sTARTUp Day 2025
At this year’s sTARTUp Day, the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries aimed to showcase the various entrepreneurial opportunities within the film industry. At our demo area, presented in collaboration with the Tartu Film Fund, we highlighted businesses that provide services for film productions which received a lot of positive attention.
Signe Somelar-Erikson, Development Manager at the Tartu Film Fund, summed up the festival days:
“We can say that this time our demo area—featuring Estonia’s first homemade movie monster and other exciting props from film sets—offered something unexpected and unique for festival visitors, something not typically seen at sTARTUp Day. The display and activities by Tartu Film Fund and the Creative Industries Centre gave visitors a chance to see behind the scenes. Many were surprised to learn that such high-level practical special effects are created right here in Estonia!”
On the main stage, filmmaker Anna Hints delivered a powerful talk on breaking the glass ceiling without being hit by the shards – her bold topic drew a full house. She spoke about how success often brings expectations and pressure, making it difficult to remain true to yourself and your creative journey. Anna also generously shared a self-meditation practice that has helped her grow and stay grounded.
At the seminar, special effects artists Andres Jakovlev and Iris Müntel—creators of the alien from the film The Black Hole—shared their experience collaborating with Spanish experts to bring Estonia’s first movie monster to life. They spoke about their creative journey, the successes and challenges they encountered, and illustrated their story with fascinating behind-the-scenes photos showing different stages of the creature’s development.
The seminar by Ruth-Helene Melioranski, design expert and professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts, focused on rethinking sustainable design. She emphasized that we are used to designing products and services based on the needs of producers or providers, but it’s time to shift toward human-centered design, where the user’s needs come first. Ruth-Helene pointed out that there is no one-size-fits-all solution in design, but it is possible to create processes and products that are truly responsive to users’ needs.
Creative Industries Pitching Competition
This year, we once again organized the Creative Industries Pitching Competition, this time for the first time in collaboration with EIT Culture & Creativity. Seven strong teams from Estonia, France, Spain, and Turkey took the stage with their pitches. Each company brought a unique business idea with strong growth potential.
Our incubatee Susanna Peters and her company Franz Raver were selected as finalists for the Estonian Creative Business Cup competition. Roland Seer, who is developing the game “Supilinna Mati” with the Tartu Multfilm team, won a three-month residency at the Loomeka HUB.
Several other important prizes were awarded as well:
— In addition to Franz Raver, Spiiker and Mediamodifier also made it to the Estonian finals of the Creative Business Cup
— The City of Tartu awarded Spiiker tickets to Latitude59
— The grand prize, along with €5,000 in development support, was awarded to Mediamodifier
Külli Hansen, Head of the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, called this year’s sTARTUp Day a success story:
“We learned a lot this year. It became clear how many development opportunities and points of connection there are between film and other sectors. We encourage all early-stage companies to join our incubation program and explore these possibilities with us.”
sTARTUp Day 2024
At the 2024 sTARTUp Day, the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries focused its program on corporate design. At our demo area, we showcased our incubatees and designers and hosted a series of seminars and events. One of the highlights was a fashion performance by Susanna Peters and her creative company Franz Raver, presenting her vision of corporate fashion design for Tartu 2024 and sTARTUp Day.
As part of the event, we organized the Creative Industries Pitching Competition @ sTARTUp Day, with the grand prize awarded by LMK director Külli Hansen at the festival’s final ceremony. The €2,000 development grant went to KIUD, a company that produces circular packaging made from textile waste.
The Tallinn Creative Incubator awarded a prize consisting of 3 trainings and 3 hours of mentoring to Immersive Solutions, a company that creates unique visuals and presentations for businesses.
Creative Estonia selected three companies for the Creative Business Cup Estonia 2024 finals:
– KIUD, for their packaging made from shredded textile waste
– Uitama, a platform connecting families with nature-based leisure experiences
– Rahu Care, which develops innovative, eco-friendly hair care products
The City of Tartu’s Department of Business Development awarded KOIT, a learning platform for teaching programming to high school students and university-level learners, with two tickets to Latitude59.
Business support organization ENVOLVE Entrepreneurship offered 10 hours of mentoring and consultation for entering international markets, a prize won by AudioCat, which creates audio games for people with visual impairments.
As part of sTARTUp Day, the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries also hosted the final seminar of the international project “Hack that Fashion”, in partnership with Envolve Entrepreneurship (Greece) and IED (Spain). The seminar, titled “HackThatFashion: Technology, Sustainability, Innovation”, was opened by LMK director Külli Hansen and moderated by David Barnaby Laphof from IED.
Speakers Xenia Joost, Eva Leemet, and Christina Skoubridou shared their thoughts on design, fashion, and the export potential of creative industries. The seminar presented the project’s tools and outcomes for fashion creators, exploring topics such as sustainability in fashion and the future of digital fashion.
The panel discussion “Dress for Success: Estonian Fashion and Corporate Branding” brought together designers, marketers, and corporate clients to explore the role of corporate fashion. The panel featured Xenia Joost, Andres Kuusik, Ermo Tikk, Key Külaots ja Susanna Peters.
Ermo Tikk, a client who has commissioned corporate apparel, emphasized that a distinctive team uniform creates a unified identity. Ordering custom clothing also sends a message that leadership cares about their people.
Susanna Peters highlighted that her approach to corporate design focuses on durability, tailoring to exact measurements, and ensuring garments maintain a professional look even with daily wear over time.
Key Külaots pointed out that creating a cohesive look doesn’t always require producing new items. When designing representative outfits for the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, the team opted to redesign existing blazers, using zippers as a unifying design element. Key stressed that Estonian companies should prioritize working with local designers and manufacturers, as Estonian designers are highly sustainability-minded and local production allows for garments that fit each individual’s body shape.
Andres Kuusik reflected on Estonia’s competitive edge in the global corporate fashion market. He noted that while sustainability is a strong feature of Estonian design, Estonia’s national image doesn’t currently support that narrative. Internationally, Estonia is more recognized as a digital nation than a sustainable one. He cited Scandinavian countries as an example, where eco-footprint and CO₂ emissions are key selling points in design.
Xenia Joost concluded the discussion by acknowledging that Estonian design is indeed entering the corporate world, but in the context of international business, there’s a need for clearer articulation of our competitive advantages and a stronger emphasis on sustainability arguments.
The Tartu Centre for Creative Industries’ demo area proved to be a major attraction. This time, it featured companies from the incubation program that specialize in providing corporate design solutions for businesses.
Participating companies included:
sTARTup Day 2023
LMK programmi keskmes sTARTUp Dayl 2023 oli virtuaalreaalsuse ja digitaalse moe teema. LMK demoalal esitlesid enda tooteid erinevad moeloojad ja disainerid – iLLIMOR, BIBZ STORE, Franz Raver, Studio Patrick Soome, REDIS Disain, Siret Ott ja Spirimal. Kõigil huvilistel oli võimalus riieteda end ka virtuaalsesse moodi. Lisatud reaalsusena sai proovida meie boksis olevate ettevõtete rõivaid, mille valmistas sTARTUp Day jaoks LMK inkubant Kirke Leinatamm Scopus Studiost. Kirke juhtis ka digitaalse moe diskussioone, kus arutati digimoe tänapäeva ja tuleviku üle. Paneeldiskussioonil osalenud Kerli Kõiv, kes on LMK vilistlane, rääkis oma viimase video raames valminud avatarist ja virtuaalse ning füüsilise reaalse maailma piiride segunemisest ja võimalustest, mida virtuaalne reaalsus, avatarid ja NFT-d võivad pakkuda muusikatööstuses.
LMK juht Külli Hansen: „sTARTUp Day on Tartu suursündmus ja on oluline, et sellel on esindatud ka need Tartu ettevõtted, kes tegutsevad loomemajanduse vallas. Meie programm oli seekord suunatud moeloomingu oleviku ja tuleviku üle mõtlemisele, süüvides ka moe tehnoloogiapoolde ja digimoe võimalustesse. Korraldasime seminare ja arutelusid digitaalse moe tuleviku teemadel. Samas esitlesime oma demoalal moeloojaid, kes on osalemas Tartu Loomemajanduskeskuse inkubatsiooniprogrammis ja pakuvad disainirõivaste loomise teenust ettevõtetele. Meie moedisainerite demoala oli külastajate hulgas populaarne ning mul on hea meel, et meie disainerid leidsid endale uusi kontakte ja said elamuse ka sTARTUp Dayl osalemisest.“
17. märtsil toimus sTARTUp Dayl Tartu Loomemajanduskeskuse Creative Industries pitchingfinaal. Kõige rohkem auhindu võitis AudioCat– peaauhinna, milleks pani LMK välja 3000 euro väärtuses arengutoetust, Loov Eesti poolt välja pandud auhinna ehk pääsu Creative Business Cup eesti finaali, mis toimub 11. mail, ning Tartu 2024 auhinnana fännitooteid. AudioCat loob audiomängu nägemispuuetega inimestele. Tartu linna ettevõtluse arengu osakonna auhinna, 500-eurose turundustoetuse Tartu Postimehes pälvis LIFT Talent Agency, mis toetab noori tantsijaid nende professionaalsel teekonnal ja on loomas kaasaegse tantsu arengut toetavat inkubatsiooniprogrammi. Tallinna Loomeinkubaatori auhinna, kolm koolitust vabal valikul ja kolm tundi ärimentorlust, võitis ettevõte Franz Raver, mis pakub ettevõtetele omanäolisi firmarõivaid ja on arendamas ekspordisuunda. Tartu Loomemajanduskeskus andis auhinnana välja ka. 6-kuulise tasuta inkubatsiooniperioodi ettevõttele Motivum Games, mis arendab hariduslikke mänge. Motivum Game on lastele suunatud mäng, milles lapsed hoolitsevad virtuaalsete lemmikloomade vaimse ja füüsilise tervise eest ning on seeläbi ka ise kaasatud liikumisse.
sTARTUp Dayl osalesid sel aastal finaalis 7 ettevõtet:
LIFT Talent Agency (Krõõt Kiviste, Laureen Laar)
AudioCat (Anette Aguraiuja)
Vintage visual OÜ (Arno Peever)
Kinola (Andres Kauts)
Tengelpung (Margus Siilik, Taivo Tõruke)
Motivum Games (Rauno Kullas)
Franz Raver (Susanna Peters)
