Feature

Finland focus: Building the next generation of mobile gaming rockstar entrepreneurs

In the Venture Garage and The New Factory

Finland focus: Building the next generation of mobile gaming rockstar entrepreneurs
It goes without saying that Nokia had a massive impact on the mobile gaming industry in Finland.

Not only did it help to support the entire industry for years, with developers such as RedLynx and Rovio relying on it for their survival, but its recent troubles have dropped a lot of experienced engineers into start up mode.

Combined with the Finnish state's support via universities and incubator programs, there are a lot of new companies bubbling to the surface.

Braving the dense cold of the onset of Finnish winter, I was lucky enough to be invited to two facilities, one in Helsinki, the other in Tampere, to see some of the outfits looking to become the stars of the future.

Rockin' all over the Baltic

First stop is the Aalto Venture Garage in Helsinki, garage not only in name. The building itself had been an abandoned warehouse used to store hand cleaning chemicals until the Aalto University cleared it out and filled it up with eager entrepreneurs from around the Baltic.

The garage itself was totally redesigned by the students who use containers for offices, as the building itself is listed and re-construction work is not an option.

Speaking with Natalie Gaudet, head of communications at the Garage, I begin to see where the idea behind the building's look comes from. It doesn't want its young entrepreneurs to feel embarrassed about what they are doing.

"We want them to feel like rockstars!" she beams.



Hot stuff

Part of the program is the cunningly-named Startup Sauna project at Aalto (yes, there is an in-office sauna), which is entering its fourth year and runs twice annually.

As part of the project the Garage team scouts for talent across 12 cities throughout the Baltic region to find the most promising development teams. What it is looking for are groups capable of demonstrating proficiency in gaming, ICT, hardware or software, as well as bringing a promising idea to the table.



Around 15 teams are invited back to the garage for a six week course, to be versed in the ways of development by over 40 volunteer coaches (including members of the Supercell team and Peter Vesterbacka of Angry Birds fame).

The garage is partnered with Stanford University, which also offers up some of its professors' time to help teach the course.

The top three teams in each round receive seed money of €5,000, free office space for six months ("We're not an incubator and we don't want to be," says Gaudet), and a trip to the US.

It's not easy though, as Gaudet points out. The first time they started the course, three teams dropped out with the first week.

But past winners include Campalyst, a provider of social media analytics software to help developers better understand how Facebook presence sell their brands. Ovelin, makers of the technically brilliant music teaching game WildChords also began life here at Aalto, before moving north to Tampere.

Tech-ing the pressure off

We're ushered out of the Aalto garage (not a moment too soon, as the students prepare the for their Christmas party that night), and follow in Ovelin's footsteps north to the fourth largest city in Finland, Tampere.

It's here we meet the team at the New Factory, which goes under the name Manse Games. 23 games companies are currently based there, with 70+ people working on some excitingly innovative titles.

Around 70 percent of those teams are mobile, with promising multiplayer specialist Tuokio and the aforementioned Ovelin among them.

We're also told that, at Manse Games, startup developers whose strengths lie in technology, rather than in business, are given the advice and ultimately the experience of working within small teams and with less of a focus on profit.

Manse Games' project manager Suvi Latva reiterates what we'd heard at Aalto. "We want startup culture to become similar to pop-culture," she emphasises.

Nokia's fall from grace may have dented the Finnish view of the mobile industry. But with so many avenues for young talent to thrive in, and so many new ideas flying around these promising workspaces and networks, it's hard to see how the Finnish industry won't come up with some new global success stories in the coming years.

You can find out more about the Aalto Venture Garage here and Manse Games here.

When Matt was 7 years old he didn't write to Santa like the other little boys and girls. He wrote to Mario. When the rotund plumber replied, Matt's dedication to a life of gaming was established. Like an otaku David Carradine, he wandered the planet until becoming a writer at Pocket Gamer.