Developers Playground: The global interest of startup companies has sparked the first Launchpad in Thessaloniki. Startups from various countries, such as the Netherlands and Turkey, as well as from many cities in Greece such as Athens, Kozani, Volos, etc., will attend the Thessaloniki International Fair from September 11 to 14, where Google employees and speakers from the global developer community and beyond will be present to guide participants on how they can utilize Google's tools and inform them about legal issues and financing methods.
Each day, participants attend expert presentations and talks, receive personal feedback from mentors, and work on their project. The goal is to develop it in a short period of time using the experience and advice of selected guests:
1. Jim Athanasopoulos | CEO Hellenic Entrepreneurship Award
2. Dimitris Stratakis | President and CEO of Wellaby's
3. Michalis Nalbantis | Strategy and Branding Consultant
4. George Poulakas | CEO of Ad Hoc
5. Loukas Pilitsis and Michalis Dimitropoulos | Representatives of PJ Tech Catalyst Fund
6. Panagiotis Tsantilas | CEO of Palo
7. Sotiris Karagiannis | Business Consultant
8. Dimitris Nikolaidis | Professor of City College Thessaloniki
9. George Gemenetzis | Google Certified Partner
10. Angelos Maglis | CEO of Atlantis Consultants
11. Ioannis Igglezakis | Assistant Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
At the end of the four-day event, all teams will be invited to pitch in front of the entire “Developers Playground” audience as well as visitors to the International Exhibition, and the best ideas will receive further support for their implementation.
“It was truly impressive to see that the interest in our Launchpad reached as far as the Netherlands and there were participations from there. This shows us that our efforts over the last 12 months have paid off: Thessaloniki has become a point of interest for Innovation and Technology,” said Mr. Panagiotis Tzinis, founder of the Google Developers Group Thessaloniki, inviting new businesses to share their ideas and technical skills.
LAUNCHPAD AGENDA
DAY1 TALKS | DESIGN A PRODUCT THAT USERS WANT
• “Product Design” | “Project Evaluation Techniques” | “Business Experiences”
DAY2 TALKS | MARKETING | STRATEGY | FINANCE
• Financial Sessions | "Internet Marketing"| “Product Strategy” | “Branding Strategy”
DAY3 TALKS | BUSINESS | LAW | TAX
• “Company law” | “Ask for Money: How?” | Death & Taxes | “Intellectual Properties”
DAY4 TALKS | PITCH ENGINEERING
• All day pitch and techniques
The detailed Developers Playground program can be found at gdgplayground.org or call 2310 291141.
