What did you study at DEREE?
I decided to study at Deree when I was 17. I don’t really remember why I chose Deree instead of the economics department of the law school where I was also accepted. The truth is that at that time I didn’t have many factors to influence me. My decision was probably based on the simple fact that Greek university started with a two-month delay because of strikes, and the much more appealing Deree facilities.
How did it help you in your life so far?
I almost all ways it has been a very influential experience. As a personality, it gave me the chance to become more organized, fast thinking and alert. In the professional field it gave me from day one a better understanding of how a multinational environment feels like and also the chance to meet great people (fellow students, professors, staff). As a businessman, today I continuously recall words and actions from classes and basketball training sessions at Deree.
Which was your favorite course?
I cannot exclude many courses. However, I was always attracted to courses that were closely related to real market action; that were marketing and sales related. I remember I enjoyed my last marketing course most – although I do not recall its title…
Your favorite professor?
Many! Nikos Koumettis and Sotiris Kyriakos for being so inspiring as to the reality of the workplace. He doesn’t know it but I chose my first company because Koumetis was working there. He was certainly the best for me. Also Professors Gounaris , Burke and Valahas. I still use the presentation rules of the last two.
Your favorite activity at the College?
Playing for the Deree basketball team; great experience and some great sweating moments there with coach Papahatzis pushing us to the limit.
Your favorite spot on campus?
The gym, [the then] Wendy’s and the pool. Also Room 330 – a great classroom for presentations – that has now been converted to office space.
Did you make any close friends at DEREE?
So many I cannot make any exceptions by mentioning anyone. Except Chris Koukios, who is also my best man.
How did your come up with the idea for your business?
Ever since I can remember myself I was talking about ventures. All sorts of ventures – online ties to whatever one can think of. I was an MBA student at Bocconi when I did this research for online travel in Greece. While presenting, a professor started asking questions and pushing me. At the end he said “If it is so good, why don’t you proceed?” And here I am…
As you went about setting up figame.gr, did any lesson learned at DEREE stay in your mind?
What I, and the whole team of Figame.gr LTD, do is very closely related to marketing. I remember Koumettis talking about bringing results in any possible way. He was talking about innovation in all the ways you are operating. All these marketing courses are being applied in our company now. We innovate everyday: new processes, new applications and new ways of operating.
Entrepreneurship is not valued in Greece as it is in other countries. Where did you find the drive to become an entrepreneur?
The truth is that in other countries you have the option to fail as an entrepreneur and it’s OK. In Greece, if you fail, you might end up in jail without having done anything illegal. The drive can come only from you. No one can inspire you or show you the way when starting something new. And there are moments that it hurts a lot. So now, when younger people me ask me if they should start a new business, after examining all the pros and cons and giving some directions I tell them not to do it. I do that because if my opinion is to affect their choice they are not ready to do it. If it won’t, they will do it anyway.
Did you anticipate this kind of crisis when you were starting?
There are different definitions of crisis. In Greece we have been talking about crisis for the last 20 years. So if the question refers to whether I was expecting 20% unemployment, a currency-change threat, massive income reductions and a dry-out in bank lending to companies, then I certainly did not.
Would you have started figame.gr had you known how severe the crisis would be?
Yes, but not in Greece. As a professional and as a businessman I never accept reasons like “crisis” for continuing to run companies in any environment. It is always in our hands to change sector, market or anything else necessary in order to make the company viable at the very least.
Greece is notorious for its bureaucracy. How has that affected you and your business?
It is very difficult at the beginning, when you open the company and start operating it. It is a real nightmare. Also it creates many problems in effecting radical change in companies. But after a point things happen more smoothly. From time to time you always remember the bureaucracy though. Problems are also very much related to high taxation.
What special adjustments have you made so that your company can survive the crisis?
We are in a constant adjustments process. We decrease operating costs and at the same time invest in new travel software products that we are building. We know that crisis is here to stay. So we expand in niche travelling markets having to do with corporate travel, congress travel and also better solutions for the Greek traveler.
Tell us a few things that you would change in order to make life easier for entrepreneurs.
The speed that things can be done must change. We should be able to open and close companies very fast, to open accounts in foreign countries, to move capital and resources. We have to become business-friendlier in all aspects. Entrepreneurs and companies must deal with the core of their business and not spend time with irrelevant legal and other bureaucratic matters. In short: cut bureaucracy in all parts of the economy.
Tell us a positive and a negative lesson you learned from running your companies.
I cannot find negative lessons. I can only think of negative things that happened and gave me the experience not to do them again. So all the lessons are positive. Some of those I can think of: no matter how pressed you are, keep thinking where you want to be in a year from now and take steps towards that; don’t shortchange the future by spending all your time trying to solve current problems. After all, the future is all you have! The past is already gone and the present will expire very-very soon.
Have fellow alumni supported your venture?
No.
Are you optimistic for the future?
It’s my job to be optimistic. I lead people and a company. If you cannot formulate the future so that you are optimistic, there is something you are doing wrong. So keep restructuring, rethinking, reshaping and everything will be turned around.