Maryam Rezaei
Chrissoula Manolakaki
Panos Chreppas
Stamatis Tsagias
Asimeni TountaAkis Stark
I always find it amusing when I meet people who have done so much but they don’t brag about it! As I was listening to Akis Stark narrating his story and somewhere along he mentioned in a very fast and not bragging way, that he was in a meeting with Mark Zuckerberg… or that he had 100 people under him! Akis besides modest and his obvious charm and looks, is very disciplined, serious, workaholic, polite and down to the point! He also has a top notch CV!
Akis Stark, half British- half Greek, has spent most of his life abroad… studied and worked in London, USA, France, South Korea and Singapore! Starting his career from junior positions at Google, he passed from many positions there and held many senior roles within Google and was part of the team in opening the Greek Google offices. Later at Samsung South Korea, reporting directly to the president of Samsung, holding a position in strategy and supervising for the 57 companies under their umbrella! Seriously, it was a tough interview trying to understand all the fascinating things Akis has done, because he has the “no big deal” attitude!!!
Akis Stark felt he reached the point where he could predict his path in the future, so wanting to bring creativity, flexibility and to call his own shots he entered the world of startups and entrepreneurship but not as a startup, but as an investor establishing a London based investment company, www.weingrow.com. He has already invested in 10 startups and his new baby, Carky, is one of the reasons he is back in Greece! So what is Carky? Do you have a car and you either don’t need it or you are away or you can’t afford to use it due to road taxes etc.? Well problem solved… get online and register your car and find someone who is willing to pay you good renting money for it! And insured! According to Akis Stark and international similar platforms, the car economy sharing model is worldwide known and is the future of the renting business! In its few month operation in Greece, they have over 2000 cars registered already! Carky doesn’t just help the car owners but also is fully legit and brings the government the income from the cars that were not being used due to taxes!
Akis, in contrary to other investors, believes that Greece is the perfect place for a startup! As he finds the work force over qualified, smart and a way more competitive environment in terms of costs than many other countries. Akis Stark is an international professional and what stands out with him is his politeness and disciplined character… And so is his team! As I met and talked beforehand with one of Carky’s team members and was intrigued by her manners and politeness! I guess it’s true what they say about leaders inspiring their team...
http://www.carky.co.uk
