Slowball brings together startup entrepreneurs from different fields

    By
    arcticstartupstaff
    -

    What are the similarities between going on a road trip and running a startup?

    As we dig into startup events in the region – Here’s a different type of Estonian project that brings together entrepreneurs from several fields.

    Art on Wheels offers designers and artists an opportunity to express themselves on unusual canvases, cars. The art marketing project resulting in a moving art exhibition, Slowball, gathers together also entrepreneurs from the Nordics and the Baltics.

    But why would a startup entrepreneur participate in a moving art project traveling around Estonia?

    “For me it’s especially interesting as before jumping head-first into startup world I was a designer and creative director for 10 years. The process of how the cars get their ‘new’ skin is fascinating,” says Marko Russiver, the Co-Founder and CEO of Estonian startup Guaana.

    Russiver, participating in the project for the first time, emphasizes that Slowball is the perfect vacation for an entrepreneur, who can’t stay in one spot for the whole holiday. Since it brings together people from different industries such as music, arts and business – one may never know what happens during the 5 day tour.

    “I’m the kind of guy who enjoys an active vacation, I’d be bored to death laying around some beach somewhere – but roadtriping with crazy looking cars that maybe get you to the destination with an extremely versatile gang of people is a brilliant adventure,” describes Russiver.

    Micha Velasco, the Founder of Tunnelbolaget and Bodyflight Sthlm, has previous experience of participating in Slowball in 2013 – And he also finds the event a great spot to make new connections from business perspective. “It’s a short trip but friendships that are made last long,” says Velasco.

    Art on Wheels, arranged for the second time, is the event kicking off the Slowball art exhibition on the 5th of August in Tallinn. After introducing the artists and the rides in front of Viru Keskus shopping mall, the slow-paced road trip traveling through 700 kilometres long route starts from Tallinn towards Haapsalu, Hiiumaa, Saaremaa and Pärnu.

    As the road trip itself sounds like a lot of fun, Russiver says that he founds some commonalities in the process with running a startup:

    “Everyday job of a start-up CEO is figuring out solutions and ways to execute your vision. Slowball in a sense is that same experience put in a really condensed time format – the only thing they promise is that the car will start. How you get there and how you solve the issues along the way is up to you. It’s insane and it’s perfect.”