RG Connect18: Where Challenges Meet Solvers
What is the best way to change negative perceptions? Prove them otherwise. Reload Greece is a UK based educational charity whose objective is exactly this. The UK-based organisation aims to inspire young people to become part of the new generation of successful entrepreneurs and create a positive change in Greece. On Saturday 6th October, Reload Greece held an annual conference in London, called RG Connect18: Where Challenges Meet Solvers. The conference connects leaders and innovators from the Greek diaspora, in order to inspire change, and promote opportunities for entrepreneurial growth. This year, the conference brought together more than 350 Reloaders and offered to all a day full of inspiring talks, debates and networking opportunities. Academics, entrepreneurs, investors and policy makers met in London and exchanged views on the challenges and solutions for entrepreneurship in Greece and beyond.
Here are Wide Strategy’s selected quotes from the day:
- “Entrepreneurial innovation is all about experimentation. You have to create a friendly environment and support young startups to experiment” -Professor Francisco Veloso, Dean at Imperial Business School.
- “What we look into when investing is: the team, the ambition, the product and the stage” –Equifund Funds’ representatives.
- “In Greece, we need role models, a next wave of tech-innovation and a government with common sense, for the startup ecosystem to develop” -Niko Bonatsos, Managing Director General Catalyst.
- “We have achieved lots of reforms in the Greek economy but there is still work to be done in terms of licensing, justice and public administration” -George Chouliarakis, Greece’s Alternate Minister of Finance.
- “The Greek educational system needs to be reformed: there is a lack of ambition, skills and entrepreneurial culture” -Sotiris Papantonopoulos-Mantopoulos, Partner Uni.Fund.
- “There is not enough talent locally yet, to be put into this huge capital poured in from Equifund” Chrysanthos Chrysanthou, Partner Kindred Capital.
- “Luck comes when opportunity meets preparation” -Christos L.Stamatis, CEO Stevia Hellas Coop.
- "The most important person in your life is you" -Renée Elliott, Founder of Planet Organic.
- “It is not me, it is not even a team, it is the community itself that can create change in a city… change takes time and vision is what makes the difference” -Dimitris Papastergiou, Mayor of Trikala, Greece.
- “To identify a leader, you need to look into three areas: how does he/she deals with crisis, how does he/she manage stakeholders and how does he/she manage people” -Michael Tsamaz, Chairman and CEO OTE Group.
- “We spend far too much time complaining about how things are and forget that we can change anything and everything” -Effie Kyrtata, CEO and co-founder Reload Greece.
Greece's Alternate Minister of Finance, George Chouliarakis.