About Sami Liukka
Hello, users! My name is Sami.
1980s
I was born in 1982. We lived surrounded by wilderness, in a house our father built for us, in the dusty mining town of Outokumpu, Finland. Our family unit was pretty ordinary. My early childhood was colored by an interest in nature, space, drawing, and video games.
Near our house, there was an ant's nest where I brought other insects for the ants, just to see how they battled against each other. At home, we drew. It was my favorite hobby. Around this time, I also got my first chance to play video games.
1990s
At the beginning of the decade, our school had a PC running MS-DOS, which we used not only to play games but also to mod them. Our friends had started getting microcomputers that hooked up to their home TVs, so I logged hours on the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, NES, Amiga 500, and various other machines. I was grateful to experience spectacular video games on all those fancy devices.
We also played commercial tabletop games, and later started designing and crafting our own games out of cardboard — and then actually playing them.
After our family moved to a slightly bigger town, Kuopio, our mom bought us a brand-new Sony PlayStation, which pretty much recalibrated my interest in video games. At the kitchen table, we most often played Magic: The Gathering and, occasionally, (Advanced) Dungeons & Dragons. I also used to spend time at the local youth center, exploring this strange new thing called the Internet.
2000s
After I gloriously entered the work life in 2003, I started out as a face-to-face sales representative selling mobile subscriptions. Then I got a tiny mobile and electronics store to run, and later moved into business-to-business sales, selling websites and early CMS systems. As a side project, I built one of my first websites and made my first money on the Internet through (blackhat) search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. It felt surreal to walk into a bank and cash that paper check for the first $100 I had earned online.
I co-founded my first real business in 2005, in the field of market research, and it was the beginning of a fascinating journey. After moving from Kuopio to Helsinki in 2009, I was awarded a regional Young Entrepreneur of the Year award (Yle article). I worked on all kinds of research projects for leading companies — sometimes confidential, special-access assignments, including cool work with companies responsible, e.g., for critical weapons, space, and defense functions for NASA and the U.S. Government (such as manufacturing nuclear arsenals, exploring distant planets, and taking astronauts to the Moon).
2010s
At the beginning of the 2010s, I co-founded a classified ads platform in Sweden, which later became the #3 player in the market — although I had left the company by then. After that, I faced personal bankruptcy due to mental-health problems and some decidedly unwise life choices.
I restarted my childhood passion for drawing game worlds and original characters (Portfoliobox). That was the only thing I wanted to do. I lost my home and was homeless for eight months, during which time I initiated my game projects and drew pixel art from Aalto University's Protomo co-working space in Kamppi, Helsinki, while sleeping on my brothers' couches. Eventually, I got extremely lucky and found an apartment in Espoo.
During this time, my game ideas continued to evolve. In 2016, I founded my first game studio. We succeeded in raising capital for the studio. I also started advising other startup companies.
2020s
My first commercial game (Pocket Gamer article) was released in 2020, but despite our try-hard effort, the studio ultimately failed to generate revenue. In 2022, I decided to leave the studio. I had grown tired of the constant raising of capital and frustrated by not having the skills to develop the games I wanted to make.
While trying to figure myself out, I joined a Finnish-Chinese startup as it seemed like a cool opportunity to learn about Chinese culture, platform game-business, and Web3. However, the project was short-lived.
Not long after that, I felt an urge to return to my own ideas and projects, prototyping a few old ones and some new game concepts. I assembled a number of gamedev teams back-to-back and worked on some really cool game concepts and stories.
Then, in March 2025, I dug up some of my old pixel graphics from a folder and started reworking an older game idea. This felt like home, at last. In 2026, I got into a game incubation program Kajaani Game Catalyst and partnered with Tuomas, a coder, to develop the game I had been carrying around in my head for years. I had been waiting for this moment for over a decade.
My Journal
Our game project (April 2026)
Well, this game project started well over a decade ago, in 2012, to be exact. I then had an unsettling urge, an inner fire, a frantic drive to start making a game. My goal wasn't to develop many different games. But one game – into which I could pour the deepest and darkest corners of my imagination (my imagination was running wild back then). I wanted to make my vision come alive. I sketched characters, imagined stories, drew worlds. But I couldn't get a hold of it. None of my attempts led to a situation where I could've been satisfied with what I had. Now, just since the Spring this year, I teamed up with Tuomas. He's a coder with whom we've been developing the game part-time side by side. This path had changed my life.
I stepped aside (2022 August)
Time, I told you so. I was in a constant capital-raising mode for the last years. And in the recent times, I've been in a furious innovation mode, trying to get to the next level. But not at any point could I get into a stage where I could have started capitalizing on my game development or artist skills. What I have on the table was clearly paper-thin. And I feel these walls are constraining. I'm unable to push through with my new, fledgling ideas...
Got funding for my game idea (2016 September)
We had just pivoted to this collectible card game concept. We're in the corner of this murky bar. Our presence is heavy. Glancing above the crowd, an investor who wanted to meet has decided to come sit with us. I take the three copies of the long, maze-like structured Shareholder Agreements (SHA) that we founders sign. And after that, the Adherence Agreement, the Subscription Agreement for the investment amount, were all signed. This marks the beginning of a journey... of Heavyweight Rex. [The graphics (c) our team's artist].
Working as an artist on my game project (2015 July)
It always happens at the end of the summer when the air is hottest. The temperature presses my mind. It's ubiquitous, per se. I've been working sweaty on various worlds, ideas, and characters in my game concept(s) over the recent years. Just recently, I got a motivational drive to recruit a team. The game has a name. Pixel graphics feels like my thing and a passion.
It's my 30th birthday (2012 October)
I've just lost the firm I was working for so hard for the last 7 years. I wasn't able to grow, to renew, to innovate. I was still stuck with my life and things. My vision is black. I started listening to the vast and endless cogwheels of the monetary system turning for the planet. Everything is connected. This... this is my vision. It's something like when different traditional values seek synergies with each other. I hear the economic vehicle as music in my ears. It's hard, conservative, value-based, and symmetric in sound. It's my kind of sound.
Incorporated my first business (2005 June)
Today, our company has been registered in the Finnish trade register. 'European Contact Center United', or Eccu - let's try (Finnish: yrittäjä = yritetään!)... This shall mark the start of a completely new kind of chapter; one way or another, we shall make it. I believe.
Designed a collectible card game (1994)
The techno-gothic world was a creation from my brother and I, and it combines elements of humans, weapons/technology, mutant creatures, and religion, and it has been something that interests me.
Started my school journey (1988)
Started my immersive journey in the schooling system at the "Departing" Elementary School (Finnish: Lähtevän koulu). This is the place to be. The pic was taken here, on the first school day with my double agent.
Chernobyl disaster (1986)
One of my earliest memories is from April 1986, when our family was gathered around the television, watching a Finnish news report about the Chernobyl Reactor No. 4 meltdown in the Soviet Union. I was too small to understand the details, which was something about a faraway explosion and radiation spreading through the air – but the atmosphere at home was something I still can remember.
I was born (1982)
My whimsical soul took form in the circuitry, and then I was born together with my double agent in the enigmatic year of 1982. Things looked pretty retro here, just the way I liked it. Hometown Outokumpu was the perfect place to start my journey.
Resume
Sami Liukka — Pixel Artist | Games Entrepreneur
- * Awarded a regional Young Entrepreneur of the Year award after building an international market research business from the countryside
- * Founded a game studio, raised €2M over the years, and built a highly skilled gamedev team
- * Launched a Finnish-Chinese gaming platform featuring titles such as Angry Birds 2, Call of Duty: Mobile, and VALORANT — growing to 2.5K community members in two weeks
- * Advised startup founders on capital raising and consulted leadership at blue-chip ($100B+) firms on navigating expansion and market risks
- * Created a network of decent human beings (also game developers, subcontractors, publishers, and investors) from around the globe
Education and Training
Game Graphics Vocational Qualification, Amiedu (2015–2017) | Startup Growth and Leadership Training Program, Balentor (2006–2007) | Anti-Air Special Training (Airman), Finnish Air Force / KARLSTO (6 mo. in 2001)
Professional Experience
Independent Consultant
- Advisor / Partner (2017–PRESENT)
Advised founders from various industries, such as gaming, electric mobility, AI/ML, and emerging tech.
SisuRace
- Founding Team / General Manager (2022–2023)
Co-launched a Record-to-Earn gaming platform where players compete for gameplay records in games such as Call of Duty: Mobile, Angry Birds 2, and VALORANT. I led the capital raising, and we achieved rapid growth of our gamer community on Discord.
Heavyweight Rex
- Co-founder / Commercial (2015–2022)
Launched a free-to-play game studio and raised €2M in funding. Built a veteran/senior team of game developers, designed one game, released two games, and led business development for the studio, forming a publishing collaboration with a leading publisher and achieving above-market retention metrics.
Bilgaraget.se
Eccu Research
- Co-founder / Commercial (2005–2012)
Co-founded this market research boutique, which served companies and institutions in their R&D needs across more than 50 geographies. Advised CEOs and directors of large international organizations to help them make better decisions in competitive markets and mitigate risks related to global expansion. Worked on confidential and sometimes special-access projects with companies responsible for critical weapons, space, and defense functions for NASA and the U.S. Government, including manufacturing nuclear arsenals and taking astronauts to the Moon.
Servia Finland (HiProStar)
General Skills
Game Development, Hiring, Team Building, Cross-Functional Teams, P&L ($1M+ Budgets), Business Development, Relationship Building, Sales, Networking, Strategic Partnerships
Technical Skills
Pixel Graphics, Concept Art, Game Design, Capital Raising, Legal, Brand & PR, Community, Business Intelligence (BI), R&D, GDDs, Prototyping, AI/ML (GenAI, LLMs, Vibe Coding), Paid User Acquisition (UA), Social Media, Lead Generation, GitHub, Unity, Photoshop, Data Analysis, Cash Flow
Organizations
Aalto University Protomo | Microsoft Flux | Blockchain Forum Finland | Startup Sauna
Languages
English C1 | Finnish C2 | Swedish A2 | Vietnamese A1
When you treat your life like a hobby, it's possible to approach it with great passion. Great hobbies can help you find that passion. And when that passion is there, it's possible to do anything with your life.
Sami Liukka — CV / Resume (PDF)
Interests
- Traveller (Based in Finland, I've travelled to 30+ countries, travelled around the world in three weeks, and have a second home in Vietnam)
- Video Games (e.g., Baldur's Gate 3, Spelunky HD, Red Faction, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Doom, Metal Gear Solid 1 & 4, Tekken 3 and Tag Tournament, Alundra, Grand Theft Auto (original), SimCity 2000, Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Tomb Raider I and II, Gran Turismo 1, 2 and 3, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Vandal Hearts, Wipeout 2097 (XL), Rad Gravity, Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, Gradius, Metroid, Prince of Persia, Nethack, and others)
- Trading Card Games / TCGs (Magic: The Gathering, Doomtrooper, Pokémon, and others)
- Abstract Strategy Games (Five-in-a-Row)
- Tabletop RPGs (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons)
- Board Games (Sindbad, HeroQuest, Star of Africa, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, and others)
- Movies (Star Wars saga and series, Predator, Alien, Terminator I and II, RoboCop, Blade Runner, The Matrix, Jurassic Park, Avatar, Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop series, Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin series, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, The Lord of the Rings saga, Mad Max, Waterworld, Starship Troopers, Gladiator, Forrest Gump, The Green Mile, Die Hard, Fight Club, Midnight Express, The Godfather, Narcos series, Ozark series, Stranger Things series, The Truman Show, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Dumb and Dumber, and others)
- Drawing / Writing
- Business Ventures (Own projects)
- Crypto Bros (Since 2021)
- Web Development (Started in 2004, then earned my first money online with black-hat Search Engine Optimization [SEO] [Dreamweaver/HTML] | From 2005 to 2024, built commercial websites for my companies and projects [WordPress/HTML/CSS/Wix] | From 2025 onward, developing for the web as a hobby and for my projects [Lovable/GitHub/Vercel])
- Game Development (Making hobbyist games since the 1990s, working full-time on game projects since 2012, professionally since 2016 in founder and commercial roles, and as a primary developer since 2026)
- Pixel Graphics / Pixel Art (Since 2013)
- Internet (and Friends)