This article gives the best insights on this enriching great morning, where Amrita Singh, Senior International Affairs Advisor, EU Services & Cooperations at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, served as Master of Ceremonies.
The main stage of this second day at ICT Spring opened up with the welcome words of Steve Breier, President of the ICT Spring Advisory Board and Director, Head of Finance & IT at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, before giving the floor to Fabrice Testa, exponential thinker, Innovator, Serial tech entrepreneur and business angel investor.
The Serial Entrepreneur Method.
Fabrice energised the audience by asking a simple but fundamental question: “How do you reach your full potential?”. Being an entrepreneur is not a secret sauce; it is first seeing opportunities when others see problems, but it is also about applying a method that Fabrice detailed in seven points:
1. Apply the 95/5 rule
2. Surround yourself with A-Players
3. Build empathetic relationships
4. Improve your systems and processes
5. Be fanatical about the value you create
6. Understand your flywheel
7. Be a good communicator
Ecosystems first!
After these good vibes keynote, Thomas Kösters, Managing Director of DEEP Ecosystems, joined the stage to explain why ecosystems matter more than unicorns which echoed Fabrice’s speech very much as alone you can go far, but together you go further. The global startup scene has witnessed some record investment in 2021, but all this is only sustainable if the startups are connected inside a robust and nourishing ecosystem. The transition with the first roundtable of the day could not have been better as the audience deep dive into the EU startup ecosystems with key stakeholders such as Thomas Kösters, Managing Director at DEEP Ecosystems; Stephan Kuester, Partner, Head of Ecosystem Strategy at Startup Genome; Lena Miranda, CEO of Linköping Science Park, Vice Chairman to the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation, (IASP); Inés Moreno Alonso, Growth Manager at Allied for Startups, with the moderation of Gilles Fuchs, Project Manager New technologies and Research at the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy. As Lena explained, “you need to create the environments for startups to grow, or you don’t have any startups”. This means creating local sandboxes where the startups can test and iterate their models and build ecosystems that work together, especially in Europe, where the community is key.
A lesson of entrepreneurship: Dream Bigger
After this very insightful roundtable, Charlotte Boutelier, Managing Director of Farvest, welcomed Tony Parker, Entrepreneur, Retired NBA Player, on stage in a packed room in front of a very excited audience. This exclusive interview was the opportunity to revisit the career of Tony Parker, asking about his passion, his ambitions and what makes him get out of bed every morning. Tony Parker is a model of hard work and dedication, which he summarised in one sentence: “The difference between good and great is the mindset […] You got to dream big, it’s not enough of a dream if people don’t laugh at you when you talk about it”.
Before the lunch break, Teona Khubutia, Project Manager at the House of Startup; Stephane Thioly, Founding Partner at A-Venture; Alexandre Braconnier, Chief Investment Officer at Industry and Nicole Boissier, Head of Foreign Trade Promotion, Saarland International -saaris e.V. discussed the fundamental role that incubators play in boosting innovation and financing businesses.
