The first European startup accelerator for game developers was launched in the end of June. The accelerator provides excellent mentor network and 10-15k EUR seed money for up to 10 startups. GameFounders is located in Northern Europe, in Estonia.

It is estimated that there are 200 startup accelerators in the world already. It’s a tough competition for the best teams. Is there a space for another  accelerator?. „Yes, there is. We strive to be number one choice for gaming and gamification startups. Unlike 97% of other accelerators, GameFounders  specializes“, explains Kadri Ugand, one of the co-founders. “By focusing on a niche we are able to offer more value in that niche than any unspecialized or general accelerator could.“

Gamefounders accepts applications to a 3 month program until July 10th. No matter whether the developer has already tons of users but struggles with monetization or is just finishing development of their first game – they are still welcomed to apply for GameFounders first round  program that runs from the end of August until November. Up to ten motivated teams with a promising idea and prototype that fall into the categories of gaming or gamification in general will get an office space and up to 15 000 euros on investment for 9% equity. Teams will benefit from tailor made training program and mentoring from 60+ high quality mentors from all over the globe – mainly from the US and Finland. Estonia  with its vibrant open business community is a good place for bootstrapping. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, boasts relatively low cost base,  availability of talent and closeness to gaming hotspots in Scandinavia.

GameFounders team is composed of serial entrepreneurs, with experience of running a game studio and investing into games. We partner with the gaming experts, like Paul Bragiel as well as the strongest accelerator from the region, Startup Sauna in Helsinki and gaming accelerator  GameDojos in San Francisco. Partners help with mentoring, marketing, organizing of demo days in and finding later stage investors. GameFounders has contacts with 50+ investors, including Balderton Capital, Games Capital, Digital Capital, Lifeline Ventures, Vision+, London Venture Partners.

Gaming in the broadest sense is a huge growth opportunity. „Gaming is rapidly moving from purely entertainment to other areas such as education, advertising, human interaction and healthcare“, says another co-founder Lauri Antalainen. GameFounders helps startups to seize this opportunity.

GameFounders accelerator is supported by Enterprise Estonia.