Previously, we went on a journey to Greece to discuss with Stergios Anastasiadis, learn more about the Greek founders, and see what we can learn from them. Today we meet another ecosystem player and immerse deeper into the local entrepreneurship and investment landscape.

Meet ​​Panagiotis Karampinis, who has been leading the efforts of Endeavor Greece as Managing Director since 2018.

Defining trends in the local startup ecosystem

Before we dive into this discussion with Panagiotis, here are a few things about him:

Panagiotis joined Endeavor in 2012, and until 2018 he worked on developing the network, overseeing the process of selecting prospective founders, and managing a portfolio of 14 major Greek entrepreneurs, owners of successful companies such as Workable, FrezyDerm, Ergon, Konva, Christodoulou Brothers, Metamaterial Inc, and others.

We meet early in the morning to discuss what’s happening in the Greek startup ecosystem and the forces shaping it these days. Four months after the war in Ukraine started and the global economy saw the signs of its impact, Panagiotis offers a quick perspective on what the investment landscape might look like in the near future.

“Due to the recent events and the uncertain period we live in, I think we are entering a very interesting and challenging period in the global market. I expect the boldness of the investments will decline for a while, and there will be a bear market for some time.

However, I hope this will be quickly turned around, and startups & investors will be able to succeed. My advice will be to focus on generating more with the resources they already have and stay quiet for the time being.”

However, even though we are currently living in uncertain times, there are good things that still happen, and these will have a lasting impact on the region. Let’s get to business!

The second generation of startups is making waves

“We are looking at the results of the first generation of startups & founders, those who managed to scale their business in the global market.

Greece has a powerful diaspora community, as we had three or four massive waves of migration in the past, from 1920 until today. At Endeavor, we notice that this international community is super committed to supporting those connected with their group.

This is how our founders access an entire global network of Greek professionals settled around the world, willing to share their time and resources for the startups to grow. There are many ways that one can explore working together and use this network for their business.”

Besides this generation of startups, there are a lot of multinationals and big companies that are rising in Greece right now. Microsoft, Pfizer, Cisco, and many other big tech companies are opening local offices in Greece these days, acquiring other local businesses, and getting local momentum.

If a few years ago the number of international companies in the country was close to zero, now more and more are opening offices there. This is also impacting the local HR market, which is on a hiring spree; if a few years back you could have found only entry-level jobs advertised, now you can find a lot of senior positions.

The rise of family offices and how it shaped local investments

A silent, but very active player in the investment ecosystem, it holds great potential for Greek founders and startups: 50+ family offices are running right now in Greece, active in the tech startup ecosystem.

“The appetite for innovation is increasing and comes from established wealthy families and business leaders. These family offices invested more than 200M EUR in local tech companies, and even though they are not making every move public, we manage to find out what’s happening by staying in permanent contact with them.

However, we don’t know what they do with their other types of assets and investments. It’s clear that they know how to keep a diversified portfolio, though.”

Panagiotis and Endeavor offer us this unique insight into how Greece connected with family offices and worked together at the same table to benefit the ecosystem’s development and better overall results.

“At Endeavor, we feed them constant deal flows, even international ones, and we work closely with them through Endeavor Catalyst Fund.

Family offices have this amazing opportunity right now to connect with each other and create a unified community. They motivate other family offices too, and create an even bigger appetite for tech startup investments.”

The impact of the retail investor revolution on the local market

Individual investors are gathering their courage to take bold actions, generating a massive startup investment and democratization worldwide. We were curious to see if this trend is also present in the Greek ecosystem and what the results might be coming out of it soon.

“One trend we see happening across different industries is decentralization, which sooner or later will change the investment world too. It’s already happening through a series of fascinating changes and events in the US, especially through what happened last year.

I think that in this current state of events, what matters more is to have a clear and compelling narrative. If you nail this right, communities and ecosystems will come together around you.”

A stronger need for cross-border collaborations

There is much more room for learning and growing when looking to diversify a portfolio of startup investments. Panagiotis makes an interesting point about how much we can learn just by connecting with other founders of successful companies and what’s still missing from our local communities.

“I think we can better connect our local markets across Central and Eastern Europe. We should try to work together, as bigger markets often do.

We see a lot of big brands and well-known companies having a strong expansion strategy in our countries, but we see less such from local, successful companies. For example, we had UiPath’s IPO not so long ago and Payhawk and other local startups located in the driving range of our country, but we haven’t done anything yet to connect with them.

We can learn so much just by looking at others’ processes, then trying to put all the pieces together.”

There are a lot of different players who influence the movements of an ecosystem and its success. A core part of them is new startups being born, but at the same time, established companies and bigger corporations bring their contribution too.

“Fast forward to today, Unicorns are no longer rare, and they are increasingly global. As of Q1, 2022, there were 1000+ “Unicorn” companies. Nearly 1/4 are outside the US, China, and India — what we call the “Rest of the World.”

We can see successful examples, such as Uipath, Glovo, Bolt, Payhawk, Checkout.com, and many others, that originate from smaller countries. They validate a business idea very well in their local market and are ready to expand beyond borders. This wave of startups is getting great momentum right now.

We live in a different new world compared to a few years ago, and these companies are doing a great job pursuing new opportunities. As investors, we want to be part of this change!”

About Endeavor Greece and how it is helping Greek founders

Endeavor is a non-profit organization that fuels economic growth by supporting high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets. We have asked Panagiotis to take us through a quick tour of how the organization plays a role in the development of the local community and what type of resources founders can access.

“At Endeavor, we are trying to connect the dots within the ecosystem and bring together the needs of different stakeholders. We work closely with the big leaders rising up in each country and connect with family offices.

We look for those people and businesses who are on the right path in this wave of evolution, with constant results, and able to influence the growth of the global economy. We work together to determine the services the next-generation needs and identify the rising stars in the next wave of winners.”

Endeavor’s startup programs

Through dedicated startup programs, Endeavor searches and selects the entrepreneurs who have the best potential to generate massive success and scale their businesses.

The organization helps to make its stories known and provides them with the resources to sustain a lasting economic and social transformation in the market they are targeting.

“As an entrepreneur, you must undergo a selection process to be accepted in Endeavor’s founders' program. We have highly skilled and knowledgeable people who know what makes a company successful and work with the founders to help them be part of the global program.

Corporate managers, recruiting experts, business leaders from different sectors, investors, and family offices work together to help you perform well in your market. Across the journey, we want to ensure they have a multiplier effect, making the most of the business and taking those lessons and value to the next level.”

Endeavor programs that support Greek entrepreneurs

These are some of the core programs launched by Endeavor Greece, which have already empowered 30+ entrepreneurs, and 20+ local companies across 10+ industries.

Inside their current community of entrepreneurs, we can find successful founder stories, such as Nikos Moraitakis and Spyros Magiatis — founders of Workable, Charis Arvanitis - co-founder of Spotawheel, Periklis Venieris - co-founder of Green Cola, and many others.

• Endeavor Entrepreneurs — Endeavor Entrepreneurs are the fastest-growing founders with the greatest potential to inspire generations to dream big and transform economies.
• Endeavor Scale-up Program — This program focuses on fast-growing, high-tech companies founded by Greek entrepreneurs worldwide.
• Endeavor Tech Trainee Program — It connects tech undergraduates and graduates with high-impact tech companies. The program offers a series of courses and a library of tech resources carefully designed by entrepreneurs.
• OPAP Forward — This is the largest Entrepreneurship program in Greece, and it’s designed to offer a unique opportunity to fast-growing Small & Medium Businesses to enable them to unleash their full potential and generate new jobs.
• Rise Up Program — Endeavor and Kotsovolos joined forces to create Rise Up, an Innovation Program aiming to bring together promising Retail Tech entrepreneurs from the EMEA region and support them towards scaling faster, as well as unlock new opportunities in Retail by connecting them with top investors and brands in the region.
• Workintech — A platform connecting talent inside and outside Greece with rapidly growing Greek technology companies. It connects excellent professionals and top employers, while on the occasion of the Russia-Ukraine war, priority was given to applications from Ukrainian citizens.

“We have these programs and some earlier ones focused on developing new businesses.

Another purpose of Endeavor is to bring people together as a community and to help people connect with each other, to solve different problems in different ways. In Endeavor, you can find Greek members from everywhere in the world, bringing a wide range of skills and expertise to the table and being ambassadors of the ecosystem.”