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1
Prior experiences from bridging
Greek Tech innovation with Silicon Valley
Plus new Opportunities to Team-up and Expand Bridges
Tom Katsioulas
High Tech Executive
October 1st, 2019

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10 Years Ago in This Auditorium
Corallia was ahead of its time starting the 1st Greek innovation ecosystem
24
GREEK INNOVATION SYSTEM
GREEK INNOVATION SYSTEM
WWW.GSRT.GR
WWW.GSRT.GR
 12 research centers covering the following disciplines:
 natural sciences (33 institutes)
 engineering (7 institutes)
 information technologies (7 institutes)
 social sciences (4 Institutes)
 humanities (5 Institutes)
 S&T Parks and Incubators for the development of innovative
and knowledge-intensive enterprises:
 7 public S& T Parks (Athens, Crete, Patra, Thessaloniki,
Epirus, Thessalia, Lavrion)
 8 Incubators with private sectors’ participation (Athens,
Thessaloniki)
TANEO VC FUNDS
TANEO, the Sovereign Fund of funds
Y d i t t i G k VC k t
Stanford University 2009
GOV
VC Industry
Eco
System
Academia

3.
Panel Discussion
3
First Attempt to Build Innovation Bridges
First High Tech Network, VC Linkage and Study for bridge with Silicon Valley
Panel Outcome

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4
Study of EU Silicon Valley Liaison Offices
National Commitment
Legislation, Platform, Vision...
Funding Sources
Agencies, Ministries, VCs…
Legal Structure (Tax)
Diplomatic Trade, US Corp…
Governance
Dual Board, SV Advisory…
SV Operations
Strategy, Functions, Metrics…
• Talked to GMs and heads of many liaison offices of EU countries
• In-depth focus on smaller (staff) countries comparable to Greece
• Norway (4), Denmark (9), Finland (8), Check Rep (1), Estonia (1)
• Common theme was the national process to setup SV office
• Commitment  Funding  Structure  Governance  Operations
• Avoid bureaucracy with many agencies, or incorporating at home
• Back then our focus was to bridge tech startups with Silicon Valley
• Drive SMEs to come in Silicon Valley and change mindset with workshops
• Incubate, mentor SMEs on biz plan, elevator pitch, VC fundraising, etc.
• But we also learned how they evolved their bridges of innovation
• Investments strategies and grow IP & IQ value in their home country
• Networking, promotion, match-making, startup business acceleration…

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5
Strategies & Functions of Liaison Offices
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
• National programs promoting resources to attract investment
• Promoting low-cost labor is less effective vs. value-add IQ
• Outbound Innovation Investment (OII)
• Programs helping high tech SMEs to enter foreign markets
• Liaison offices in high tech hubs help accelerate market reach
• Foreign Indirect Investment (FII)
• Leverage home IP and IQ to attract biz partners in ventures
• Liaison offices help raise business sophistication at home
• Inbound Operations Investment (IOI)
• Global big company invests in core operations in home country
• If Ops include R&D, it adds to the nation’s intellectual capital
Market Intelligence
Major Corporations
Venture Investments
Trade Journals
Research Firms
Network Development
National Diaspora
Corporate Partners
Angels and VCs
Universities-Academia
Promotional Events
EXPO Events
Industry Sector Events
Public Relations
Branding and P.R.
SME Incubation Acceleration
Pre-incubation at Home
Incubation in Silicon Valley
Service Partner Referrals
Business Process
SME Business Development
Match-make with customers
Intro to Partners & VCs
Custom Market Studies
Domain Expert Support

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First Pilot on Outbound Innovation Model
• Business Acceleration for 40+ Greek tech startups
• Focus on electronics & semiconductors, some ICT
• 10+ funded, acquired, or moved to Silicon Valley

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More Attempts to Build Innovation Bridges
Task Force led by
Evangelos Simoudis
Review 16 Greek
Startup Plans

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Greek Innovation Ecosystem Growth Paradox
• Economy shrank since 2008
• Unemployment Peaked
• 200K+ Greeks Left*

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2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Known Success Stories (Please Add Yours)
Ceragon Acquires Elxys

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Recent Investment Success Stories
New models and record investments suggest a new era for Greek innovation

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Analysis of Greek Tech Ecosystem Growth
*Source: The Boston Consulting Group, 2018
*Sources: EIT Digital and the FOUND.ATION, 2018

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Evolving the New Greek Innovation Ecosystem
• Bold Innovation Vision
• National Commitment
• Legislative Actions
• Ecosystem Platforms
• Government
• Private Sector
• Academia
• Collaborative Network
• Innovation Initiatives
• Liaisons in Tech Hubs
Timing is excellent to EXPAND Greek innovation bridges with Silicon Valley
Let’s learn from other nations’ experience and do it better!
▪ StartUP Portugal grew 600 startups and 121 incubators in 12 months
▪ Startup Estonia and Startup Delta grew by reducing regulatory hurtles