SHIFT’s official pre-event in Helsinki was held on the 3rd of May at a rooftop deck of the Health and Innovation Village at GE.

On the 3rd of May, The Health and Innovation Village at GE was basking in the morning sun. Hip-looking people with noses glued to their laptops were scattered around the spacious co-working space. Someone with heavy eyelids was brewing coffee in the open kitchen.

All of a sudden a cheerful group of chattering people stormed in and started hanging posters, blowing balloons and placing roll-ups around.

“Are you from Turku”, a girl behind a laptop asks.

“Yes, how could you tell”, answers one.

“Well, you really can’t go wrong with the accent.”

The SHIFTers were in the building, and something magical was about to happen.

***

SHIFT’s official Pre-event in Helsinki gathered over a hundred people from the metropolitan area to a rooftop barbeque party. The crowd was a good mix of local startuppers, entrepreneurs, and techies, with an occasional silver fox strolling around in their Armani’s.

The program started with the welcoming words by Health and Innovation Village’s Peter Green, followed by a brief ice breaking session by artists Elsa Ervasti and Sampo Kerola. The SHIFT’s CEO Alexander Törnroth and Erika Halonen also addressed the people. After the official part, delicious HK’s Aito Nakki-hotdogs with Poppamies-sauces were prepared, while DJ Henri Karlsson played smooth beats on the background. Cold beer was also available. The sunny weather was perfect for a chill evening on a rooftop deck.

During the event people asked many questions from the SHIFTers about the program, and bought special ticket packages. The crowd was especially interested of SHIFT’s networking opportunities and the afterparty at the Kakola prison In addition people asked about the possibility of introducing a single-day ticket: “The one-day option is a very good idea for those people whose employer isn’t paying the bill, and who can’t get two days off from work. I think we can accommodate this need”, says Alexander.

The Pre-event was scheduled to happen between 5pm and 7pm, but because of the positive vibes, people stayed on much longer. After a long day, the guests and organizers rode to the sunset with pockets full of business cards and a number of new Facebook-friends and Twitter-followers.

Check out more pictures from our Facebook and FB-event page.

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