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Paul Papadimitriou: Very happy to have you here, Bindi.
Bindi Karia: Well, thank you. My first time in Athens.
PP: First time in Athens, so please welcome her.
(Applause)
PP: So, I've been here a few days and I've been seeing start-ups,
I've been seeing many different programs.
She is known as the Queen of Start-ups in Europe. Can I say that?
BK: Embarrassingly. (laughs)
PP: She looks like a queen, right?
She also looks like a Greek, actually.
Everybody keeps speaking with her in Greek, is that right?
BK: That's true. I'm not Greek. I'm Indian by background, but--
Yeah, I need to learn Greek very quickly.
PP: So the question people kept asking me and I want you to give your take is
What makes an Entrepreneur? Entrepreneur is a very hip word.
Everybody wants to be an entrepreneur nowadays.
It's becoming almost too fashionable.
What is your take on that?
BK: First of all, I should comment that the program I look after,
in the United Kingdom, not even in Europe,
there is about 3,300 tech CEOs that I've worked with.
So, I've learned a lot just by being on the outside,
and sitting back and observing.
But, every single one of them has a very similar set of characteristics.
I know a lot of you know this,
but actually when you see it through so many people,
it's the same, time and time and time again.
And I had to make a list, just because there is so many.
PP: On a Microsoft Surface.
BK: Yes, yes.
PP: Maybe the first one that ever [been] in Greece, here it is.
You can be jealous.
BK: I think the first comment I'll make is--
They have no fear.
They are willing to take any risk, absolutely risk.
They have just an absolute dogged determination and focus.
And they just keep going and going and going and going,
and working and working and working and working,
and they just don't stop.
You know, a couple of good stories--
I've seen a fair number of failures as well as successes,
and for me, the most impressive of what I've seen in entrepreneurs
is when things don't go so well.
So, I'll give you one example. One start-up I worked with--
They actually had something like a 750,000 euro contract
with somebody, and that contract failed, and therefore
these guys had to declare bankruptcy.
And that was-- I saw them cry and it was very, very emotional.
But, that didn't stop them, what they did is
they actually declared bankruptcy.
They then repurchased the IP from the auditors,
at an increased premium, because the product was so interesting.
They said, "We don't care, we're going to put money
back into it and we're going to do it".
And time and time again, they just refused to stop,
and that's really one fantastic characteristic.
PP: So, you are saying, you saw grown men cry--
We all know that Greek men do not cry, right?
(Laughter) Go on.
BK: Well, I don't know--These start-ups are like your babies.
So, I disagree with that.
I have seen a lot of jumping for joy, as well, with successes.
I think the other comment is-- I think part of the reason that you
asked me to come speak with you, is about this whole concept of doing.
And, honestly, they just deliver.
They have an idea, they build the product, they get it out to market.
They test it, they test it, they test it and they just deliver.
And they do and they do and they do.
There was a blog recently that I read, and I won't state it,
because it's a bit of a swear word, but it's called Entrepreneur *** something.
It's the Mark Suster blog. It was just written a couple of weeks ago.
And he talks about sort of the downsides of being an Entrepreneur.
But you're working and working and working and doing and doing and doing--
And the most successful ones continue to do that, time and time and time again.
They go there, they won't take no for an answer.
So if they are trying to sell to someone, they'll close the deal.
They will not say no for an answer. And even, for example,
wanting to work with me at Microsoft, or with any of us in big corporates.
They just won't take no for an answer. I'm getting e-mails,
phone calls, Twitters, Facebooks, LinkedIn messages--
They are just really fantastically persistent.
You know, they just deliver.
PP: So, in terms of-- You cover Europe.
You have this view of Europe that very, very few people have, right?
We all know there's-- okay there is a crisis in Greece.
The economic climate in Europe is not that good, though we're seeing--
What is your take on the European market?
Do you see some cities that are better than others?
Everybody talks about London. It's very fashionable to talk about
Berlin these days as well.
Sadly, not many people talk about Athens yet-- I hope one day.
So, what is your take on this? Is it possible? Because the US
has this integrated market. That makes it a very big market.
We have the European Union, but we still speak several languages,
several regulations. What do you say?
BK: Well on the whole, I am actually quite positive.
Different people have different views, but--
I actually started the program that I run in the UK, almost 5 years ago--
and it was sort of the end of the first nuclear winter, right?
Do you remember that? Those of you that were around long enough.
I remember Lars from Facebook--
I was talking to earlier, and he speaks later tonight.
He called it the Tech Wreck and I called it the Nuclear Winter.
But, actually, what I've seen is tremendous growth.
I saw a lot of amazing things happening since 2008.
So, I'm actually on the whole quite positive.
There is a report that was released, and I do encourage you guys
to download it-- It was called "The Start-up Genome Project."
It sort of gave the global cities report.
Of course, Silicon Valley was #1, Tel Aviv was #2, and in Europe--
it was a little bit disappointing. London was 7th, Paris was 11th,
Moscow was 14th and Berlin was 15th.
But, really, in there, what they talked about is exactly what
I'm talking about. It's sort of the mindset of the entrepreneur.
And I'm going to quote them-- "It measures how well the
population of founders in a given ecosystem
thinks like a great entrepreneur.
It's where the entrepreneur is visionary, resilient,
has a high appetite for risk, a strong work ethic,
and has the ability to overcome the challenges".
And I'm actually seeing that, living in London,
just some of the great stories of what I see in London.
So a good example is one of the chats earlier, they talked about
a lot of the empty space that you have in Athens.
A lot of start-ups I know just pop up in really
crazy, empty spaces around London.
One of my favorite stories is this start-up that popped up
in a factory in northwest London.
It was next door to a curry factory, and the empty factory needed a babysitter.
So the start-up said, "Okay, we'll just set up there".
And so everyday they used to work with the smell of curry from
the curry factory coming in next door.
But they just set it up beautifully. They found old furniture, created desks.
One of the coolest things they did is-- They were trying to get investment,
and they set up a red carpet down this horrible pathway,
candlelight all the way down,
and they invited investors and people like me along,
to come meet them and learn what their company did.
They convinced one of their mothers to cook a dinner for about 30 of us.
So, it was amazing. They set up a table, they just popped it up--
I'm seeing that time and time again.
These guys just kind of make it work.
And I think there is real opportunity here,
based on some of the stuff I've been seeing in Athens,
and just the number of people I see in the audience, as well.
PP: Have you seen differences in the different ecosystems that exist in Europe?
Do you think there is one recipe that works everywhere?
Do you think every country has to have its own--
I mean-- I know you love to cook. And she is an amazing cook!
If you're ever lucky to taste her food, you will be amazed.
So, do you think the recipe, is it the same in all the countries in Europe?
BK: I think an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur is an entrepreneur.
It doesn't matter where they're from.
They are there and they want to succeed.
I think, culturally, it depends.
I think, actually, what I've seen in the ecosystems that I've worked--
so in London, Paris, Berlin,
there's a real sense of community and a real ecosystem.
So, a really good story is in 2008, a start-up in London called Huddle,
acted to set a meet-up, called Drink Tank.
The reason they did that is because there was a lot of CEOs, quite lonely,
didn't know each other. And they just wanted to do a meet-up CEO to CEO,
where they would just meet up once a month, and they would talk to each other
and learn from each other and peer mentor each other.
And that, actually, I felt, was the seed of what was starting to bubble in London.
I start to see that in places like Berlin. We've got the co-working spaces.
In London, we've got a lot of co-working spaces,
and big corporates now starting to set up those spaces.
So the Google Campus. I know Microsoft has set up a similar type of space,
where it's not co-working, but you can go in and you can create and design.
And a lot of the big corporates are getting involved.
So I think it really starts with a seed of one or two passionate individuals,
that can set it up and get it going. And it's amazing how it blossoms.
Having lived through that in London and now seeing that across Europe,
I'm pretty positive, actually.
PP: We are seeing some seeds, actually, in Athens already.
There's a few co-working spaces, incubators--
You've been aware of, we were talking about it last night, actually.
BK: Absolutely.
PP: There is a lot of good stuff. Maybe these are good signs.
So, we are talking about Europe. Let's now talk about Greece.
Greece is in a dire situation-- You read the news.
Don't believe all the news about Greece though, right?
There are no riots in the streets. You've seen--
BK: No, nothing yet. (Laughter)
PP: There is exaggeration from the press, which is understandable.
What kind of advice would you give the Greeks?
Whether they are entrepreneurs, whether they just want to help.
BK: I think-- Don't let the current situation get you down.
When we were in London, in 2008, it was pretty dire.
People were losing their jobs, and that was back in the day where
whole banks were shutting down.
And the observation I made is: Don't let it get you down.
Just get out there and be persistent and don't be scared of failure.
I think that's one of the things I do notice in Europe,
that people are a bit more scared of failure.
I come from an Indian background, and I've had my fair share of failures,
if you want to call it that. And I was really ashamed to tell my family,
because, you know, they are very pressuring of you to be successful.
But, actually, if you are not scared of it, you just keep going.
I think that is very important.
Others things I sort of wrote down here, I jotted a bunch of stuff:
Be innovative. Don't be scared to question.
Don't let the naysayers get you down.
So, I'll give you a good example--
We do a big European event for Microsoft, with start-ups.
I like to call it the "Eurovision Pitch Contest".
We've got 15 start-ups from around Europe,
and this year we actually had a Greek start-up pitch, "Parking Defenders".
Some of you might know John. And John was fantastic!
We'd never really met a Greek entrepreneur,
and this guy was awesome, and he
did come in the sort of the top set of winning entrepreneurs.
Paul was actually at that event.
I think the one think we noticed about him is
he didn't let the naysayers get him down.
He had a great idea, he found a problem--
I think the other thing is-- Create a community, an ecosystem.
I'm starting to see that. But, really be there for each other.
Mentor each other and keep flying people in. Greece is a cool country.
So keep flying mentors and people like that in.
Paul is incredibly well connected, so that's why I was privileged enough
to come here, but just keep flying people in and learn from each other.
Learn from the successes and failures.
And just don't be scared to get back up and dust yourself off.
PP: Just a little parenthesis in the story. In 2008, I was living in Tokyo.
So similar story--here was a huge crash, we all know, the financial crisis.
Same thing happened. Japan is not known to be an entrepreneur country.
And then I saw so many start-ups actually being created.
It is also an opportunity. Crisis is also opportunity.
That's where you need to go through catharsis.
It's easy to say, I understand, but there are people ready to help.
BK: Well, I think one stat I can give you is--
You know, a lot of entrepreneurs that I've seen, actually,
were made redundant from large companies.
So, they lost their jobs and they just said--
"You know what? Forget it. I'm just going to create my own company"
And two presentations ago, he said the right thing, which is:
if you can't find a job, create your dream job.
And you can do that. And statistics that I regularly say--
I do a lot of work with the UK government, and I would estimate that--
The BizSpark Program in the UK--
We've created between 6,000-8,000 jobs over the last 2-3 years.
So, really, you guys can create that.
And it is, again, going back to today's theme, it's about
doing it and getting out there, and be willing to take the risk.
It's not easy. Long slog. Hard hours, but--
PP: In two words, what is for you, you mentioned mentors--
What is, for you, the role of role models?
Do you think countries, or ecosystems, need role models, need success stories?
BK: What I'm seeing is a really amazing trend in Europe.
More and more entrepreneurs who've made it the first time,
so I'm thinking of Zennström and Skype and setting up Atomico,
or Brent Hoberman from LastMinute, and Michael Birch from Bebo,
setting up PROfounders, and they're
actually second-time entrepreneurs investing in first-time entrepreneurs.
I'm beginning to see that as actually a really interesting trend.
Even entrepreneurs that I started working with 4 years ago, they are now--
You know, when I met them, there were four people and a couple of punks
in a small office, and now, they are on their series-C funding,
they are turning over a hundred million a year, and they
are actually reinvesting in people they believe in.
So, actually, the very successful entrepreneurs, I'm seeing giving back.
So, I think that is sort of another comment, is
Karma is an amazing thing. I'm a Hindu. So for me it's a big thing.
But, I find, time and time again, if you keep giving,
you do get back, in spades.
PP: Remember that. Greek start-ups.
I know a lot of you guys, in Greek start-ups. You're amazing.
Don't let people tell you you're not, because compared to other--
She just told you the story about Defense Parking, Parking Defense?
BK: Yeah, Parking Defenders, John.
PP: And, you are great, but don't forget to give, all the time.
It will come back to you, it will come back to you. Don't hold on.
Well, maybe, now, a little bit more about you.
Besides you being an amazing cook.
(Laughter)
The reason also that she is so much appreciated, so many start-ups love her,
Now she is leaving Microsoft BizSpark, moving on to Silicon Valley Bank,
and I know that you have all these start-ups coming back to you--
"Oh, we love you, oh, why are you going?" or,
"Oh, we want to follow you, what are you going to do?"
But how did you make this effect on people?
Besides being a very beautiful lady.
BK: Being a good cook. No, I've actually, I think one of the things
that I really like to do is try to help them where I can.
So, if there is a product I want to test of theirs, I will.
I'll try to break it. We have this saying--
PP: By the way, you test products even on the stage, actually, right?
BK: This is a start-up called UpperStreet.com.
You go online and you build the shoes.
So, I tested the shoe builder, I purchased a pair of shoes,
and this is the product, so I'm actually,
as we say at Microsoft when we are testing software or a product,
we call "eating our own dog food".
This is definitely not dog food, but I tested it for her.
PP: And you love shoes.
BK: I love shoes, yes. If I was going to do a start-up
it would probably have to be around shoes.
But, that's one of the things I like to do.
I really like to get involved with the product and the company.
And if it doesn't work, I'll be the first to pick up the phone and call them.
They really like me to test it and give it a go.
One start-up, they are focused on chefs and cooking, so
yeah, they roped me into their office and I cooked for 20 of them,
which was a bit nerve-racking, because a lot of them were chefs,
and that was very scary.
It's constantly trying it. Another start-up, to save money they have
a barn on their farmland, about an hour outside London.
So they've convinced me to go walk the dogs, and
hang out with them as they build their products.
So I think I care. I spend a lot of time with them.
And I think that makes a difference.
I think, secondly, I've worked on a start-up myself--
PP: But you were also available when they ask you--
Because that's also something. Guys, we do start-ups and ask.
People are there. They will actually answer you.
Don't think that-- Don't be shy, basically.
People, I meet, people like her, there is a lot of people.
Not a lot of people like her, because she is exceptional,
but a lot of very, very good people. So don't hesitate.
BK: Don't be scared of asking, I think, is the comment.
And then there are big corporates, like ourselves, IBM, Google, Microsoft--
All of us actually do have programs
where we do help early-stage companies.
So, just work out what those kinds of resources are.
PP: So, what would be, in a few words, your key advice?
The main points-- If this audience has to leave now,
what [should] they remember?
BK: Well, what's the theme of today? Just do it guys.
You have nothing to lose. Honestly.
I think that's my key advice.
PP: See? Do it.
Thank you guys.
(Applause)