While the whole of Silicon Valley got sucked into the vortex of insecurity and ego called Secret this week, something cooler (or colder) happened on the other side of the world today.
Up in the city of Oulu, Finland by the Arctic Circle, the local tech community held a small startup pitch contest today.
The rules?
There was no time limit, but you had to do it from inside a bear-sized ice hole, which the organizers cut from a nearby frozen lake.
Oh, and no diving or wet suits allowed.
“You might feel like you can’t breathe. Relax, that’s only normal and harmless. It will pass,” warned the invite.
Twenty-six companies took the plunge. The winners included Laturi, which makes tools for companies offering corporate fitness programs, Tosibox, which sells a plug-and-play device for remote access and mobile app developer Minus Degree Mobile.
I didn’t watch the whole thing, but at the beginning, a guy in a polar bear suit rides in triumphantly upon a bicycle.
At 33:00, there is a half-naked man playing a violin from within the ice hole. Then there appears to be some kind of strange folk dance performance at around 1:47:00 or so.
Enjoy! (I secretly hope this gives the TC events team some more ideas for the Disrupt Battlefield competition.)