1. 50 CyprusStandards.com
Whether we like it or not a major
contributor to our GDP is now severely
(hair) cut – pun intended. So where
do we go from here? There is only
one solution for Cyprus and that is
not hidden bellow the sea in the
form of Natural Gas. Natural Gas is an
opportunity – not a solution.
Our solution is to reinvent ourselves
and startup Cyprus. Literally. Allow
me to elaborate. The Cyprus Dream
of working in the public, semi -public
and banking sector is finally dead.
Thank God for that. This dream was
nothing but a curse shadowing Cyprus
for the last 30+ years and traumatizing
our true entrepreneurial spirit. I have
nothing against public servants. They
perform, or should perform important
service to the society. I am totally
against everyone wanting to become
one though. And the public sector
being the most competitive employer
was surely not a good sign for Cyprus.
Happy to say this is changing.
I have been in entrepreneurship and
startups for well over a decade and
since 24 months ago to be exact there
is a noticeable shift in the culture.
The curse is lifting and our innovative
and entrepreneurial self is lying under
the surface waiting to be polished. In
my past, pre-political life as the CEO
of the Diogenes Business Incubator
of the University of Cyprus, I was
often invited to deliver inspirational
speeches on entrepreneurship and
startups.
My format of choice was the
proverbial kick in the … behind. It
works. It works not because I was
such a great inspirational speaker but
because I happened to be hitting a
nerve that is already there, practically
waiting to be tapped. More and more
people are seriously looking into
starting up and this is the best news
about our country.
Numerous initiatives have sprung
up enhancing and augmenting a
community of mainly young and
restless people that view technology
as a great enabler. With the
business incubators, these initiatives
collectively aim to Startup Cyprus,
a vision to change Cyprus, aiming
to influence, help and support the
development of entrepreneurial
mindset in our country, while
empowering and strengthening the
Cyprus Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.
Alas, a bit of good news. The culture
is shifting and changing. What
normally would have taken a couple
of generations to change is now
morphing fast and mainstreaming.
While these changes are taking place,
Cyprus is still an island and a small
country. Now an island and a small
country with a wounded banking
sector and an economy starving for
cash. And as we know, Cash is King.
Or, as my dear Professor at MIT
used to say, CIMITYM. Cash is more
important than your mother. Yet I see
opportunity springing up; the angel
opportunity.
Cyprus needs
angels.
Seriously.
I am not an
authority on
the feathery kind but I can definitely
talk about the business type. The
business angel investor. An angel
investor or angel - also known as
a business angel or informal investor-
is an affluent individual who provides
capital for a business startup,
usually in exchange for convertible
debt or ownership equity (Wikipedia).
Business angels invest in startups
at their very early stage, when no
Stavriana A. Kofteros
Youth Entrepreneurship

2. 51 CyprusStandards.com
bank will loan them and over half the
people they meet consider them crazy
for attempting to startup, and that’s
an understatement. If it weren’t for
angels, startups would be stuck in
the valley of death and well, die. The
name “death valley” refers to the high
probability that a startup firm will die
off before a steady stream of revenues
is established. Unless a startup can
effectively manage itself through the
death valley curve, and raise funds it
will fall victim to negative cash flows.
High risk investment capital might
be hard to find in Cyprus but it is the
same everywhere. Just because there
are Venture Capital funds in Silicon
Valley it doesn’t mean they will fund
your startup. Actually in Silicon Valley
about 8 out of 10 startups do not get
funded. The truth is, VCs don’t really
jump to invest in early stage. Hence,
the term “angel”.
Now we talk business. There are
people out there - in Cyprus - that
have already started considering other
investment options and investing in
innovative startups is an attractive
option for them. Not only do they
consider it, but they have actively
taken action too. Forming the Cyprus
Business Angels Network
(www.cyban.com.cy) for starters
about a year ago, our business angels
have already invested in 3 startups the
cumulative sum of €2.270.000. This is
what I’m talking about!
Innovation and startups is the future
of Cyprus. And we must all pitch in.
Some with our ideas, others with
our commitment to make it happen,
others supporting with mentoring,
coaching and networking and yet
others by investing. This is not charity.
This is a business proposition.
So what do we need to startup?
In order to turn our economy around
we need to “make meaning” in the
words of Guy Kawasaki. In the words
of Steve Blank, we need startups to
develop world class products that
solve problems in a business area or
segment that is at its “ground floor”
and in its infancy preferably.
We need to be solving problems for
the worldwide market, not just our
tiny island. Can we do it? The impact
of business incubation in Cyprus
paints an important picture in creating
highly innovative startups on a global
scale with sales of innovative products
launched in international markets
protected by numerous international
patents. More importantly, it hints to
the vivid potential of innovation and
innovative startups and this is the
name of the game.
The recent results of two highly
acclaimed startup events that took
place in Cyprus for the first time,
Startup Live Cyprus and Startup
Weekend Cyprus, and saw their
winners selected to join the most
succesful accelerators in the world,
are the light at the end of the tunnel.
(Full disclaimer: I was involved in the
organization of both these events).
Everyone who has ever taken a
shower has an idea. It’s not about the
idea. Everyone has ideas. It’s about
execution. The only way for an idea
to gain value is implementation by a
stellar team... So if you are starting up
take notes. This is what you need to
do. If you want to become an angel,
take notes as well.
[ [CIMITYM
Cash is more
important than
your mother

3. 52 CyprusStandards.com
The startups that do the bellow are the ones
you should be talking to and investing in:
Make meaning. Be an
aspirin. Develop products
and services that solve
your customers’ problems.
Don’t fall in love with the
technology, however hot it
may be. Fall in love with
the customer.
TALK.TO.THE.CUSTOMER.
Most startups fail from
lack of customers not
from failure of product
development. Let them tell
you what they need.
Do Not self-fulfill your
prophecies. Write and
revise your business plan.
Constantly. A business
plan is not a wish list, it’s
a road map. Make sure it’s
the proper one.
There is always competition.
The idea might be super-
duper hot, innovative never
done before, but hey, there is
always competition. Never
underestimate the power of
the existing way of doing
things.
Fail. Fail Fast. Fail better.
Build the product fast. So
you can test it fast. So you
can re-build and retest. Pivot
until you nail it.
Get Traction. Have paying
customers preferably. Or
lots and lots of users. That’s
the ultimate proof that your
product is an aspirin and
you are on to something with
potential. Then and only
then you are ready to start
looking for investors. If you
don’t have traction, go back
and repeat the above process
until you do.
But above all remember that you
have to be a pig. Not a chicken. A
chicken is involved to make an egg;
a pig is committed to make bacon.
A 100% committed. If you are not a
100% committed in your startup why
expect someone else to be? Startups
are not easy and entrepreneurs have
to be a little crazy to want to startup.
But in the words of Apple’s Think
Different campaign, the ones that are
crazy enough to think they can change
the world are the ones who do.
So let’s Be Crazy. Let’s Startup Cyprus.
And have fun doing it.
Stavriana A. Kofteros
@Stavriana_K
Deputy Press Spokesperson
Special Entrepreneurship and
Innovation Adviser
Democratic Rally
http://about.me/Stavriana
‘
’
It’s not about the idea. Everyone has ideas.
It’s about execution. The only way for an
idea to gain value is implementation by a
stellar team...
‘
’