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Digital Entrepreneurship in Greeceand how to startup

Apostolos Apostolakis

RELOAD GREECE

Imperial College Dec 2013

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APOSTOLOS: STARTUPS FOR A LONG TIME

1998 Cofounder e-shop.gr

2009 Cofounder Openfund.com

2011 Seed investor, advisor Taxibeat.com

2012 Cofounder e-food.gr

2012 Cofounder doctoranytime.gr

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Circumstances/opportunities in Greece

How to startup

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INTERNET SERVICES ADOPTION LAGGED…

2000 2002 2004 2006 2010 2012

online travel

Computer etailing

car listings

clothing/ shoes etailing

House listings

Online banking

Social networks

Online insuranceJob

listings

Year of adoption in Greece

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…ALLOWING ROOM FOR DISRUPTION

Full doctor profile review and online appointment booking not possible before July 2012

Online delivery-food ordering was possible only by the end of 2011

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INTERNET VENTURES HAVE LOWER CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS…

•Low product development cost

•Efficient marketing

•Disruptive enjoy virality /social marketing

•Appeal to a larger market

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…EVEN MORE SO IN GREECE

After 26 months and 2,5 million euro funding•More than 10,000 taxi drivers

•200,000 rides per month

•Active In Greece Brazil Mexico and France

•Lower IT wages

•Lower rents

•Startups in Greece are used to lack of support

Case study

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…AND OFFER FAST BUSINESS DEPLOYMENT

Within 14 months

•1800 available doctors

•books 1000 appointments per month

Within 22 months

•900 restaurants

•12 cities

•receives 1500 orders per day

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GREEK CRISIS:AMPLE TALENT OPEN TO NEW EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

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CIRCUMSTANCES HELP BUILD UP A WAVE

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Until 2007 no recurrent technology meetup in Greece

Until 2009 no seed investing fund in Greece

THINGS STARTED JUST A FEW YEARS AGO

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MANY MAJOR STARTUPS HAVE LAUNCHED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS

Raised 1,85 million USD funding, active in more than 10 countries

Profitable startup sold to SPLUNK

2 seed round total 400K Traction in Greece Brazil and Spain

Raised more than 5 million euro funding for Greek operations

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AND THEN EVEN MORE …

167 STARTUPS MAPPED @Greekstartups.com

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WE ARE JUST IN THE BEGINING..

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OPPORTUNITY FOR ENTREPRENEURS: LAUNCH OR WORK FOR DISRUPTIVE PROJECTS

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Co-working spaces

Accelerators/Incubators/Advisors

MANY AVAILABLE RESOURSES

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FUNDING IS EASIER…

Angel investors

First Athensfund

Odyssey Venture

Partners

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Circumstances/opportunities in Greece

How to startup

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6 QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

1 Product

2 Innovation/differentiation

3 Market (size/ competition)

4 Team

5 Implementation plan

6 Investment required

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… BETTER IN WRITTING

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1 WHAT IS THE IDEA/PRODUCT

Has to be easy and comprehensible Consumer has limited time and short attention span

Elevator pitchWhat is www.doctoranytime.gr ?It is a service that allows you to identify , find extensive information about (cv, patient opinions, cost per visit etc) and book an appointment with a doctor

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2 WHAT IS THE BENEFIT/INNOVATION

CONSUMER BENEFITS

Easy to order• No need for catalogues• No need to call and wait

Choice• More restaurants• Rated restaurants

Better prices• Restaurant offers

RESTAURANT BENEFITS

New customers• Internet users • Marketing spend based on results

Less expenses• No need for leaflets• Less telephone load

Promotional activites• Easy and fast rollout of offers

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1-2 HOW TO COME UP WITH AN IDEA?

Personal need• Rated dentist near me:

Friends’ needs • Baby sitter : • Pet hotel

LISTEN / LOOK AROUND YOU

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3 MARKET SIZE AND COMPETITION

Market

13,000 taxis in Athens: 200,000 rides per day

10% penetration means 20,000 rides per day

• 0,75 euros per ride means annual sales for Athens

around 5 million euros

Competition

Radiotaxi

Old habit

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4 TEAMBefore STARTUP During STARTUP

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4 TEAM IS VERY IMPORTANT

REQUIREMENTS1 Complementary skills

ΙΤ (Web development) Marketing Sales/Business development

2 Confidence among team members in their Competencies/skills Moral values Commitment to the project

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4 WHERE TO LOOK FOR TEAM Coworking spaces • 123P• Colab• Cube

Accelerators• EGG• Metavallon

Technology meetups • Opencoffee • Reload Greece

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5 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Web/mobile development

Operations plan• Customer support• Merchant support

Marketing plan• Internet • PR

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6 INVESTMENT REQUIREMENT

Even a lean startup needs investment

example

IT platform 40,000 eurosMerchant acquisition 30,000 eurosMarketing (internet,PR) 70,000 eurosRunning costs until breakeven 110,000 euros

Total upfront investment 250,000 euros

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6 WHERE TO GET FUNDING

Friends fools and family

Venture capital/ Angel investors• Openfund2• PJtech catalyst• First Athens• Odyssey venture partners

Incubators• EGG• Microsoft innovation center

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SUMMARY :IT IS A LOT OF WORK AND IT IS RISKY IS IT FOR YOU?

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http://workablehr.com/jobs/greekstartups

Many startups look for people are great schools and meeting places

YOU CAN WORK FOR A STARTUP…

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Summarizing

if you create your own startupand look for funding …

…OR YOU CAN CREATE ONE

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…GET IN THE OTHER PERSON’S SHOES

WOULD U INVEST YOUR MONEY IN YOUR IDEA?

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DO YOUR HOMEWORK…

Idea/ProductMarket size

Go to market plan

Operational needs + Capital needs

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… IT SHOWS RESPONSIBILITY TO YOURSELF AND YOUR LISTENER

Build credibility

Respect other people’s time

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ADVANCE YOUR IDEA TO PRODUCT ON YOUR OWN

Seek funding at the latest possible stage

Faith in your product Less dilution

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THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK

APOSTOLOS