Mihai Gheorghe and Vlad Tomei, our new friends from Bucurestiul Intreprinzator, recommended by Mihai from frufru, told us a bit about the collection of games from the latchkey generation, called "In Fata Blocului".

A collection of childhood games from back in the day — the starting point

The project started as a collection of childhood games — a way to remember them, put them into practice and pass them on.

In the meantime, the project has been shaping up into a standalone business, with a full range of spin-off products in development, plus a series of foreign editions in the works.

The entity behind this collection of games is Supersomething, a multidisciplinary creative studio that develops communication and design projects for external clients as well as its own from-scratch initiatives — In Fata Blocului among them.

Mihai was born and raised in Bucharest (Titan, to be precise), while Vlad was born and raised in Iasi and has gone on to make Bucharest home for about 15 years now.

What motivated them to start a venture like this

In Fata Blocului began because we both fell in love with the idea enough to lose nights and weekends working on it, alongside various other projects. More importantly, what keeps us going is the almost universally positive response the project has received. It strikes a chord and touches on a relevant theme — namely that kids today tend to spend less time playing together outdoors.

On the other hand, its huge growth potential gives us momentum, given that it’s an idea many different cultures resonate with. We’ve finished the English adaptation, the Polish edition is in progress, the Chinese one as well, and we’ve just returned from the Frankfurt Book Fair, where several more potential international partners showed interest.

What sets it apart: the collection is not just a book, but also a decorative object

Much of the “marketing strategy” was in fact the design solution itself. We wanted the collection to be not just a book, but also a design object. That made the product stand out and sit comfortably on bookshelves, game shelves and gift shelves alike. That matters because it opened up multiple distribution channels.

Something is valuable when you like it so much you want to tell a friend about it. The project grew organically, through people who were excited enough to tell their friends, who then told their friends … and so on.

Scaling, among the challenges of a project like this

And then all of this has to be adapted and applied to each country we take the project to. It’s an enormous amount of work.

Even so, we’re optimistic. Everywhere the project has gone, it has had the same warm reception, brought smiles and sparked nostalgia. That encourages us. We truly believe we have a real chance to help pass these games on to the generations to come.

The In Fata Blocului World Championships no longer feel like such a far‑off dream.

Advice for people who dream of becoming entrepreneurs

Don’t keep your ideas in a drawer — make them visible. Talk about them. And when you get to work, choose an idea you genuinely believe in.

Because it will become your life for an indefinite period. And if you don’t enjoy it, it’s going to be pretty complicated.

Bucurestiul intreprinzator is the place that shares the stories of people who make Bucharest the capital of Romanian entrepreneurship. The idea for the Bucureștiul Întreprinzător project started from a Manifesto through which Banca Transilvania wants to contribute to Bucharest’s development by offering examples of success for everyone. Each entrepreneur who tells their story then chooses another enterprising Bucharester they know and believe deserves to be known by the community.