1. Cyprus Startup Ecosystem
Stavriana A. Kofteros
Career & Entrepreneurship 2014 @UCY

2. 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

3. TO ECOSYSTEM
From EGOSYSTEM

4. Overall Business Environment
Funding
Support Structures
Team
YOU

5. Business Environment
Market
Sources of
Funding
Legislature
Competition
Taxes
Gov Startup
Strategy &
Programs
In your market & in your country of op

6. Funding
MECIT Entrepreneurial
Innovation Program
CyEC
CyBAN
You…
International Market
=
International Investors

7. 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

8. Team
Startup
Community
Networking
Co Founders
Team

9. YOU.
potentially a startup entrepreneur in process
Its up 2 U!

10. 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

11. 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?

12. The Road of Success
Entrepreneurial World

13. Cyprus Dream…. say what?
Thank God.

14. Cyprus & Startups. Τραβάμε «ζόρι»?

15. R we Startup- Challenged?

16. ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET

17. LET’S TALK STARTUP
Passion of CEO is the single differentiator between
doing ok and doing well

18. 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

19. What’s a Startup
A Temporary Organization
Designed to SEARCH
for REPEATABLE
and SCALABLE
BUSINESS MODEL
Steve Blank

20. LEARN STARTUP

21. Rule 1
•Be the aspirin.

22. 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

23. Don’t fall in love with the technology.
Fall in love with the customer

24. Rule 2
•Be a Pig.

25. What R U?

26. 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

27. • 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

30. R u scared? Good.

31. Let’s talk money

32. 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

34. 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/

35. Why Startups Fail?
Most startups fail
from lack of customers
not from failure of product development
Steve Blank

36. Keep learning
http://steveblank.com/books-for-startups/…

37. http://startupdigest.com/cyprus
Get involved. Get Connected

39. BE
THE
CHANGE.
BE
CRAZY.

40. Thank you
@Stavriana_k
skofteros@disy.org.cy