The Hellenic Business Network – New York Chapter held its inaugural Entrepreneurship Symposium at Columbia University’s Schapiro Center in NYC on Saturday April 2nd. “Focus, persevere, be passionate” was the unscripted theme that was permeated to an engaged audience of more than 125, who sacrificed a beautiful Saturday but got a lot in return.
By Konstantinos Papakonstantinou
The symposium agenda included three moderated panels that presented different points of view of the entrepreneurial process: 1) the entrepreneurs discussed coming up with and executing an idea, 2) the success stories debated definitions of success and getting there, and 3) the investors shared tips on how to engage and get funded by VCs.
“I’m very pleased to see that our hard work is producing tangible results,” John Dimitrakakis, HBN Founder and President, said in an interview with NEO magazine. “This chapter has grown at a breathtaking speed and this highly successful event is indicative of what is yet to come. Kudos to our sponsors, organizers, guest speakers, attendees.”
Dean Polites, the symposium’s Chairperson and HBN Director, and Charis Lypiridis, President of the Columbia University Hellenic Association, kicked off the event and passed the reins to Graham Lawlor, Founder of Ultra Light Startups, who moderated “the entrepreneurs’ point of view” panel with Steven Georges, Alex Kombos of Event Now, Michael Lam of Radiashield Technologies, Ben Rubenstein of Yodle, and Katie Shea of Funk-tional Footwear.
Steven provided the perspective of a corporate entrepreneur and a deputy to the idea person, and concluded with a “know thyself and be passionate” message. Alex was already on his third startup and stressed the importance of solid research so that you know what you are diving into and how much money you will need as there are no lifelines in entrepreneurship when you miscalculate your runway. Michael came up with an idea that he could not believe anyody had thought of, but nevertheless recommended using one’s network as openly as possible instead of clamming up to protect the intellectual property, because “you cannot execute it alone”. Ben noted that the hardest thing is to maintain focus: entrepreneurs often come up with too many frills and add-ons, but customers care about only one or two things. His advice to fellow entrepreneurs was “cashflow, not ego”, meaning that it is ok to give up ownership for the greater benefit of the company, because it’s better to own a small piece of a much larger pie. Katie, finally, offered a younger point of view, which resonates particularly with many NYC entrepreneurs: disillusioned with the world of finance, she found opportunity in her tired feet and with her partner came up with a women’s accessory product to solve their pains, literally.
The second panel was moderated by Harilaos Zouvelos, CEO of Harmony of Motion. His questions were directed to successful entrepreneurs with decades of business experience: George Brot, ex-SONY senior executive and Founder of Beta Business Products, Andrew Sispoidis, CEO at a stealth company with multiple exits under his belt, Sam Stathis, CEO of Polo Electric, and John Zakos, Founder of MyCyberTwin.
The discussion opened with the panelists’ slightly differing definitions of success: for Sam it is making money by doing something that you love and allows you to grow, for John it is more about contributing and the impact you make, and for Andrew it is about contributing to the world in a way that pushes things forward. The panel then discussed the importance of business plans, but recognized their value more as an internal exercise and a tool to align complex organizations. Sam compared its necessity to a music score: “a solo musician may not need a score to play good music, but a conductor needs it”. Even if business plans are not critical though, the panel highlighted the importance of perseverance and passion: you need consistent enthusiasm and to believe in yourself in order to overcome the inevitable obstacles and “no’s” you will hear, and you need to really enjoy what you are doing to endure the ups-and-downs.
The first two panels were followed by an extended networking lunch, where business cards were flying and new friendships and potential partnerships were forged. The attendees swarmed around the entrepreneurs to soak up even more of their experiences.
Eventually, the group gathered back into the auditorium for a presentation by John Dimitrakakis, HBN’s Founder and President. This was followed by the elevator pitch event, where startups TalkAboutHealth, SocialSpice, and Wall Street FPGA presented solutions to connect patients and family with experienced survivors and experts who can help, to address once and for all the “meal for one” problem, and to make financial software ever faster.
The final event for the day was “the investor’s point of view” panel. The attendees, filled with words of perseverance and passion by that point, were keen to hear how investors actually think about ideas, teams, financing, and business plans. Konstantinos Papakonstantinou, HBN Director and entrepreneur, moderated a cozier panel with Jay Levy, co-Founder and partner of Zelkova Ventures and a serial entrepreneur, and Peter Lehrman, co-Founder and CEO of AxialMarket, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.
Both Jay and Peter emphasized that the key elements for a startup investor are product – market – team. Elaborating on the latter two, they explained that large and growing markets are crucial, because entrepreneurs are bound to make mistakes, so exogenous tailwinds are welcome. Also, it takes the same amount of work to start a business, whether it addresses a small or a large market, so why limit the opportunity? Focusing on people is paramount because the team will have to respond to market changes, or pivot to new products or even markets as conditions change. A great piece of advice for entrepreneurs to successfully navigate capital-raising was to start a dialogue with potential investors as early-on as possible: reach out to investors in your field, bounce your ideas off them, and send them regular updates with your progress, traction, and learnings. Entrepreneurs need to court investors before convincing them to part with their money, and through this process the money can come voluntarily without even asking.
The Symposium delivered great advice, insights, and contacts to all who attended. Hopefully there will be more events like this and there will be tangible incarnations of the wisdom imparted, in the form of new startups inspired by the group.
The Hellenic Business Network, Inc. (HBN) is an independent, not for profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization whose goal is to mobilize and utilize the expertise and resources available within our community to advance the commercial interests of all Hellenes and Philhellenes.
With chapters in Boston, New York and San Francisco Bay Area, HBN is the premier Greek-American professional organization in the US. HBN is a broad-based organization with members from virtually every industry and profession.
The HBN New York Chapter is lead by Alexandros Eliopoulos, Konstantinos Papakonstantinou, and Dean Polites.
