Скачать или смотреть Peter Vesterbacka, FinEst Bay Area | theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Mixture of Experts Series

In this Mixture of Experts segment from theCUBE + NYSE Wired at the New York Stock Exchange, Peter Vesterbacka – founder of FinEst Bay Area, co-creator of Slush and of Angry Birds fame – joins theCUBE’s John Furrier to unpack how ecosystems at the intersection of tech and finance accelerate innovation. Vesterbacka traces Slush’s origins from a 2007 talk to 600 students (only three raised their hands to start a company) to a youth-powered movement that reshaped Finland’s mindset around entrepreneurship. He shares how Slush now convenes 20,000 attendees from 160 countries, is run by 1,600 young volunteers, and draws what he calls “over 4 trillion” in venture capital to Helsinki – positioning the event as a catalyst for founders, investors and policy leaders aligning around growth.

The conversation dives into first principles for building durable innovation hubs: the HP-era culture of “management by walking around,” unwritten rules that create trust and a simple but powerful pattern – meet at great universities, go to a garage and build. Vesterbacka argues that governments should invest in education and then get out of the way while young people create, noting that failure acts as “fertilizer” for the next generation of startups. He highlights Europe’s momentum, Finland’s high entrepreneurship rates and unicorn density, and the compounding effect of IPOs recycling talent and capital back into new companies. The two also explore today’s democratization wave – from NVIDIA-powered AI to prompt-led app creation tools like “Lovable” – and why mission, freedom and meaningful work now weigh as heavily as money in how the next cohort builds.

Vesterbacka previews what to expect at Slush 2025: November 19–20 in Helsinki with a full week of citywide activities, hundreds of official side events and the traditional “Unicorn Night” on the eve of Day 1 where local founders share scale-up lessons. Practical tips surface – book hotels early and pack boots, a hat and warm gloves – as the discussion underscores how curated and ad hoc collisions drive serendipity and outcomes. He closes with a teaser: “TUN 35 (aka TUNES),” a robot from an upcoming game universe slated for next year.

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00:00 - Intro
00:07 - From Origins to Impact: The Journey of Slush and its Visionaries
02:48 - Tech Evolution and Cultural Dynamics: From Finland to Silicon Valley
07:20 - Replicating the Silicon Valley Model
10:31 - Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
13:33 - Empowering the Future: Education, Talent, and Entrepreneurial Innovation
17:59 - Global Innovation and Young People
20:33 - Fostering Innovation: Preview of the Gaming Universe and Final Thoughts

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