NAME OF THE BUSINESS:
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Bosnia and Herzegovina
COUNTRY OF BUSINESS:
Germany
COMPANY HEADQUARTERS:
Germany
Description of the company/business
Sheez Games is a young board game startup from Cologne. Our goal is to produce hundreds of games and earn billions in the process, ultimately aiming to achieve world domination and make playing board games a must all over the world. So far, we've released, believe it or not, one game - "Memopolis". Memopolis is not a usual memo game. All of the 36 cards here are different. How to play it then? Very easily! The aim is to find two different landmarks from the same city. Either from Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg or Frankfurt.
The background story of the entrepreneur
I have a bachelor degree in architecture, but I am in the video production my whole life. I’ve been living in Germany for the last 5,5 years and I’ve worked as a video producer and motion designer. Since last year I am freelancer and I do video production, motion design, creative workshops and right now producing Board games. I moved to Germany 5,5 years ago. It was not planed. My idea was to offer my motion design skills as a freelancer from Bosnia to German companies. But one thing came to another and after 3 weeks I had an offer to come and work in Cologne. I thought “Why not, let’s try it”. And now - still in Cologne. I always wanted to create and produce new things. I did it in film and music and I felt it is time to do something which I can touch and feel. One idea came to another, and I came up with Sheez Games.
A significant challenge you faced while starting the business and how did you overcome this challenge?
As a migrant from Bosnia, you can come to live in Germany if you have a a signed work contract. After that you get a working visa. With that visa you are allowed to work in Germany for German companies. You can build your own business after 2 years working for some companies. I applied for my new visa where I would be able to do my own business as a freelancer right after 2 years. So, everything what I do today is actually postponed 2,5 years because I am a migrant.
"It's a great feeling when you know that something you've done will mark beautiful moments for people together. They will escape from the screen for a bit, socialize, look into each other's eyes, and communicate differently."
Advice for migrant entrepreneurs
It will be easier for migrants to try to create something. For example, if you fail, not many people will know it. You just don’t have this weight of toxic expectations from other people. If you have a steady job for many years, maybe you can lose it after trying something new. But if you are a migrant who just came to Germany and maybe work something which you don’t like, you can try to create something, and if that doesn’t go well, you can always find a job that you don’t like.
