Cyprus Startup Ecosystem

Stavriana A. Kofteros

Career & Entrepreneurship 2014 @UCY

Startup Catalyst. Entrepreneurship Evangelist.

• Curator Cyprus Startup Digest • Organizer Startup Live Cyprus • Organizer Cyprus Startup Weekend • F.M. Cypriot Enterprise Link Association • Startup Cyprus Initiative • Startup Mentor & Adviser • Past Life:

– 12 years in Business Incubation; 6 as CEO of www.diogenes-incubator.com

• Day Job: – Special Entrepreneurship & RDI Adviser @Democratic Rally – Deputy Press Spokesperson @Democratic Rally www.disy.org.cy

www.about.me/stavriana

TO ECOSYSTEM

From EGOSYSTEM

Overall Business Environment

Funding

Support Structures

Team

YOU

Business Environment

Market

Sources of Funding

Legislature

Competition

Taxes

Gov Startup Strategy & Programs

In your market & in your country of op

Funding

MECIT Entrepreneurial Innovation Program CyEC

CyBAN

You…

International Market =

International Investors

Support Structures

• Startup Live

• Startup Weekend

• Open Coffee

• HackCyprus

• SpacApps

• Desk&Co

• Urban Hive

• Coworkspace

• …

• Network to get to know them

• Diogenes

• Helix

• Ermis

• ChrysalisLeap

Incubators &

Accelerators

Mentors

&

Coaches

Startup Events

CoWorking Spaces

Team

Startup Community

Networking

Co Founders Team

YOU. potentially a startup entrepreneur in process

Its up 2 U!

Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem +

• Innovative Startups • Entrepreneurial Innovation

Schemes • Cyprus Entrepreneurship

Competition • Business Incubators • Research Centers • World class research results • Youth & Women

Entrepreneurship Schemes • Micro-funding Schemes

(loan): JEREMIE, PROGRESS

• CyBAN

• Change of Culture Initiated • Open Coffee Cyprus • Cypriot Enterprise Link • Hack Cyprus • Startup Grind Cyprus • Connect

• Outreach • Cyprus Startup Digest • Startup Live Cyprus • Startup Weekend Cyprus

Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem -

• Έλλειψη Επενδυτικών Κεφαλαίων Υψηλού Ρίσκου • Έλλειψη προγραμμάτων δημιουργίας καινοτόμων

νεοφυών εταιρειών • Χαμηλή Ακαδημαϊκή Επιχειρηματικότητα • Έλλειψη διαδικασιών δημιουργίας spinoff • Έλλειψη χρηματοδότησης • Πολύ χαμηλή επένδυση στην Έρευνα (0.45% ) • Κυπριακό Όνειρο: Δημόσιο – επιλογή καριέρας…. • Έλλειψη οράματος? Ή έλλειψη αυτοπεποίθησης για

το καλύτερο αύριο?

The Road of Success

Entrepreneurial World

Cyprus Dream…. say what?

Thank God.

Cyprus & Startups. Τραβάμε «ζόρι»?

R we Startup- Challenged?

ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET

LET’S TALK STARTUP

Passion of CEO is the single differentiator between doing ok and doing well

What a Startup is not!

• Startups Are Not Smaller Versions of Large Companies

• Large Companies Execute Known

Business Models

• Startups Search for Unknown Business

Models

Steve Blank

What’s a Startup

A Temporary Organization

Designed to SEARCH

for REPEATABLE

and SCALABLE

BUSINESS MODEL

Steve Blank

LEARN STARTUP

Rule 1

•Be the aspirin.

Critical Success Factor: Make.Meaning.

• world class product (whatever it is)

• have fun doing it

• in a business area or segment that is at its “ground floor” and in its infancy

• Value proposition

MIT, EDP

Be the aspirin for your customer’s headache

Don’t fall in love with the technology.

Fall in love with the customer

Rule 2

•Be a Pig.

What R U?

More Rules

3. Team up. Get co-founders.

4. Evangelize idea.

5. Get great Mentors.

6. Public speaking training.

7. Pitch. Pitch. Pitch.

8. Network. Network. Network

• TALK.TO.THE.CUSTOMER.

• Write /Revise BP.

• Do Not Self - Fulfill (your) prophecies.

• There is always competition.

• Build the product fast. MVP. • Test it.

• Fail Fast. Re-build. Retest.

• Get Traction.

Lean Startup Methodology

R u scared? Good.

Let’s talk money

Raising Funds

• Same everywhere

• SV: Just because there are VC funds doesn’t mean they will fund your start-up

• Silicon Valley update - 8:10 do not get funded

• VCs don’t really jump to invest in early stage…. – Funder of Pandora.com got rejected by 300 investors…

• Plan to build your company without any outside

investment Bootstrap • Then maybe you are ready to speak to potential

investors

Creative fundraising

1. Apply for Crowd-funding (e.g. kickstarter) 2. Get a Loan from 3Fs 3. Apply to Startup… Chile…! 4. Use your Credit Cards 5. Start Side Projects

Money shouldn’t be an objection when you’re starting a company. Be creative.

Carlos Solorio, Founder of Arden Reed, a custom menswear company.

http://under30ceo.com/5-creative-ways-raise-money-without-giving-equity/

Why Startups Fail?

Most startups fail

from lack of customers

not from failure of product development

Steve Blank

Keep learning

http://steveblank.com/books-for-startups/ …

http://startupdigest.com/cyprus

Get involved. Get Connected

BE THE CHANGE. BE CRAZY.

Thank you

@Stavriana_k skofteros@disy.org.cy