Polar Bear Pitching redefines pitching competitions from 12th to 13th of March in Oulu, Finland

The most extreme business event in the world will take place again next March in Oulu, Finland. The theme of the event is Business Unusual, which means that Polar Bear Pitching changes participants and business, challenges everything you hold true and thus, redefines the whole future. Arctic circumstances have always forced people to come up with innovative solutions and this is what Polar Bear Pitching does to the ones who take part in the chilliest pitching competition in the world.

Polar Bear Pitching is a pitching competition born in Oulu. In this event, participants pitch their ideas from an ice hole carved in the frozen Baltic sea. There is no limit for the duration of pitches in this competition, you can pitch from the ice hole as long as you enjoy staying in zero-degree water. Last year, the outside temperature during Polar Bear pitching was around -20 Celsius, which kept the average length of pitches around 2 minutes.

Semi-finals will be held on the 12^thof March in Oulu. Start-ups can make their way to finals from there. Wednesday 13^thkicks off with a conference and culminates to the adrenaline-pumping finals at Oulu market square. There will be massive festivities around the whole market square during the finals.

Polar Bear Pitching has gathered a huge amount of media interest globally. This year there will be 2 side events. First a separate showcase competition in Leverkusen, Germany on the 6^thof December and then another set of semi-finals in Tromsø, Norway on the 19^thof January 2019. 

The event is made possible by wide cooperation of the biggest entrepreneurial organizations in Oulu Region. For years, it has been one of the forces that make the business ecosystem of Oulu work together for greater common good.

Start-ups can apply for Polar Bear Pitching through the website of the event, www.polarbearpitching.com. The main prize for the winner will be 10 000 euros. All participating start-ups this far have gained a lot of attention among media and investors and in best case, multiplied their revenue immediately after the pitch from the ice hole. 

All media representatives are welcome to bear witness of how a pitching competition can have the main characteristics of a sports event.

More information:

Mira Koski                                                                    Mia Kemppaala

041 5444011                                                               040 584 4851

Event producer                                                             Founder of Polar Bear Pitching

Mira.koski@oulu.fi                                                        mia.kemppaala@oulu.fi