Update from Christos - Jun 2021 🌞
Mentoring, strategic growth, funding wins, acquisitions, and impactful global collaborations across the US, Greece, Africa, and beyond!
Hello,
Summer is here and this is only my first update in 2021. Clearly, I am a bit behind with this!
Things are very different now compared to the beginning of the year. The US has been quite successful with vaccinations and NYC is now officially fully open. It is great seeing the city full of life again, even if it will take a while to reach its former glory! 🗽
Professionally I keep walking the path focusing on quality and impact, the two "criteria" that underline my activities. There have been numerous (new) developments. Here are some activities and success stories:
USA
I continue to mentor for the EPIC/SBDC at the University of California Riverside, working with some really cool companies in Health & Wellness, Education, and Digital Democracy. I also support the Cornell Tech entrepreneurship program
Relay on Demand, a startup I mentored for about a year, successfully raised $500K in a crowdfunding campaign 💰
Givsum and FarmSense, two companies that I help with product strategy and development, are also raising 6-digit amounts 💰
A HealthTech app for monitoring autistic patients, successfully completed initial pilots and is going after an NSF grant for further development
Greece
Mentored for the Spring cohort of Capsule T, a travel and hospitality accelerator
Started supporting Venture Garden, the open-to-the-public entrepreneurship program of the American College of Greece
Racecheck, a Greek-founded startup I worked with in the past, was successfully acquired by another player in the Fitness and Wellness space! 🎉
Africa
Started a collaboration with Changemakers Lab to promote social entrepreneurship through a Global Impact Accelerator that aims to create successful market-supported companies that do good 🚀
Participated (through SeedStars) in the SAIS (Southern Africa Innovation Support) program and mentored Mangwee, a Zambian startup in the FinTech/EdTech space. They were one of five SAIS grant winners and their mobile-money solution was successfully acquired by Zeepay, a FinTech company from Ghana! 🎉
Participated as a mentor and judge at the South African Entrepreneurship Intervarsity (Pitch Deck) Competition
Became part of the X-Africa mentor program and I am already exploring some interesting opportunities through this
Rest of World
Expanded my mentoring through Seedstars and worked with startups in South America, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Oceania (Fiji). I was recognized as "mentor of the month" in May 🎉
Started mentoring for UN CARE in SE Asia (also through SeedStars), a program for startups in the caregiving industry with a special focus on inclusivity and equality
In summary the past six months have been busy. There has been clear progress and some recognition. There have also been moments of doubt whether my skills & experience in this space can translate into success for Emerging Humanity as a business. Still, the path remains exciting and rewarding, and I keep walking it!
I am heading to Greece in July and planning to be "around there" through September. If you are in the area (Greece, Europe, MENA) and want me to support entrepreneurial initiatives or individual startups, please reach out! 😊
As always, I appreciate your love & support, whether tangible or in spirit. Let me know how I can make positive contributions to your life! And feel free to reply with your news.
Much love
Christos