In July 2022, over 3,000 guests from all around the world joined us at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus ancient theatre to celebrate high-impact entrepreneurship and Endeavor Greece’s 10-year anniversary. It was a night to remember, to say the least.
We kicked off the night with opening remarks from the Chairwoman of Endeavor Greece, Costantza Sbokou Constantakopoulou where she touched on not only the trajectory of the Innovation Ecosystem in Greece but how Endeavor Greece has grown in numbers and in passion over the last 10 years. This is highlighted by the increase of high-impact entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and supporters in our network and in the ecosystem as a whole, as the environment has changed, allowing for such progress.
Following that, we were joined on stage by Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Netflix’s co-CEO and Chief Content Officer, Ted Sarandos, where they participated in a conversation moderated by Endeavor’s co-founder and CEO, Linda Rottenberg. It was a privilege to have witnessed an honest, world class dialogue about the future of Technology, Innovation, and Democracy in the country where the foundations of democracy were built. They covered many topics including the rise of venture capital, and the extraordinary teams behind the funds in Greece that are working to support the companies in our tech ecosystem. Touching on the headwinds and challenges that everyone is facing from COVID to the capital markets, to war, to inflation, to talent issues, and how people from various industries go about solving them. Lastly, if you believe in the potential of the country and are willing to contribute to its success, we are able to do wonders. We see this happening with the Greek Diaspora, which is actively engaged in Greek affairs by investing more in Greece, mentoring new entrepreneurs, and spending more time in the country.
It was only fitting to end the evening at the 2,000 year old theatre of Odeon of Herodes Atticus with a moving passage from the Ancient Greek time period. Adrien Brody, Academy Award-winning actor did the honors by reciting an abridged version of “Pericles's Funeral Oration” where he touched the entire audience with his powerful and passionate words and performance.
Pictures will never do justice to the picturesque moment of the sun setting over the ancient theater of Odeon of Herodes Atticus or how bright the stars were shining that night but they do come pretty close. Touching shoulders with investors, founders, greek diaspora, global leaders, tech talent, family and friends in a monumental place in Greece is a memory that will last a lifetime.
Not only that, but we have the whole evening transcribed! Take a look at the wise words that were said here.
