Our Erasmus+ team visited INNOVATHENS in Athens, Greece, which provides resources and networking opportunities for startups. They witnessed 17 teams pitch their ideas to potential investors over 5 minutes each. One app that stood out was CarpeVidem, which allows restaurant owners to promote their businesses through videos, tours, maps and customer reviews on the app. The students found it a valuable experience to understand the pitching process and business planning, and an opportunity to see how innovative ideas can be shared.

1. Our visit to
INNOVATHENS
Erasmus+ team in Greece

2. On Wednesday 15th of March our Erasmus+ team visited “INNOVATHENS
Creative Industries: The Pitching”
Inside Technopolis City of Athens, the most
recognizable place of Athens with more than
900.000 visitors per year.
A historical old gas deposit has been
transformed, from scratch into a modern,
well equipped space and is functioning as a
center for networking, knowledge and
experience exchange and research
institutions for young people of the city of
Athens.

3. The key objectives of INNOVATHENS seek to:
•Create sustainable technical and organizational preconditions to
attract innovative ideas and new groups or entrepreneurs.
• Provide open innovation services of high added value to the start-up
community.
•Encourage projects promoting with the use of conventional
information and communication technologies.
•Network with ecosystems and funding opportunities within and
outside Greece.
The objectives of INNOVATHENS

4. Young people of the City of Athens, and beyond, who have the
ambition to create an innovative enterprise
Individuals and/or working groups, which already have dared
their first attempts
Groups of students or graduates with creative new ideas who
intent to transform them to sustainable businesses
Enterprises being in the establishing phase
Innovative enterprises wanting to develop their business model
and enter the global market
Addressed audience

5. The event
The 17 teams participating in the INNOVATHENS’ Creative Industries programme,
supported by PLANET, had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to potential
investors and other businessmen by having 5 minutes to introduce their ideas.
PLANET, in collaboration with INNOVATHENS for the cultivation of innovative new
business initiatives, provided to the programme’s participants targeted advisory
services regarding business strategy development, as well as personalized
mentoring and coaching throughout the duration of the programme.

6. One of the ideas which stood out to us the most was
CarpeVidem is an application where restaurant owners can
promote their businesses. This app includes videos, tours,
maps and reviews from the customers themselves for each
shop making it easier to find a place to eat catering to
everyone’s needs.
It seems practical and well designed. It also gives the
opportunity to small businesses to promote their services.

7. “It was interesting to see something like this for the first time and better
understand the importance of having a business plan. We certainly had fun
and the opportunity to spend more time as a group and discuss which
business we believed to be the most prosperous.”
Students’ experiences
“It was without doubt an experience to remember, since we got to
see how anyone can make their ideas heard and utilize them. The
only things needed are will, innovative ideas and positivity.”