By Anjelica Smilovitis.
Greek Australian George Moulos is making waves speaking about entrepreneurship at universities around Greece and Europe.
The Greek Herald has previously spoken with the 24-year-old but since then, he has been named in the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Greece. Today, he opens up about what he’s currently doing to promote healthy cycle entrepreneurship in Greece and the reason behind his passion.
As a Kytherian living in Sydney, Australia, George grew tired of the business mentality he saw among fellow Kytherian Australian’s.
“We Kytherians can be shrewd businesspeople, but I dislike it and that’s why I left,” George tells The Greek Herald.
Moving to Cyprus, George hoped to connect with people who had a “pay it forward” mentality within entrepreneurship and business. But the young entrepreneur saw a similar mindset in Greece as he did in the Kytherian Australian communities back home.
“Greek entrepreneurship culture I have seen is very much ‘take what you can and give nothing back’,” George explains.
“It strikes me as odd.”
“There’s also a gate keeper mentality, as if there is a limited amount of success for people. But I’ve always said, ‘a rising tide takes all the boats’.”
To change the tide, early last year, George began speaking locally at university campuses in Cyprus about the value of pursuing entrepreneurial ideas and retaining a sense of community.
The feedback was positive from students, teachers and professors, so much so, professors began referring George to different universities around Greece. He has also spoken at universities throughout Eastern, Central and Western Europe.
Entrepreneurial-minded Greek students often voice to George how they are keen to start their business endeavours but don’t know where to begin.
That’s why George believes Greece could benefit from cultivating a healthy cycle of entrepreneurship where more successful businesspeople give back to the community, investing in the next generation.
Over the past few years, George has put time into helping students workshop their ideas. He will further support young entrepreneurs with group workshops at the end of the year. The full day workshops will give people the opportunity to flesh out ideas together and learn how to get started in business.
“Oh, and the talks and workshops are free – this is all non-for-profit,” George adds.
“I do it because it’s meaningful. I’m taking what I have seen in the entrepreneurial space in the United States and Sydney and applying it in Greece – because it’s just not done here.”
Back in Sydney, George would attend similar workshops on Friday’s called a ‘pitch night.’
“People would pitch their idea. It was very chill. But it was an easy way for you to run your idea by 100 to 200 people. That’s the sort of culture Greece and Cyprus needs,” George says.
As a young Greek Australian entrepreneur navigating his way through Greece, George has experienced pushback from the Greek community. While he respects the critics and believes scepticism can be valuable in any new space, George continues to back himself and invest in young entrepreneurs.
And he has strong reasons why he believes this work is needed.
Ten years ago, two very successful mentors in Australia saw something in George and put time and effort into supporting him as a young entrepreneur.
“It baffled me. As a Kytherian, I was used to the mentality of people seeing what they can get from you. Whereas, my mentors were saying ‘how can I help out?’ he explains.
George believes it’s his time to honour what they have done for him and pay it forward.
