Success stories

New entrepreneur:
Karolína Slabá (Czech Republic)
Age: 28
Company name: Project Talk s.r.o. | www.project-talk.com (Start-up)
Sector of activity: IT, office and communication equipment, services and supplies

Host entrepreneur:
Anastazia Spyropoulou (Greece)
Age: 41
Company name: Cocoon Modules | www.cocoonmodules.com (7 years of experience)
Sector of activity: Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

As a new entrepreneur in the Czech Republic, Karolína Slabá was looking for new opportunities and new knowledge to run her own business, given the difficult situation created by the Covid 19 pandemic. At that time, international cooperation and investment had almost come to a standstill and she was at an impasse. She needed support in her business activities and someone with whom she could discuss her business problems. This problem was solved when she applied for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme and met her host entrepreneur, Anastazia Spyropoulou from Cocoon Modules, who asked her to come to Athens to help them with their communication strategy. Karolína liked the idea of working with her because Cocoon was excellent at marketing but struggled with many customer demands and Project Talk, the new entrepreneur's company, struggled with poor marketing. Karolína knew she could offer communication strategies to help Cocoon optimise its communication and project management. She also liked the idea of working with a female CEO, being a woman entrepreneur herself.

When the new entrepreneur arrived in Athens, her main task was to communicate with international clients. As the number of clients increased and there was no CRM system, which led to chaos in who answered whom, the new and host entrepreneur introduced a new CRM and project management system that facilitated communication with clients. Another task was to create a business plan that enabled Karolína to better understand Cocoon Modules' business, but also her own business. By optimising Cocoon's business model, she realised where she was making mistakes in her business and how she could optimise her own business model. The next task was to work on the EU Life project and expand into other markets. The new entrepreneur had the opportunity to participate in developing ideas for new ways of travelling. This idea was to reduce the carbon footprint of long-distance workers or tourists, which gave her new ideas on how to make her business more sustainable.

Karolína really enjoyed coworking with another CEO; she was inspired in many ways on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Overall, she gained a lot of confidence during her stay because she learned and optimised her entrepreneurial skills in Cocoon. The new entrepreneur had the opportunity to identify the mistakes she was making in her business that she could not figure out on her own. This helped her a lot to progress and make her services more attractive to her clients. Karolína also gained many new ideas regarding new trends, sustainability and international communication (like the GCC countries). She improved her language skills and discovered Greek culture and Greece, which she now considers her home. She was also encouraged and motivated by the Cocoon staff in their company values to make Europe a better place in terms of international communication and cross-border cooperation and was enthusiastic about the idea of sustainability.

For more information, please contact the local contact points involved in the exchange:

New entrepreneur's contact point:
Regional Development Agency of South Bohemia (Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic)

Host entrepreneur's contact point:
Asset Technology (Athina, Greece)

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