GLOBAL EXPANSION ACROSS EUROPE - INTERNAL EPISODE | E006 PODCAST
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ABOUT THE GUESTS
Yuri Arthur, Bob Peck, Chris Hartswick and George Stroumboulis share their official remarks at the launch event.
In this episode of Invigorate Your Podcast, George Stroumboulis recaps the massive launch of his company, Ideoli Group in Europe. The team hosted a launch event in Athens, Greece where they invited the industry to experience the team, company and culture through a world-class event under the mystical Acropolis in the heart of Athens.
Official remarks on the occasion were given by: Yuri Arthur (U.S. Commercial Counselor, U.S. Embassy in Athens), Robert Peck (Former Ambassador of Canada to Greece), George Stroumboulis (CEO, Ideoli Group) and Chris Hartswick (CPO, Ideoli Group).
To read the full transcript, see below.
IDEOLI GROUP: https://www.ideoli.com
“This dynamic duo of George and Chris personifies the entrepreneurial spirit and grit required to succeed. And this they impart on a daily basis to their team as leaders, both men have skill sets that are remarkably complementary, a winning combination indeed. And underpinning rather everything they do is a commitment to integrity, excellence. ”
“I think there’s no greater honor than to return to the “Patrida” (home country) and to bring with you promise for a really exciting future.”
MEDIA RELATED TO THE EPISODE
The Ideoli Group launch event in Athens, Greece featured remarks from Ideoli founders, George Stroumboulis and Chris Hartswick, and U.S. Commercial Counselor, Yuri Arthur, and Former Canadian Ambassador, Robert Peck.
The Ideoli Europe team, from left to right: Kosta Varnavopoulos (Managing Director, Europe), Georgios Mavridis (Product Design), George Stroumboulis (CEO), Chris Hartswick (CPO), Janeen Canzone (SVP).
The team from the U.S. Embassy in Athens: Irini Karajani, Yuri Arthur and Athina Kladis.
George Stroumboulis with mentor/advisor, Bob Peck.
ABOUT THE “INVIGORATE YOUR BUSINESS” PODCAST
The Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis podcast features casual conversations and personal interviews with business leaders in their respective fields of expertise. Crossing several industry types and personal backgrounds, George sits down with inspiring people to discuss their business, how they got into that business, their path to the top of their game and the trials and tribulations experienced along the way. We want you to get inspired, motivated, and then apply any advice to your personal and professional lives. If there is at least one piece of advice that resonates with you after listening, then this podcast is a success. New episodes weekly. Stream our show on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, Amazon and all other platforms.
ABOUT GEORGE STROUMBOULIS
George Stroumboulis is an entrepreneur to the core, having launched several ventures across multiple industries and international markets. He has held senior-level positions at progressive companies and government institutions, both domestically and internationally, building an extensive portfolio of business know-how over the years and driving profit-generating results. George’s ability to drive real change has landed him in several media outlets, including the front page of the Wall Street Journal. George was born in Toronto, Canada to his Greek immigrant parents. Family first. Flying over 300,000 miles a year around the world puts into perspective how important family is to George’s mental and emotional development. With all this travel to global destinations, the longest he stays even in the most far-out destination is 3 days or less - a personal rule he lives by to make sure he is present and involved in family life with his wife and three daughters. To read about George’s global travels, stay connected with his blog section.
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FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT
George Stroumboulis: Alright, so, on today's podcast we're going to do something a little different for this episode. Recently I was in Greece for a big launch event for my company that I co-founded with my business partner Chris Hartswick. And we had this tremendous launch event. So, in this week's episode, we're going to recap the event, share the speeches, the remarks from the key speakers including government officials, ourselves and go over all that. And then we're just going to showcase, you know, what took place there and what this means as we're expanding. So, in this episode of invigorate your business, we're going to be talking about the business of global expansion of your company, any company and how it applies. So, we're excited and check it out.
George Stroumboulis: My name is George Stroumboulis and I’m extremely passionate about traveling the world, meeting new people and learning about new businesses. Join me. As I sit down with other entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys. This episode of invigorate your business starts now.
George Stroumboulis: So, welcome to this episode of invigorates your business with myself; George Stroumboulis. We're switching up the format this week and we're not going to have any guests sitting with us but what we're going to do is recap a recent event that we had in Europe, a big launch party for my company that I helped co-found. And we're going to go over all the details what took place. We're going to share the speeches in this episode from the speakers including myself, my business partner - Chris Hartswick and representatives from the Canadian embassy and the US embassy in Greece as well. So, a little background if you don't know about myself, I am the co-founder, owner, CEO of Ideoli group. What is Ideoli group? Ideoli group is just a kick-ass company that manufactures designs and brings to market custom lighting products, right? So, when you walk into a large hotel and you see these beautiful showcase pieces in the lobby or if you're going up to the hotel rooms and you see the lighting along the hallway when you enter the room, that's what we do. We do this for different commercial applications, retail, industrial, commercial, across the board. We help our clients design, prototype, mass produce and bring to market, anything related to lighting and we're really, really good at it. And again, we've been doing this for several years and we've been doing it in several countries. Our products are actually installed in over 30 countries around the world, which is something pretty spectacular to be able to do that, to be able to understand the local markets, what they require from, specification standpoint, certification, logistics and all that stuff. So that's Ideoli. We operate around the world; we're headquartered in New York City, that's where Chris and myself founded this company. I’m based now here in California where we have a distribution center in corporate offices and we also operate out of Argentina, out of China, out of Vietnam, out of Europe. And what we just did recently was have an official launch party for our European operations. It was extremely exciting for us to be able to officially set up a footprint in Europe and to support what we're doing in the region. We selected Athens - Greece as our main office because for us it makes so much sense on so many levels. Strategically it's located to support Europe and into the Middle East. Personally that's my background; I’m a Greek-Canadian-American citizen. So, it just made sense from a nostalgic cultural standpoint, but really from a business standpoint it made the ultimate sense. The talent pool, there is incredible. The support that we have from various government officials, different government bodies is on another level and we're just excited to be in that region. So, in the month of June we hosted a launch event, showcasing who we are, inviting the industry locally in Athens to come to this spectacular venue and experience, who we are, meet the team and just kind of get a taste for who we are culturally, right? And then we could start talking about lighting and the specifics and projects, but our goal was host the launch event, invite friends, industry, contacts that we're trying to get in front of and really do that. So, we hosted it at a very prestigious museum, jewelry museum, called Lalaounis. If you're in Greece, you definitely know the brand. We hosted at this rooftop located, right under the acropolis, absolutely majestic setting, very upscale and we catered it with an Athens top caterer, we had rooftop DJ, we had drinks flowing, it was extremely hot, but it was absolutely spectacular setting and we just did it, right? So, over a hundred guests came through from the industry whether it was general contractors, developers, architects, lighting designers, interior designers, government officials, diplomats, ambassadors from various countries and we hosted it to kind of introduce who we are. We had marketing material there and just created a social setting. So, throughout the event we had various remarks and that's what we're going to share right now the actual speeches from the event. And to kind of put in perspective I spoke first and just kind of shared why we are there, why we selected Athens, what we're doing in Europe. So, please take a listen to my remarks regarding this on behalf of Ideoli group.
George Stroumboulis: Θα μιλήσω στα ελληνικά για λίγο και στη συνέχεια θα μιλήσω στα αγγλικά για να μπορούν όλοι να καταλάβουν.Σας ευχαριστώ που ήρθατε και σας καλωσορίζω. Είμαστε κάτω από την Ακρόπολη, ένα σύμβολο της Ελλάδας. My name is George Stroumboulis and I’m the CEO of Ideoli group. And I just want to thank everyone for taking the time. I understand it's always a challenge coming to events like this and finding the time. So, thank you for coming here. My background, I’m a Greek - Canadian and American citizen, born and raised in Canada. And I say that my background will lead into why we're here in Greece but growing up to immigrant parents in the restaurant industry, they were drilling home every day, why it's important were Greek. Some may say it's kind of brainwashing but it worked. So, we're here, growing up you always appreciated what it means to be Greek, working hard. And my father actually speaking of parents, he just flew in from Toronto today, so to be here, so thanks for coming Paa and everyone else. We started working in Greece when it wasn't convenient, right? We ideally launched and with my business partner Chris Hartswick who's going to come and speak in a little bit. We took a leap and when the economy was bad, jobs were hard here, we said, you know what, why don't we try to recruit and hire Greeks in Greece and have them work for us with everything we're doing back in the United States? And it was, you know, a lot of people were trying to offshore jobs, we're like let's just try it. Even though I’m a Greek background, we don't know how it is to work with Greeks, right? Every day there's cultural differences, there’s a time zone difference and I’m Greek, so obviously I was pushing it. My business partner's American, so he's like, alright, let's just tries it. So, we hired a couple people here, specifically in the lighting space. And to date it was probably the best business decision we ever made. They were just kicking ass, hard workers, thinking differently, resilient, stubborn but there's good. Yeah. So, we realized, you know what this is great and as the years went on and we started building our team, it became evident that when the time is right, we need to actually come here and build a footprint. And everyone's optimistic now. It seems that the government, there's upbeat, people think that, you know, it's a great time, there's foreign investment coming in here. So we said, you know what, it's time for us to officially be there. We can't just do this half and half. So that's why we launched Ideoli Europe to support our European business which happens to have the office here in Athens. So we did that. And the more optimistic we're getting, we're already looking into the future. So, we're here now, we have an office in Marousi and we're hiring and we're going to have several new employees from now until the end of the year. And as time goes on, we're looking to bring production and manufacturing to Greece as well. Not to service the Greek market but to tap into the talent here and to be able to support our business globally. So, our office here is to support the region, the Middle East and then the global scale as well. So, our job, mine personally, my business partner, all our colleagues who came here today to support us, our job is to prove to you why you should be working with us. We're really good at what we do. We're very passionate and we know we can bring value. We're not trying to create a ‘Me Too’ company, right? So that's what we're here to do. I could talk all night and I know we don't want to do that but last thing, just for fun. As we're sitting here, you can see behind me, I was actually talking to a local Athenian tonight and he lives here, he sees that 10 times a day and he just looks over. He's like, man, this 45 year old man still impressed and he shows me his arm and he was just proud to be here. And you see that, you're like it's amazing. So, anyways we would love to put it out there. Let it manifest, when, not if but when the Parthenon marbles come back to Greece, we would love to work with the acropolis museum to light it with Ideoli product. So, let's get him back, let's put a goal out there. And, yeah, so that's what we're going to work towards.
George Stroumboulis: Okay, so those were my official remarks at the event. As you could see we were located right under the acropolis, the setting was spectacular at sunset and just really framed what we're trying to do. The next speaker was my business partner Chris Hartswick. He gave remarks on behalf of Ideoli related to quality, what we do from a manufacturing standpoint. And specifically, you know, our recent achievement of ISO certification, which tells the world we are experts in the manufacturing process. So, we're extremely excited. So, have a listen to what Chris Hartswick had to say.
Chris Hartswick: Kalispera, and thank you for joining us here tonight. Hopefully I didn't butcher that too terribly. As George mentioned we are so very excited to be here in Greece to have officially launched Ideoli; setting up our new organization, our new office and all of our new employees here. My first, my personal first real exposure to Greece was about five years ago, it was right here in Athens. And honestly, I instantly fell in love; it's such a great place. We knew this was somewhere we always wanted to be. And the more people I met, the more talent I was exposed to. There's so much talent here and the passion that all the local Greeks I’ve met have, that's present in everything they do and how they speak and the meetings we've gone to, it's been overwhelming. And it's essentially told me that this is where our European hub has needed to be. We're now delighted to say today that we've officially completed the sort of initial expansion on both our products and our facility certifications. So, we're ready. We're here; we're ready to support the local Greek and European markets. And again, we couldn't be more excited about any of that. As George mentioned again, we're planning on over the next few years expanding even more. That's going to be bringing assembly, manufacturing here, expanding our facilities, expanding our personnel to really sort of establish and put a stronghold on this region, so Ideoli can just be involved in every way possible. Thank you again. Again, I look forward to developing an even stronger connection with all of you, stronger connection to this wonderful country and I just can't explain how happy I am to be here. EFHARISTO!
George Stroumboulis: Alright, as you can hear my business partners remarks, very positive, why we picked Greece, what we're doing there in the region. And next up we've been very fortunate to be positioned strategically with the US Embassy (American Embassy) in Athens, Greece. The embassy has been nothing but supportive from my first initial contact with their office being directed to the right people to talk about the commercial commerce side of it, the support and how they could help us has just really been positive from day one. We had remarks given by the US Commercial Counselor, Mrs. Yuri Arthur. So, right now she's going to give her remarks and what we'll share from the event.
Ms. Yuri Arthur: Kalispera, ladies and gentlemen. I wish I could continue in Greek but I feel that would be very painful for everyone in the audience. So, I’m going to speak in English, although I did take Greek lessons, so unfortunately… So, it's such an honor to be here today amongst friends to show something, it would maybe one of the best combinations of what the United States and Canada have to offer. And it's something where you're bringing back jobs, opportunities, potential and dreams to Greece. I think there's no greater honor than to return to the Patrida and to bring with you promise for a really exciting future. So, SIHARITIRIA (congratulations) for that, it's a very exciting time and we're very happy to be here. I think, you all probably are familiar with Ideoli but just in case you aren't, I think it's always the job of the slightly objective third party to basically talk about the achievements that the firm has had, in case you don't know. So, I have to say my favorite example is actually California Pizza Kitchen, which is a US restaurant chain. I spent many, many college nights there consuming affordable pizza and studying under the wonderful lighting. There was also the American Girl Collection Stores in New York. And when I was speaking with Ambassador George J. Tsunis who really wished to be here today but just couldn't because he's in a mandatory diplomatic conference in the United States. He said that he had spent way too much time in the New York American Girl Store with his two beautiful daughters. And I did have to share that. I had taken my niece there once and the menu for the doll was very expensive. But when you have good lighting I guess it all works out, right? The prices don't look as bad, so… but obviously there are other exciting projects such as Tesla, The Tesla Factory in Texas, Hilton’s True Brand Hotels and also Microsoft Headquarters and Wework, all types of solutions customized based on the need of the client, it's what you want, what you envision and anything that you think you want to see happen. So that's what's special about Ideoli. And I do not have a doubt that they're going to make a huge impact in this region and in Greece as well because there are so many exciting developments happening in Greece. I think teenagers obsessed with Instagram or possibly fans of the game of thrones will say that lighting is very important. I have to say we agree. Coming from the US government where we do not really have nice lighting. I have to say that I envy the lighting in the private sector and I think when you can accentuate the natural beauty of something like that wonderful building over there, it's just the key to making a truly memorable experience. So, I really hope you all will continue to work with Ideoli. I wish nothing but the success of Ideoli and I’m very excited to see what the firm can do not only in Greece but in Europe as well. Thank you very much. SIHARITIRIA!
George Stroumboulis: Alright, as you can see nothing but positivity, ultimate support. In addition to Ms. Yuri Arthur, we we've had tremendous support from their inside team including Athina Kladis and Irini Karajani and indirectly with the actual ambassador. So nothing but support from them. And we're looking forward to the future and growing and being an US-based company operating out of Greece. Our final remarks were given by a personal friend. I didn't start as a friendship, started more on the business side, for over a decade I’ve known Ambassador Robert Peck, he was the Ambassador of Canada to Greece at the time when I actually met him and he had come across a newspaper article in Greece that had a write-up about myself and about my business at the time. And he had reached out and we made contact and ever since then he's been helping me personally do what I need to do in that region. And over the years we developed a great friendship and he's become a mentor. So, we're very fortunate to have him. Not only speak on our behalf at the launch event but also be an advisor to our company and help us navigate global markets… give real sound advice when we need it and really help us grow. So, have a listen to what Mr. Robert Peck has to say.
Mr. Robert Peck: So, no former diplomat can go everywhere, anywhere, without notes but I promise this is not going to be an evening of a long speech. First of all, as a former diplomat may I thank Yuri from the American Embassy for being here tonight. As a former diplomat we all know the important role that embassies play in promoting and supporting companies abroad. Sometimes roles of embassies are not well understood but I can say from personal experience they do play a very important role and they do care. So, thank you for your support to Ideoli. It really is a great pleasure for my wife Maria and I, the Greek half to be here this evening. And we really salute the choice of venue tonight because the Lalalounis families, I think have given a wonderful legacy to Greece in creating this remarkable museum. And how appropriate that Ideoli chose this particular museum which showcases and celebrates the beauty and design of jewelry through the centuries. Often custom-made pieces for very discerning patrons and benefactors. Ideoli has set ambitious goals, not only to become a leader but a point of reference in the sector. And the company's focus on customization, cutting edge design and client service, I believe will set it apart from its competitors. I have known George for over 10 years from my time as ambassador to Greece between 2011 and 2015 and I was always impressed by his energy, his dynamism but also his positive karma and energy. And particularly in the world we live in today that positive vibe is so important and inspiring to team members. And then later I met Chris and understood his unique professional background and his reflective nature. I had a front row seat as Ideoli was founded and am proud to serve offline as an informal mentor and sounding board. Really, I believe in that value of intergenerational experience and for me it was an opportunity, for me to learn as much as I hope I could impart from time to time some valuable advice to George Chris and his team. This dynamic duo of George and Chris personifies the entrepreneurial spirit and grit required to succeed. And this they impart on a daily basis to their team as leaders, both men have skill sets that are remarkably complementary, a winning combination indeed. And underpinning rather everything they do is a commitment to integrity, excellence. And for me, a value that I hold here is a corporate social responsibility. They have weathered almost every kind of challenge imaginable, especially the pandemic, but persevered. And at times, I can tell you I wondered whether they had the DINAMI (strength) to surmount those obstacles, but they did because they had a belief and a determination. And I watched as they developed a network of virtual teams across the world and recruited, as has been mentioned talented staff as the company's global reach expanded, they believed in Greece as a launching pad for Europe when the country was at very low ebb. I was there. But they recognized early on the remarkable talent in the country and this… as has been said has played an important part in the company's success. I obviously have no crystal ball, diplomats may sometimes think they have one, but I don't. But believe that Ideoli's presence will soon resonate across the sector, especially in a country where the arts culture and inspired design have such a pervasive influence. Aesthetics and form matter while function in today's very competitive environment has to be cutting edge and energy efficient. And a strong local presence I believe will no doubt lead to opportunities in Greece but in the whole region. George and Chris were a bit modest but Yuri was very helpful in outlining just how successful Ideoli has been to date in winning important key contracts with leaders in the United States business environment. In retail, restaurant, hospitality, commercial and industrial industries. Finally, we all know that the world economy faces many challenges and no country is immune, but undaunted Ideoli remains committed to the opportunity here in Greece, Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean and look forward to collaborate with many of you here this evening. So, I salute Ideoli. I thank you all for coming on behalf of the company, and all the best for great success of Ideoli in Athens. EFHARISTO POLI!
George Stroumboulis: And those are the official remarks that were given at the event. So, you can see there's a lot of energy in what we're trying to do in the region. We're extremely excited to be launching in Europe. Our foundation, our bread and butter is United States, the United States. We are strategically positioning ourselves also in Europe to support our American clients over here. Countless accounts we have helped here in the United States with our products and then expanding globally. So, we have accounts like Mattel, American Girl that we've done work for them here in the states and they wanted to expand into the Middle East. So, we're able to do that with our technical know-how, our knowledge and just that expertise internationally. We've done it with Wework, with Tesla and other brands. So, this is, it was a big deal for us. That's why we've been off the pod for the last couple weeks just dealing and supporting and really launching that successfully. So, hopefully you enjoyed this unique, different twist of an episode of Invigorate Your business. Please make sure to just follow, like, comment, and share your feedback. Good, bad or ugly, just share it. I love it. I hear it. Feedback, maybe I’ll get emotional maybe not but I love that feedback. It lets me know what's working, what's not. The following week, we'll be back to having just ultimate very interesting guests. And if you ever want to be on the podcast, be featured, just get in contact with the team and we'll have that discussion. So, thank you very much and have a great one. Thanks for listening to this episode of Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis. Please, hit subscribe and like buttons and follow me on all the main podcast streaming channels. Also, please share your comments when you can. I appreciate your help in expanding this network to a worldwide audience. Until next time stay invigorated.
CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO
0:00 INTRO
1:55 WHAT IS IDEOLI GROUP - CUSTOM LIGHTING
3:35 NEW EUROPEAN OFFICE LAUNCHED IN ATHENS GREECE
4:28 HOSTED LAUNCH EVENT PARTY UNDER THE ACROPOLIS
6:20 REMARKS FROM CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF IDEOLI, GEORGE STROUMBOULIS
11:22 REMARKS FROM CPO AND CO-FOUNDER OF IDEOLI, CHRIS HARTSWICK
14:02 REMARKS FROM U.S. EMBASSY COUNSELOR, YURI ARTHUR
17:08 THE TEAM AT THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN GREECE
17:35 FRIENDSHIP WITH AMBASSADOR PECK AND MENTORSHIP
18:35 REMARKS FROM FORMER CANADIAN AMBASSADOR, BOB PECK
20:07 ABOUT GEORGE STROUMBOULIS AND HIS POSITIVITY
22:25 IDEOLI WILL SUCCEED IN ATHENS AND EUROPE IN GENERAL
MORE ON HOW AMERICAN COMPANIES CAN EXPAND INTO EUROPE
Expanding an American business into Europe can present various challenges, but it is also an opportunity for growth and access to a new market. The difficulty level can vary depending on several factors, including the specific industry, market conditions, cultural differences, regulatory requirements, and business strategies. Here are some key considerations:
Market Research and Adaptation: Conduct thorough market research to understand the target European market's demand, competition, cultural nuances, and consumer preferences. Adapt your products, services, and marketing strategies to align with local tastes and expectations.
Regulatory and Legal Requirements: Familiarize yourself with the legal and regulatory frameworks of the European countries you plan to expand into. Understand the requirements for business registration, licenses, permits, data protection, employment laws, taxation, and intellectual property rights. Consider consulting with legal professionals who specialize in international business.
Cultural and Language Differences: Europe consists of diverse cultures, languages, and business practices. It's crucial to understand and respect the cultural nuances and adapt your approach accordingly. Consider hiring local employees or partnering with local experts who can help bridge cultural gaps and navigate business customs.
Distribution and Logistics: Establishing an efficient supply chain and distribution network is essential when expanding into Europe. Consider the logistics of shipping, transportation, warehousing, and inventory management. Evaluate the feasibility of local manufacturing, distribution centers, or partnerships with local distributors to streamline operations.
Financing and Funding: Expanding into Europe may require significant financial resources. Explore funding options such as loans, partnerships, venture capital, or government grants available for international expansion. Create a detailed financial plan and assess the potential return on investment in the new market.
Scalability and Local Competition: Assess the scalability of your business model and its compatibility with the European market. Understand the competitive landscape and identify unique value propositions to differentiate yourself from local competitors. Develop strategies to position your business effectively and attract customers.
Marketing and Localization: Tailor your marketing and branding strategies to resonate with European consumers. Consider cultural sensitivities, language translations, and localization of marketing materials and websites. Leverage digital marketing channels and social media platforms to reach your target audience effectively.
Talent Acquisition and Human Resources: Hiring and managing local talent can be crucial for the success of your European expansion. Understand labor laws, recruitment practices, and employment regulations in the countries you plan to operate in. Build a strong HR team that can navigate cultural differences and ensure compliance with local employment practices.
Financial and Tax Considerations: Familiarize yourself with the European Union's tax regulations, including VAT (value-added tax) and other local tax obligations. Consider working with experienced accountants or tax advisors who can guide you on financial reporting, tax compliance, and cross-border transactions.
Strategic Partnerships and Networking: Building relationships with local partners, industry associations, trade organizations, and professional networks can provide valuable insights, access to resources, and potential business opportunities. Attend industry events, trade shows, and networking conferences to connect with key stakeholders.
Expanding into Europe requires careful planning, adaptability, and a deep understanding of the local market dynamics. It's important to develop a comprehensive market entry strategy and seek expert advice when necessary. Each European country may have its own unique challenges, so it's crucial to approach expansion into Europe with a tailored approach based on thorough research and analysis.
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