Intale created by a chance event! The initial impetus for the creation of the company was the accidental presence of its co-founders in a fight! They had no previous contact with business or the retail industry. More specifically, they happened to see two salespeople from two multinational companies fighting in front of a very small mini-market over who would place their products in a better spot. Inspired by this, the creators of Intale realized that the neglected sector of traditional retail is of particular importance to large supplier companies.
Intale's purpose is to bridge the gap between small retailers, large suppliers and end consumers in the traditional/retail sector through an online platform based on cloud PoS software with the help of which the shopkeeper can manage his store.
The road to starting the company was not – as expected – paved with roses, considering that they finally managed to establish the company the year the crisis broke out and the IMF came to Greece. In 2010, the process of setting up a company in Greece was quite complicated and particularly time-consuming. The most important problem they faced was the “thorn” of Greek bureaucracy. However, it is worth mentioning that the bureaucracy was eventually bypassed and the whole process has improved significantly in the last year in the country.
The factors that contributed to Intale's success can be summed up in two words, according to one of its founders, Fani Koutouvelis: innovation and the risk one is willing to take. Mr. Koutouvelis also believes that success is measured in the long term and not simply in the first good steps of a startup business.
The company has raised funding from angel investors and a Greek Venture Capital firm that is part of the Jeremie fund (EIF). As part of the company’s support from the local startup ecosystem, Mr. Koutouvelis received significant feedback from other young entrepreneurs when he spoke with people who were facing the same or similar difficulties as he was when he was setting up the business.
Currently, the company's customers are hundreds of small stores in Greece and some multinational companies. Foreign markets are its next step, with the first target being Cyprus and then two more markets in the wider region, while in the long term there is the goal of expanding to larger foreign markets.
The advice that Mr. Koutouvelis would give for the first steps of creating a web startup is that implementation and implementation are worth more than 100 great ideas.
For those young people who are looking for their professional future and have a business idea, but do not know how to implement it, one way out is to attend seminars and participate in events and corresponding competitions that may bring them the desired funding to start a startup business. Indicatively, the following are listed below:
- Third Applied Research and Innovation Competition (https://www.kainotomeis.gr/), an initiative of SEV and Eurobank
- Seminar of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, entitled “Entrepreneurship in Practice” lasting 4 months, https://elearn.elke.uoa.gr/epixeir_praxi.php?catID=all&prID=424
- Startdom Weekend, from September 5 to 7, an event by Startdom Accelerator, a six-month business acceleration and startup incubation program, https://startdoms.com/?page_id=3137
- Startup Weekend University, an institution that promotes youth entrepreneurship and encourages the realization of innovative ideas on October 18, 19 and 20 https://athens.startupweekend.org/
- Global Entrepreneurship Week: 17-23 November 2014 https://gr.unleashingideas.org/
The Startup Europe is part of Digital Agenda and is supported by Vice-President Neelie Kroes, with the aim of strengthening the business environment for web and ICT startups in Europe, contributing to innovation, growth and jobs in Europe, and promoting web and ICT entrepreneurs starting their businesses, giving them the opportunity to "flourish".
