Jyväskylä-based Cityspotting, which offers virtual city adventures, has begun its journey to international markets. The company has successfully headed across the sea to our western neighbour and launched local digital tourism on the Stockholm market. After a few months in Sweden, experiences have been very positive, with hundreds of Stockholmers already having purchased Cityspotting adventures. The paths of Jyväskylä Business Services and Cityspotting first crossed when Cityspotting took part in the International Venture Academy in 2023.
Its first experience of internationalisation has proved to be a key initiative for the company, which was founded in 2020, from the point of view of growth. So far, Cityspotting has grown using just its own funding and team. In the future, however, the company will be seeking stronger growth and internationalisation, which is why external funding is also needed. It is also hoped that Sweden will become a market area like Finland, with Cityspotting's urban adventures offered across a variety of Swedish cities.
- We would also like to cover the rest of the Nordic countries, and over time expand from there to the largest cities in Europe. Paris, for example, is a very interesting destination for us, because the city's population density is attractive for a product like ours, says Cityspotting's Producer Sami Toivanen.
The Cityspotting application contains a map that guides visitors to their desired destination. Upon arriving at their destination, they can watch a story-format video on the location and then explore it for themselves. When Cityspotting sets its sights on a new destination, its goal is to be able to show users things in the city that surprise even residents. As Toivanen says, their ability to identify the personal characteristics of cities has been refined over the last few years. At the same time, he has also learned to see everyday things with new eyes.
- Almost every city has a water tower. There's nothing amazing about them as such, but try standing right at the base of a water tower – it's more impressive than you'd expect. Everyone experiences a place differently, and these experiences can evoke strong emotions. When it comes down to it, our concept is fairly simple, but within it these experiences form a continuation of positive things: we go out, we move around, we learn new things. All of this is rewarding and you can suddenly find that you've spent 15 minutes reading about water towers, explains Toivanen.
Cityspotting uses external content providers to create the content of its city adventures. For example, the content of the Stockholm adventure was made by two Swedish content creators.
- We showed them how it all works, but they took it to the next level. We've had incredibly good luck with our content creators.
According to Producer Sami Toivanen of Cityspotting, the locations included in city adventure must not be predictable. "Our customers also begin to see the deeper dimensions and layers of time in everyday things."
Committed to Jyväskylä's business community
Toivanen feels that the company's relationship with the Jyväskylä business community is reciprocal: when Cityspotting demonstrated its commitment and desire to be a part of the community, the community helped provide it with the services it needed. For example, relocation to Yritystehdas Startup Factory has provided the small start-up company with access to a number of experts and a kind of expanded working community.
In 2023, Cityspotting participated in the International Venture Academy, organised by Jyväskylä Business Services. Toivanen says that the most important take-away of the IVA week was the contacts the investor programme offered.
- We are currently engaged in discussions with a financier. Our experiences during the IVA week and the further development that followed helped prepare us for such situations.
In a team of three people, the company's values are clear to see in practice. From a customer and user perspective, appreciating your surroundings and things close to you is an important value. Through his work, Toivanen hopes to convey the realisation that the work does not need to be a high-stress rush to the finish line.
- I don't feel like I'm in a hurry at work. There is a lot to do, of course, but if you want to make it interesting for yourself, you just have to accept that not everything can be done right away,Toivanen states, explaining his philosophy.
Look close with fresh eyes
Toivanen says that creating a single city adventure takes a month. The pace has improved over the last few years as the team's experience has increased. The first Cityspotting adventure came to fruition in 2020 and the years since have taught those involved to look at cities in a variety of ways. The content for the locations is always built in such a way that a certain amount of nature, culture, history, characters and sports are included.
One of the ideas behind Cityspotting is to look at your surroundings with new eyes. Toivanen himself recommends two sites from his hometown of Jyväskylä that not all locals may know.
- Despite the gloomy name, the Death Pits (Kuolemankuopat in Finnish) behind the Biltema shop in Seppälänkangas are my favourite spot. There are two deep kettles, or holes, on top of a tall hill. When you get up there and descend into the pits, you don't hear a thing, even though there's plenty of traffic around you. I also recommend checking out the old shoreline buoy at Kirjanpainajanpuisto park on Hannikaisenkatu. The buoy's location shows how the shoreline of Lake Jyväsjärvi has moved over the years.
People who have worked on Cityspotting: More than 20
Cities covered: 20
First destinations added to the map: 2020
IVA programme is part of the ecosystem work on Sport, Health and Wellbeing, funded by the Regional Council of Central Finland (ERDF) and coordinated by the City of Jyväskylä's Business Development Services.
