 2023 Slush | 550 | 0.9 | 5.0 | 7.4 | 10.5 | 12.7 | 13.0 | 14.9 | 16.1 | 16.7 | — | — | — |
| 2024 Slush | 594 | 2.8 | 6.7 | 8.0 | 10.1 | 12.0 | 13.5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Benchmark | ~294k | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 5.1 |

#### Graduation trajectory: Seed / Angel → Early VC (cumulative % graduated, by quarter)

| Series | n | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 (1yr) | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 (2yr) | Q9 | Q10 | Q11 | Q12 (3yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Slush | 726 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 7.7 | 12.4 | 13.4 | 15.1 | 16.5 | 17.2 | 18.4 | 20.8 | 21.5 | 22.7 |
| 2023 Slush | 506 | 2.3 | 5.7 | 8.0 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 16.1 | 18.7 | 20.1 | — | — |
| 2024 Slush | 477 | 1.5 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 9.5 | 11.3 | 12.4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Benchmark | ~36k | 1.1 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 8.5 | 9.3 | 10.0 | 10.6 | 11.4 |

Note on cohort n's: the quarter-level trajectory series above use the heatmap's own cohort construction (bootstrapped n=634/550/594, seed n=726/506/477; benchmark pools ~294k and ~36k). The summary graduation cut in the appendix uses a tighter pre-Series B construction (bootstrapped n=360/323/326 against a 204,925 benchmark; seed n=418/299/274 against a ~21,309 benchmark). The two are reproduced exactly as they appear in the source; they answer slightly different questions and are not meant to reconcile cell for cell.

### Headcount growth

61.1% of Slush companies with measurable headcount data grew their teams post-event, against 49.4% of peers, a 1.2× premium. Dealroom employee data is available for roughly 70% of companies; only the ~43% with non-zero records at both the start and end of the observation window are included (n=910 Slush, 30,952 benchmark). The signal is directional, not a precise measure.

### Grant / non-dilutive funding

23.8% of Slush companies received a grant or support-program allocation post-event, against 7.1% of peers, a 3.4× premium. At least one government grant, public program, or accelerator allocation recorded after first attendance qualifies; VC equity and debt are excluded. Grants are tracked separately from VC to avoid conflating dilutive and non-dilutive capital. For deep tech, climate, and research-intensive companies, non-dilutive funding typically runs alongside equity, not in place of it.

Across every operational measure (fundraising rate, investor quality, stage progression, headcount growth, and grant allocation) Slush companies outperform the matched benchmark.

---

## Who attends Slush

Statistics describe the 4,501 unique paid-ticket companies across the 2022–2025 events (EU and US), unless noted as the 2,108 analysis population. The analysis population is a subset: Europe-only, first-time attendees in 2022–2024, founded 2016 or later, and pre-Series B at first attendance.

### Stage at first attendance (analysis population, n=2,108)

| Stage | n | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Bootstrapped / no prior VC | 1,009 | 47.9% |
| Seed / Angel | ~630 | ~29.9% |
| Early VC / Series A | ~469 | ~22.2% |

The Early VC / Series A figure of ~469 folds in the ~53 companies (~2.5%) that arrived already at Series B or later. The appendix table below splits these out: ~416 (~19.7%) Early VC / Series A and ~53 (~2.5%) Series B+. Series B+ companies are included in the fundraising and investor-quality analysis but excluded from the graduation heatmaps.

### Company age at first attendance

Median age at first attendance was 2.0 years across all three cohorts; 70.6% were 0–3 years old.

| Cohort | Median age | n |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.0 yrs | 1,076 |
| 2023 | 2.0 yrs | 864 |
| 2024 | 2.0 yrs | 868 |

### Top industries (ticket universe, n=4,501)

| Industry | Share |
|---|---|
| Enterprise SW | 13.2% |
| Fintech | 9.1% |
| AI | 7.1% |
| Health | 7.0% |
| Climate | 4.9% |

### Top countries (ticket universe, n=4,501)

| Country | Share |
|---|---|
| Finland | 28.6% |
| Germany | 14.1% |
| United Kingdom | 13.2% |
| Sweden | 9.5% |
| Estonia | 4.2% |

### Analysis population geography (n=2,108)

| Country | Slush n | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Finland | 544 | 25.8% |
| Germany | 342 | 16.2% |
| United Kingdom | 281 | 13.3% |
| Sweden | 212 | 10.1% |
| Estonia | 102 | 4.8% |
| Norway | 100 | 4.7% |
| Netherlands | 73 | 3.5% |
| Switzerland | 60 | 2.8% |
| Denmark | 57 | 2.7% |
| France | 53 | 2.5% |
| Austria | 40 | 1.9% |
| Belgium | 33 | 1.6% |
| Italy | 32 | 1.5% |
| Lithuania | 27 | 1.3% |
| Spain | 26 | 1.2% |
| Other (23 countries) | 126 | 6.0% |

---

## Methodology

### Matching

The benchmark of 229,866 Dealroom-tracked European companies is matched to the Slush population on founding year, country, and growth stage. For Slush companies, the observation window opens the day after first attendance. For benchmark peers, it covers the equivalent post-2022 period.

### Why 2025 is excluded

Six months of post-event data is not enough to register the rounds that will eventually appear; the measured rate is artificially low. The 2025 cohort enters the analysis in the 2027 edition. This is the first edition of a longitudinal study: the 2022 cohort has three full years of post-event data, and the 2023 and 2024 cohorts will show higher rates as their data matures.

### Benchmark time anchor caveat

For Slush companies, quarters are measured from November 1 of the attendance year: Q4 for the 2022 cohort reaches November 2023; Q4 for the 2023 cohort reaches November 2024. The benchmark is a single pool anchored to November 1, 2022; every benchmark company's Q1–Q12 starts there, regardless of when it was founded or last raised. A 2023 or 2024 Slush cohort row and the benchmark row therefore cover different calendar windows. The design measures relative pace, not performance within a shared calendar period.

### Caveats

- Observational, not causal. The premium reflects a combination of selection and treatment effects that cannot be separated from this data.
- Dealroom coverage is stronger in Western Europe, which dampens both Slush and benchmark figures in Central and Eastern Europe.
- Investor enrichment data is partial. AUM covers 6.5% of investors; the power-law rank covers the top 40,000 funds globally, about 24.5% of tracked investors.
- Survivorship bias applies to both sides. Dealroom under-represents failed companies, which may inflate absolute rates on both sides but should not materially affect the ratios.
- Headcount data is directional. Only ~43% of companies have non-zero employee records at both the start and end of the observation window.

---

## Definitions

**VC rounds counted:** Seed, Angel, Early VC, Series A–H, Growth Equity VC, Late VC, Convertible, Private Placement VC. Grants and support programs are excluded from VC counts and tracked separately. Acquisitions, IPOs, debt, spinouts, and post-IPO rounds are excluded from both.

**Funding stage hierarchy** (Dealroom classification, used throughout the report and the graduation heatmaps):

- **Bootstrapped / No prior VC**—no institutional VC round on record at the time of first Slush attendance. This is a point-in-time classification: a company that raises a Seed round after attending is still counted as bootstrapped at attendance.
- **Seed / Angel**—at least one Seed or Angel round on record at time of first attendance; no Early VC or later stage round yet. The graduation heatmap tracks how many of these companies subsequently reach Early VC.
- **Early VC**—Dealroom's designation for the first institutional lead round, roughly equivalent to a Series A. Covers round types labeled Early VC and Series A. The bootstrapped heatmap panel counts any qualifying VC round (including Seed) as graduation; the Seed/Angel panel uses only Early VC and Series A as the graduation event.
- **Growth / Late VC**—Series B and above, including Growth Equity VC and Late VC round types. Companies already at this stage at first attendance are excluded from the graduation heatmaps but included in all other analyses.

**Investor tier ranking (Dealroom power law):** Dealroom assigns a global rank to approximately 40,000 investors based on deal activity, portfolio quality, and exits. For each company, the analysis uses the *best rank*: the rank of its single highest-ranked investor across all qualifying post-attendance rounds. Tier thresholds are defined as percentages of this ranked universe:

- **Top 0.1%**—rank ≤ 40
- **Top 1%**—rank ≤ 400
- **Top 2.5%**—rank ≤ 1,000
- **Top 10%**—rank ≤ 4,000

Approximately 24.5% of Dealroom-tracked investors hold a power-law rank. Companies whose cap tables contain only unranked investors are excluded from tier comparisons; their fundraising activity is captured in the overall backing rate but not attributed to any tier.

---

## Appendix: Data notes

Population counts for every number, chart, and comparison in this report.

### Study population

| Group | n | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Slush companies (analysis population) | 2,108 | European companies · first attendance 2022, 2023, or 2024 · founded 2016 or later · pre-Series B at first attendance |
| European benchmark | 229,866 | Dealroom-tracked European companies matched on founding year, country, and growth stage |
| Paid-ticket universe (all years, EU + US) | 4,501 | Unique companies with paid tickets across 2022–2025, de-duplicated to first attendance year; before Europe-only, 2016+ founding, and pre-Series B filters |

### Cohort breakdown

| Cohort | Slush n | Benchmark n | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 809 | 227,758 | Window opens 1 Nov 2022 · up to 3 years of post-event data · benchmark is the same shared pool for all three cohorts |
| 2023 | 667 | 227,758 | Window opens 1 Nov 2023 · up to 2 years of post-event data |
| 2024 | 632 | 227,758 | Window opens 1 Nov 2024 · up to 1 year of post-event data |

### The fundraising premium (n behind each figure)

| Chart / metric | Slush n | Benchmark n | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall post-event VC rate (26.40% vs 7.50%) | 2,108 | 229,866 | % raising at least one qualifying VC round after first attendance; grants and debt excluded |
| Bootstrapped at attendance (17.00% vs 5.60%) | 1,009 | 204,925 | No institutional VC round on record before first attendance |
| Already VC-backed at attendance (35.00% vs 23.20%) | 1,099 | 24,941 | At least one VC round on record before first attendance |
| 2022 cohort rate (32.80% vs 7.20%) | 809 | 227,758 | Benchmark uses the shared pool observed from Nov 2022 |
| 2023 cohort rate (26.80% vs 4.90%) | 667 | 227,758 | Benchmark observed from Nov 2022 (see time-anchor caveat) |
| 2024 cohort rate (17.90% vs 2.80%) | 632 | 227,758 | Benchmark observed from Nov 2022 (see time-anchor caveat) |
| Median round size, funded only ($3.8M vs $1.8M) | 557 | 17,163 | Companies with at least one qualifying post-event VC round; round size as reported in Dealroom |

### The cap table premium (backed n behind each tier)

| Chart / metric | Slush backed n | Benchmark backed n | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 0.1% fund (5.60% vs 0.80% · 7.00×) | 118 | 1,817 | At least one investor with Dealroom global rank ≤ 40 |
| Top 1% fund (17.30% vs 2.80% · 6.10×) | 364 | 6,408 | At least one investor with rank ≤ 400 |
| Top 2.5% fund (24.30% vs 4.20% · 5.80×) | 512 | 9,535 | At least one investor with rank ≤ 1,000 |
| Top 10% fund (36.00% vs 7.10% · 5.10×) | 759 | 16,200 | At least one investor with rank ≤ 4,000 |

Post-event investor acquisition (Slush companies only, n=2,108): Any new investor 28.90%; new top-10% VC 12.20%; new top-1% VC 4.40%; new US investor 7.00%; new international (non-European) VC 10.3%.

Cross-border investor reach: European company with US investor: Slush 469, benchmark 10,177 (22.20% vs 4.50%). US company with European investor: Slush 50, benchmark 8,580 (37.00% vs 4.60%). The US→EU benchmark denominator is Dealroom's global US dataset (~185,800 companies), not the 229,866 European benchmark.

### Growth velocity (n behind each figure)

| Chart / metric | Slush n | Benchmark n | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage graduation, any transition (13.70% vs 5.40%) | 2,108 | 229,866 | % advancing at least one funding stage post-event |
| Headcount growth (61.10% vs 49.40%) | 910 | 30,952 | Non-zero employee counts at both ends of the window; net positive change |
| Grant / support-program received (23.80% vs 7.10%) | 2,108 | 229,866 | At least one grant, public program, or accelerator allocation post-event |

### Graduation heatmap: Bootstrapped → First VC

| Cohort | Slush n | Benchmark n | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 360 | 204,925 | No prior VC at first attendance; graduated = first qualifying VC round post-event; quarters from 1 Nov 2022 |
| 2023 | 323 | 204,925 | Same scope; quarters from 1 Nov 2023; benchmark anchored to Nov 2022 (calendar windows differ) |
| 2024 | 326 | 204,925 | Same scope; quarters from 1 Nov 2024; benchmark anchored to Nov 2022 (calendar windows differ) |

### Graduation heatmap: Seed / Angel → Early VC

| Cohort | Slush n | Benchmark n | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 418 | ~21,309 | Seed or Angel at first attendance; graduated = first Early VC or Series A post-event; quarters from 1 Nov 2022; benchmark n back-calculated from quarterly rates |
| 2023 | 299 | ~21,309 | Same scope; quarters from 1 Nov 2023; benchmark pool anchored to Nov 2022 |
| 2024 | 274 | ~21,309 | Same scope; quarters from 1 Nov 2024; benchmark pool anchored to Nov 2022 |

(The quarter-by-quarter trajectories that accompany these heatmaps are tabulated in Finding 3, using the heatmap's own cohort n's of 634/550/594 and 726/506/477 against ~294k and ~36k benchmark pools.)

### Match quality

| Match method | n | % of universe | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exact company name | 2,904 | 64.5% | Slush ticket name matches Dealroom name exactly (case-normalised) |
| Website domain | 478 | 10.6% | Domain from Slush website field matched against Dealroom website field |
| Dealroom URL | 37 | 0.8% | Ticket data contained an explicit Dealroom profile URL |
| Fuzzy name (confirmed) | 26 | 0.6% | High-similarity fuzzy match, manually reviewed and confirmed |
| No match | 1,044 | 23.2% | No Dealroom record found; excluded from all benchmark comparisons |

Overall match rate: 76.8%.

### Population exclusion log

| Filter step | Remaining n | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paid-ticket universe (all years, EU + US) | 4,501 | Unique companies, de-duplicated to earliest attendance |
| After Dealroom match | 3,457 | 76.8% match rate; 1,044 unmatched companies excluded |
| Europe-only filter | ~3,320 | ~135 US-domiciled companies removed (tracked separately in cross-border analysis) |
| Founding year ≥ 2016 | ~2,980 | Older companies are over-represented in the matched European universe |
| Pre-Series B at first attendance | ~2,780 | Series B+ companies excluded from stage-progression comparisons only |
| 2022–2024 cohorts only (exclude 2025) | **2,108** | 2025 dropped for insufficient observation window (~6 months); enters in the 2027 edition |

### Funding stage at first attendance (analysis population)

| Stage at first attendance | Slush n | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| No prior VC (Bootstrapped) | 1,009 | 47.9% | No institutional VC round before attendance; point-in-time classification |
| Seed / Angel | ~630 | ~29.9% | At least one Seed or Angel round; no Early VC or later yet |
| Early VC / Series A | ~416 | ~19.7% | At least one Early VC or Series A round at attendance |
| Series B+ (breakout) | ~53 | ~2.5% | In fundraising and investor-quality analysis; excluded from graduation heatmaps |

### Data sources & extraction dates

| Dataset | Extracted | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dealroom company data (funding rounds, stage, geography, headcount) | 23 Apr 2025 | Full European company export; all round types and dates up to extraction |
| Dealroom investor data (global rank, AUM, geography) | 6 May 2026 | Investor-level export for power-law tiers; ~40,000 ranked investors |
| Slush ticket data (attendance year, company name, website) | Provided by Slush | Paid-ticket records for 2022–2025, de-duplicated to first attendance year |

---

## Credits

**Author:** Pietari Virkkunen, Researcher, Slush  
**Contributors:** Santtu Vaalamo (CGO, Slush), Nelli Sillanpää (Head of Media & PR, Slush)  
**Data:** Slush × Dealroom  
**Published:** May 2026

Full interactive report: [slush.org](https://slush.org)