Stelios Awards for Young Entrepreneurs in Greece: The winners for 2022

Three prizes of €100,000 to young entrepreneurs under 40 years old and a special Sustainability Award of €10,000 to a special project that combines the traditional art of boatbuilding with modern, sustainable technology were awarded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, creator and owner of easy brands (easy family of brands – www. easygroup.com.gr and www.easyhistory.info, including easyJet, easyHotel, easyCar, easyFerry, easyStudies etc.), at the 13th Stelios Awards for Young Entrepreneurs in Greece.

The winners

The grand prize winner was Mr Marios Konstantinidis, 34 years old, founder of Pakketo.com, who received the top prize of 50,000 euros. It is a large online furniture store based in Thessaloniki that offers complete and innovative solutions, while putting emphasis on design, functionality, quality, and of course affordable prices, with more than 5,000 products for home and households.

Within five years of operation, Mr Konstantinidis achieved an annual turnover of more than 10 million euros and a good profit margin. Pakketo.com even saw a huge growth during the pandemic, which has been sustained, as the upward trend continues to this day.

The second prize of €30,000 was awarded to Mr Angelos Ioannidis, 38 years old, creator of the e-shop Kooqie.com, a popular shopping destination offering the most modern, smart and functional gadgets from around the world. This is another example of a business that has grown significantly in the conditions of the pandemic, reaching a turnover of €2 million per year.

The third prize of €20,000 was awarded to Christos Tsounis, 33, for his business Financial Greeks. His media business is an original and successful YouTube-based digital marketing and influencing platform that aims to strengthen the financial and investment culture in Greece. Christos Tsounis created a significant business in a few years, leveraging his momentum and experience as a YouTuber.

Sustainability Award

Recognizing the importance of combining sustainable technology with the traditional art of boatbuilding, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou created and awarded, this year, the fourth, special Sustainability Award of 10,000 euros to Mr Thanos Kompogiorgas, 27 years old, and his brother Giannos Kompogiorgas, 17 years old, of the Kompogiorgas Shipyards in Spetses, who created “Zoe”, the first electrically powered sailing vessel (e-kaiki) of the traditional boat type. It is worth noting that Thanos and Giannos are 3rd generation boatbuilders, since their grandfather founded the business in Spetses in 1965.