Tapping into global networks from 6 different countries, in 3 months
No offence Zoom, but we hope in the near future that the words “Sorry I can’t hear you, you’re muted,” are no longer in our vocabulary.
Thankfully when the world reopened for a few months, we were finally able to take part in many well-missed experiences. The distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations provided the chance for the Endeavor Greece team to bring back travelling to major business hubs all over the world, and we didn’t shy away from it.
As the team carefully made the shift back to in-person events, we prioritized bringing together the Greek communities abroad and connecting great talent with the accelerating ecosystem in Greece. The goal is to be placed on the global map so that we bring high-level and impactful talent to Greece. In our efforts to do so, we made sure to follow COVID-19 regulations, and take measures to ensure the safety of our team and network.
What got the ball rolling in our efforts to bring the community together, was the opportunity of hosting the Regional Board Meeting in Athens in August 2021.
We quickly realized that there is no comparison to the human connections developed in person, and we were beyond grateful to be able to meet and celebrate with our network.
Facilitating Events Abroad
Being one of the first organizations to take advantage of the opportunity to travel, we are able to continue to facilitate high-impact connections for the network. It reminded us how much of our energy, inspiration, and creativity depends on us being physically connected, collaborative and innovative with one another.
We hosted networking events and invited not only our network with offices abroad, but also entrepreneurs, investors, and organizations that we believe can make an impact in the community as facilitators and drivers of high-impact entrepreneurship.
London
The city is crawling with opportunities for the Endeavor team to explore and capitalize. The Greek community in London was important to visit due to the presence of many members from the existing portfolio. It was inspiring after so long to meet in person with entrepreneurs such as Nicky Goulimis from Nova Credit, Maria Chatzou from Lifebit and Sokratis Papafloratos from Numan. We gained insights on how to promote the Greek Innovation Ecosystem in London, and how to move forward with such powerful players and connections in the region.
In addition to reconnecting with our network based in the UK, the team took this opportunity to meet with high-level investors from Softbank Vision Fund, EBRD Venture Capital and BC Partners, just to name a few.
These meetups have paved the way to building a solid relationship that will expand our investor network, and offer further value to the Endeavor community.
The HealthTech vertical also tapped into the community in London, hosting a meetup with great entrepreneurs such as Michalis Papadakis from Brainomix and mentors from the Greek and Global portfolio. We plan on expanding our connections and making a greater impact on the HealthTech field in London, in order to better service our entrepreneurs, and map talent for Greece.
We also met with organizations such as Sifted, Tech Nation, and Bloomberg, and accelerators such as Techstars, for the team to gather insights on how these organizations build and support their ecosystems. We discussed how to become more extroverted globally, as well as potential partnership opportunities that would guide us in providing these services to our network.
Romania
Being the first Endeavor Office in Europe, founded in 2012, we were fortunate to have gone through many learning curves ourselves, and get to where we are now through first-hand experiences. Endeavor brands itself on the multiplier effect, and what better way to show that than by instilling it within our staff and our offices. It was an impactful experience being able to work with the Romanian office and offer insights into what we have learned over the years. The teams exchanged operational tactics that can keep both offices at a high-impact level for their networks.
Following our first trip, members from the Endeavor HealthTech team travelled back to Bucharest to meet with individuals from the local healthcare network. Many influential entrepreneurs gathered in efforts to kick-start Endeavor’s presence in the country, and create a strong healthcare community in the Balkans.
Portugal, Web Summit
First and foremost, attending Web Summit exposed Endeavor Greece to many partnership opportunities. By being present at the event, the team was able to physically meet with the coordinators of Web Summit and discuss the endless possibilities of how we showcase our network on a regional and global level.
As an organization that dreams big, we envision Greece facilitating opportunities for our entrepreneurs, to contribute at a level further than participation.
What’s an Endeavor Greece trip without a few networking events on the side? We hosted two meetups which helped facilitate connections between existing Endeavor companies and potential ScaleUp companies. The first included companies such as Bryq and PNOE and the second included companies, such as Bubble.io and Chilli Piper. Additionally, we met accelerators/VCs including PlugandPlay and Phystech Ventures as well as potential mentors, including Chris Morton from Lyst and Emmanuel Straschnov from Bubble.io in efforts to grow our investor network and offer more resources to our entrepreneurs.
Finland, Slush
Endeavor Greece visited Finland to attend Slush, a European-led event, which facilitates meetings between investors and founders of startups, aiming to build a worldwide startup community.
We went there to expand our investor network and support our portfolio companies in their efforts to fundraise, as well as connect and engage them with the Greek Innovation Ecosystem in Finland and at Slush.
This was an excellent opportunity, much like at Web Summit, to seek opportunities, grow our media exposure, and become more extroverted in the region.
Following that logic, the team had many important meetings with influential media. A few being, Tech.eu, Wired, Sifted, and Slush. They provided important insights on the Greek Innovation Ecosystem and how the team can create partnerships to grow our media presence and simultaneously put Greece on the global map. This can be done not only through networking of our own but through exposure at events.
We hosted one dinner, and two breakfasts with many high-level attendees at each. Some honourable mentions include the meetup hosted with Endeavor Entrepreneur Guillaume Pousaz, Founder of Checkout.com one of Europe’s largest startups. Attendees included Endeavor mentors Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner at Softbank Vision Fund, Nick Kalliagkopoulos, Partner at Prime Ventures (VC) and 10 top Nordic ScaleUps.
Qatar, WISE
Endeavor Greece visited WISE, the World Innovation Summit for Education, to expand the EdTech network and support the WISE accelerator by delivering insightful sessions to participating companies.
We acted as facilitators by organizing a few sessions delivered at WISE Summit by Endeavor Entrepreneurs, Melvyn Lubega, Founder of Go1 and Rama Kayyali, CEO & Co-founder of Little Thinking Minds. ScaleUp Entrepreneur Nikolaos Nikou, Founder & CEO of Classter from the Endeavor Greece network was also present. After meeting with top entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and executives that are working towards changing the EdTech Landscape around the world, we plan on engaging these individuals with our existing portfolio.
New York, USA
What better way to end the year, than a trip to the city where Endeavor’s Headquarters are located; New York. Since the Greek business community is quickly growing in NYC, we invited 40 Greek founders, investors, and executives to join us in a networking night, filled with ambition and ideas for the future of the Greek Innovation Ecosystem. The visit also included time where operational feedback was given from the global team on how to provide maximum impact to our network.
We had a breakfast meetup with local executives and Endeavor Greece Entrepreneurs, featuring Costantza Sbokou-Constantakopoulou, Endeavor Greece’s Chairwoman and Linda Rottenberg, Endeavor Co-Founder & CEO. We met with companies that are in the pipeline for the ScaleUp program and we were able to have a live catch-up, giving them information on what they need to know and how we can help them move forward.
The trip to New York helped Endeavor Greece secure commitments and create awareness in the community of our progress and vision. With that said, we have $10M in commitments for Endeavor Catalyst IV and a target to raise $25M from Greek LPs.
The network is working towards Endeavor Greece owning 10% of the total Fund IV. Greece’s participation in Endeavor Catalyst is evident in Fund III, where we raised $5M from Greek LPs and owning 4% of the Fund.
So far Endeavor Catalyst III has invested in 36 companies 24 of them Unicorns and we had 4 IPOs. We’re looking forward to our network being a high-impact player in Endeavor Catalyst and establishing footprints in the community.
Bringing Value to the Greek Ecosystem
By tapping into the Greek business hubs of each country, the team and the Endeavor network have brought extensive value to the portfolio. One of the objectives we plan on focusing on in 2022 is growing substantially, by bringing in the next big success stories and the highest impact entrepreneurs around the world.
The importance of global networking was evident as we made our way around the world. The team looks forward to utilizing all possible resources, in order to make the networking experience at Endeavor Greece a memorable and impactful one. It brought to light that valuable connections are made possible both virtually and in person.
What we were grateful for, was the well-missed face-to-face interactions, which was shown through how eager each individual we met was to make personal long-lasting relationships with the network.
The Endeavor Greece team made sure to follow all COVID-19 procedures and took extra precautionary measures to ensure the safety of our team, as well as those we met abroad. We hope to see you on the same side of the camera soon as we continue to create high-impact connections all over the world together.