"The IDEA Startup Program was extremely useful for us since we were coming from a more research-oriented environment and aspiring to enter the business world. The provided training sessions and mentorship helped us to crystallize our ideas and goals, get a better understanding of the values, ethics, and practicalities of entrepreneurship, and develop hands-on skills such as basic accounting, pitching, development of a business plan, project management, and many more. Through IDEA we also had the opportunity to share our ideas and concerns with our fellow entrepreneurs from other startups, experienced businesspeople, and other professionals whose mentorship helped us immensely."  

Antigone Heraclidou, Co-founder Magic Lantern

"As a start-up, E-mbracelet had its first real taste of how serious and challenging the entrepreneurial journey can be when we joined IDEA Innovation Center. It was at IDEA where things truly got serious, and we realized the commitment and dedication it takes to build a sustainable business. The support and mentorship we received gave us the confidence to push forward, turning ideas into actionable plans. The strong connections we made there, both with fellow entrepreneurs and the incredible team at IDEA, were invaluable to our growth. The people at IDEA are not just knowledgeable but genuinely invested in our success, and their guidance has been instrumental in shaping our start-up’s future."

 

Christoforos Malekos, COO, E-mbracelet

"Being a part of the IDEA program has been an invaluable experience for us at Plutus. The workshops, mentoring sessions, and expert-led lectures have provided us with crucial insights and practical knowledge for growing our startup. Their support has helped us sharpen our strategy and gain a deeper understanding of the startup landscape. The mentorship and resources offered by IDEA have truly accelerated our progress, and we are grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a dynamic and supportive community."

Christos Christodoulou, CEO, Plutus

"Our journey with IDEA has been a steep learning curve, discovering many new opportunities for growth. The mentorship, resources and community have enhanced our strategies, critical thinking, pitching skills and of course our product! Pitching to real-world investors was a great experience, it challenged us, provided new perspectives, and pushed our idea further. The networking opportunities IDEA offers and their consistent support throughout, has been highly valuable in preparing us for the next step. Thank you IDEA team!"

- Dionysis Kastellanis, Founder & CEO, Hello Radius

"Our journey at IDEA has been a true transformation. We've received unparalleled support with several activities, such as mentoring lessons from key business experts and valuable guidance that makes us explore ourselves and our business ideas outside our comfort zone. In an environment that fosters creativity, IDEA has helped us refine our ideas and provided us with the tools and connections to turn them into reality. Our experience has taught us that anything is possible with dedication and the right resources. We're extremely grateful for this incredible opportunity, and we hope our success story inspires others to dream big and take that leap of faith. Thank you, IDEA, for being the catalyst for our journey to greatness."

- Nikos Felesakis, Founder & CEO, Park in Town

"I have an idea! And then your idea is considered to have innovative features and that's how you walk through the IDEA door. And there your idea blossoms and evolves day by day into an innovative start up"

- Paschalis Skrekas, CEO and Co-Founder, Premno

"From my experience, participating in the accelerator program offered by IDEA literally skyrockets your chances for the creation of a successful startup and equips you with all the necessary skills for turning your idea into a real business. All the useful trainings, help from the mentors, the consultants, all the hard work and efforts of the IDEA team, really helped us and encouraged us to work harder and eventually manage to create our startup HUMERAL. I am quite grateful for having the opportunity to be member of the IDEA community because not only helped us to create our startup but also has helped me personally to improve my soft skills, essential skills for someone that wants to create his own business"

- Christodoulos Karittevlis, Co-founder HUMERAL

"Joining IDEA was one of the best decisions Verum et Accuratus made. IDEA taught us everything about how to present our company to investors and stand out of the mass. Οur journey through the program was an exciting journey full of knowledge about the business world, support and guidance for every step we took whether it was small or big. The whole team, mentors and consultants have really helped us to build a solid foundation on which our business can stand so that it can run smoothly"

- Demetris Aresti, Co-founder and CEO of Verum et Accuratus

"The IDEA acceleration program brings people with big ideas together. From this point, IDEA is the driving force for the start-up companies to build a solid foundation of their vision and manage to achieve their goals. Through the professionalism and strict timelines set by the IDEA accelerator program and our mentors, we were guided step-by-step towards our goal. This program is certainly a tough challenge, but hard work surely pays off. It is definitely a great experience, especially when there is a cooperation among the teams, and at the same time maintaining a healthy competition"

- Nikoletta Nikivelou, Co-founder HUMERAL

"In March of 2021 we entered the IDEA accelerator program with just a business idea on paper, specifically a few presentation slides. Nine months later, we had a registered limited company, a solid business plan, a working product in the market, a team of ten persons involved in the business, and cash in the bank to get started"

- Christoforos Telemachou, founder of Logistaras

"The IDEA accelerator program offered us high quality presentations at the mentoring sessions as well as constant support from the mentors. It felt like having an experienced co-founder on our side. Moreover, we gained a lot of knowledge and useful advice from the important introductions and new connections with companies and individuals relevant to our project. The funding offered to us by IDEA, gave us the chance to develop and validate our idea with real customers by spending the money for building the MVP of our product. Whatever happens next, I will forever be grateful for the experience gained on the IDEA program."

- Constantina Pavlidou, HUMERAL

"Bird Focus was merely a thought before entering the incubator-accelerator program. Within only a few months, we have now grown into a company, launched our products / services and are currently selling them in the market. With the advice of mentors and consultants, we are now much more confident that we can keep developing our idea and company. IDEA has provided us with guidance, tangible and non-tangible tools to transform our idea into a profitable business. The seed funding is expected to allow us to grow our start-up further. IDEA has also provided with networking opportunities, both with current and previous start-ups of the program"

- Antaia Christou, co-founder of Bird Focus

"At the beginning of our journey with our start-up idea, I remember feeling a sense of being lost and not knowing were to turn to for advise and guidance.

One day out of nowhere I saw a flyer of IDEA innovation centre which got my attention. Our application was a shot in the dark, but here we are 8 months later, a member of the IDEA family.

The programme has given us the tools to grow and guided us to the point were we no longer feel unsure about our direction and have a solid plan for our company’s future.

We want to express gratitude towards everyone involved with IDEA and urge any young entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas to take their shot in the dark and apply."

- Eric Boutros, CEO, Estate Searcher

"Attending IdeaCy is by far the most important decision we have ever taken as a startup. It truly is an accelerator. Clearly our company would have never reached this level in terms of expertise, knowledge and skills without the push and guidance of the wonderful people at IdeaCy. We came in with a “prototype” and ended up with a business. We owe a lot to them and hope to make them proud"

-Alexis Georgiou, Co-Founder and CEO of Atokes

"IDEA came to me at a time when I was beginning to lose faith in my own idea and nearly stopped believing. It seemed that there was no support for fresh ideas to flourish in Cyprus until I discovered the programme"

- Liana Prastiti, CEO, Evlgot

"I can't imagine any startup that wouldn't benefit tremendously from IDEA'S support. To this day, joining IDEA was the best decision we've made at apopou.com.cy"

- Vias Stratis, Founder & O.M, Apopou

"We are very honored and proud that we are part of IDEA! There is so much I could say... from mentorship and consulting to networking and perpetual support, they gave us more than we expected. To sum it up in one sentence: It is THE place to be for any startup in Cyprus. I hope you keep up this amazing initiative for many years to come because your input in the Cyprus startup ecosystem is invaluable"

- Ionas Iona, CEO, JoinMyWifi

"Participating in the IDEA startup accelerator has been an amazing experience and an incredible journey. The intensive business training and support that IDEA offers is top quality and something that any young entrepreneur would benefit greatly from. Plus getting access to proper offices from day one was something that really helped us operate in a more professional environment and grow much faster. If you have an IDEA and the determination to turn it into a business, I would definitely recommend applying to IDEA"

- Stella Zapiti, Founder & CEO, Activitygogo

"IDEA can help you to get from an individual person who has an idea to a businessman who can manage a startup company. They give you the foundations needed to be able to work through obstacles that you might face in the future. You meet a lot of people who are in the business world for years and they give you knowledge that they acquired through those years. IDEA is a place where you can meet different kinds of people, some of them you can cooperate and some of them can provide you with knowledge. It is something that I recommend doing not just for the knowledge but for the experience too"

-Thanasis Charalambous, Co-Founder and CEO/Secretary of ForPeople TM

"Entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs and it has been extremely valuable being in such a great startup hub as IDEA. Working hard to grow our startup, Yumbles, alongside like-minded startup founders with bags of positive energy in a cool space has been fantastic and everyone benefits from each other’s experience as well as all the plenty of training and networking opportunities that IDEA offers"

– Simos Kitiris, CEO, Yumbles

"Idea has offered us the opportunity to learn many important things and how to make an idea into reality. The training with experienced mentors and coaches gave us the knowledge and all the necessary steps that we have to do in order to have a viable business. With their partners in Cyprus and other countries they made us see the bigger picture and meet with other ecosystem"

-Marios Frixou, Co-Founder and COO of ForPeople TM

"We are so proud of being part of IDEA's family. We gained so much experience from the constant mentoring, seminars and the networking provided for us there. Highly recommended for anyone who has an innovative idea and wants to transform it into a successful company"

- Marios Podinas, COO, Gnous Labs

"Being a part of IDEA has been a critical asset to us in terms of strategy, networking and company growth. We strongly suggest to every entrepreneurial spirit out there, to apply for the program"

- Chrysanthos Prodromou, Lead Engineering, Ppissis

"IDEA is more than we expected. Training and mentoring is beyond everything and we got answers for our needs. Networking and brainstorming is crucial to making our idea into a business. I have already suggested to friends’ startups to apply"

-  Varnavas Timotheou, CEO, Hegemonic Project

"The IDEA Innovation Centre supports entrepreneurs in their early stages to turn their ideas into well-formed and profitable businesses with high success potential. The intense three-month training we have received at the beginning of the program by recognised subject matter experts, provided us with theoretical and hands-on experience on key aspects around business development. We, Malloc, are honoured to receive this support in such an early stage in our journey. We have developed relationships with other start-ups and joined a start-up ecosystem of like minded individuals. At same time IDEA recognised our potential and has now become a proponent and supporter of our company"

- the Malloc Team

"Being a part of IDEA opens up the horizon for every startup. If sky is the limit, IDEA helps you get on the freaking spaceship"

- George Tziaza, CEO of Ascanio Entertainment

"IDEA for us has been where we felt hope that we can actually move forward and launch our company. I consider this a unique space full of inspiration, a must for all serious entrepreneurs and we want to encourage new teams to apply! It is an amazing experience, full of absolutely wonderful people eager to help you and guide you!"

- Maria Lavithi, CEO, HeroesMade