From Turkey to Helsinki: Boosting Founders New to the Region

The Creative Digital Growth Booster (CDG Booster) project exists to bridge the gap between innovative digital technologies and their application in traditional industries. By supporting SMEs in Finland, Sweden, and Estonia that utilize VR, AR, XR, metaverse, and game technologies, the project aims to foster significant growth and scalability.

Meric, what inspired you to apply to the CDG Booster accelerator?

We recently started a game development studio in Helsinki. We have a very strong game industry background from Turkey, especially in game marketing and sales, and therefore lots of industry contacts and experience. Some of our friends in our network informed us of the CDG Booster program, saw it as a good fit for our needs, and recommended that we apply.”

You were in Batch 1 of the Accelerator Program. Have the workshops and networking been useful?

“To be honest, every step and everyone in the program was special. I really mean it. Every gathering felt special, and all parties were truly involved. Everyone was good in their field – both the experts and the participants. Everyone was helping each other as entrepreneurs. We got to know so many people in the Nordics and Estonia, and achieved great industry contacts.”

“CDGBooster helped us understand how the game industry sector works in the Nordics. We learned a lot, and we’ve now added a lot of professional contacts in Finland and Sweden that are essential for us.”

How about the mentoring and industry events that were part of the accelerator program?

The mentoring was helpful, especially since some of the Finnish mentors had a creative, quiet approach – yet still had a very insightful, creative approach and a willingness to share their industry experience with us. It has helped our company by giving us insight. This aspect is truly vital: you may understand the global market, but for a startup, it is absolutely priceless to learn the regional dynamics from local leaders of industry.

“With support from the accelerator program, we participated together with other companies in events such as Pocket Gamer Helsinki and Nordic Game in Malmö, Sweden. It was a good experience, and preparing and participating as part of a group was good.”

How could CDGBooster still help your company – and what are the next steps for Upgrade Entertainment?

We have currently published our first PC game in 2025, and it is going better than expected. We are an old school developer – small team, high traction. We have a very experienced team, a good start, and new game projects in our pipeline plans. We are looking for further investment to accelerate our growth and hire local talent, so these are top priorities. We have a clear growth strategy and are looking for funding to help scale up our business.

In all, it has been such a positive experience that I would love to give back to the CDGBooster community. I feel that I have been given so much. I am very willing to share with others in the program my almost 30 years of experience in marketing, game design, and game marketing.

More info about the CDGBooster Accelerator Program at www.cdgbooster.com
📷 Meric Eryurek