Finland is cold, dark and rather far away from the rest of the world. Yet, for Arctic15, we want to have the world’s best speakers and we will tell you exactly how we do it.
We feel that sharing this is not only good to help people understand what it takes, but it also explains the process that you could use to really get a hold of anyone you want. Be it an investor, a speaker, a corporate partner or a new employee. Anyone.
But first, please add the event to your calendar and check out our tickets, as the prices are going up this Wednesday at 12:00 EEST. Why spend more when you can spend less?
So, coming back to our speakers. We managed to get a group that we are very proud of. A man with a vision for a trillion dollar idea. Someone representing the makers of Breaking Bad, Grey’s Anatomy and House. Founders of Klarna, Prezi, Powerkiss. Partners of Y-Combinator, 500 Startups, Techstars, Startupbootcamp and much more. For a full list check out the website and find out more about the latest speakers below.
The question remains, how did we do it and how can you use the same approach to reach the people you want?
Ask Them
Perhaps the easiest and simplest way is to just stop being afraid and go ahead and ask them. Last year, we invited Trip Hawkins, the founder of EA with a completely cold e-mail. He said yes.
Seriously, just leave all you fears out of it and reach out to the people you need. There are many ways to do it: E-Mail, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Events and more. If you are really desperate, send them a message to all social networks and an e-mail at the same time.
Find Out Exactly Who They Are
In order to get someone’s attention, it helps to be more interesting than the rest of the people contacting them. So what do you do? Research.
Try to find out what their hobbies are, what type of people they like meeting, which countries they have visited, talks they have done, books they have published. Everything. Then link it to what you do and send a better invitation.
Network With & Around Them
Of course it is best that when you do invite somebody, that they know exactly who you are. There is no better way of doing that than meeting them personally. At Arctic15, you will be able to meet all the speakers one-on-one, as they will make themselves available after the talks, grab that opportunity.
This extends to going to events where they are or even where there is many people they know. LinkedIn is a great tool here.
Warm Introductions
As with any other networking advice, warm introductions go a long way. Check your networks for the connection. Chances are that there is someone who knows someone, who knows the person you want to reach. Ask them for an e-mail introduction.
We have been helping each other for example with the Challengers event in Spain, they gave us some warm introductions and we helped them with some Nordic speakers too.
Design Attractive Features. Just For Them
Everybody is interested in something. Some people want to meet high profile people in Helsinki, others want to be introduced to the startups nobody knows yet, and some are looking for an unforgettable experience.
Last year, as a part of this, we invited some of our speakers to come with us to Svalbard – the worlds most northern point on earth with a permanent population. Not many people have been there and a promise to show them this Arctic land – got them excited. We have also done many other custom things: private meetings with top entrepreneurs, warm introductions, helping their businesses in other ways and more.
In summary, the key point is not to be afraid and to do everything that it takes to reach out to the people you want. That will help you in life, business and perhaps in running events. Just check out the second batch of speakers we have prepared for you and do not forget to get the EUR 249 Ticket before Wednesday at 12:00 EEST, as it will be going up to EUR 275.
So without further adieu, here is the second batch of speakers that we are announcing for Arctic15:
Aubrey De Grey / Trillion Dollar Vision – Man with a vision for a world without death. De Grey held many, now famous, TED talks on the fact that it is now quite possible that some of us will live forever.
Robert Pollak / General Partner @ SV Angel – Pollak is a partner at SV Angel, US based investment firm by superangel Ron Conway. They have done 10 IPO’s and 161 Acquisitions. Including: Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, Groupon & Path.
Saku Tuominen / Founder of Idealist.fi – Tuominen founded Broadcasters, one of the most succesful Finnish independent tv production companies that was exited twice. He was also the Chief Creative Officer of Zodiak Entertainment, the world´s 3rd largest tv production company in London.
Niklas Adalberth / Co-Founder and Deputy CEO of Klarna – Klarna is one of the biggest success stories from the region. Klarna has now raised over €260M and were valued lately at over $1.4 billion. This is the second time that Adalberth will be coming to Arctic15, and the first time he shared amazing, never-told-before stories on how the company got started.
Ádám Somlai-Fischer / Co-Founder of Prezi – Prezi is a well known presentation tool that became an international success. Somlai-Fischer is a co-founder and also an architect as well as interaction designer. He loves to speak about openness & innovation. Expect to be inspired.
Roman Kikta / Managing Partner & Founder @ Mobility Ventures – Roman Kikta is a venture capitalist, wireless industry innovator, anthropologist and author with over 25 years of experience. Roman invested in more than 25 companies including IndoorAtlas, InnerWireless, Spatial Wireless and Now Public.
Keyvan Peymani / Managing Director of Digital Strategy at ICM Partners – Hollywood is exciting and they are into digital as much as the rest of us. Peymani will tell us all about it, as his company represents the likes of: Al Pacino, Samuel L. Jackson, Jay Leno, Eminem, Beyonce, Vince Gilligan and much more.
Maija Itkonen / Founder of Powerkiss – Itkonen is a rare female entrepreneurship success story from Finland. Powerkiss was sold to Powermat in 2013.
Taneli Tikka / Head of Industrial Internet at Tieto – One of the most seasoned startup entrepreneurs in Finland. Was the CEO of IRC Gallery, when it was sold to Sulake.
Thomas Padovani / Founder of Adcash – Padovani founded Adcash, a Tallinn based startup that grew from nothing to over €42 million in just 4 years.
All of these speakers and those from the first batch will be at Arctic15 and open to one-on-ones after the event. Get your tickets now, before the price goes up to EUR 275 on Wednesday.
