Greek Hospitality Startup ‘Workathlon’ Attends MIT Enterprise Forum Boot Camp in Boston

Ten Greek startups attended a week-long boot camp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston.

Workathlon, a Greek company that finds, vets and hires the best staff in hospitality, was among the startups from Greece selected to attend a week-long boot camp at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston during June 11–19.

The hospitality recruiting company had previously participated in the MIT Enterprise Forum Startup Competition that took place in Greece and was among the 10 finalists.

At the boot camp in Boston, all entrepreneurs participated in workshops that honed their business skills. They learned about what it means to do business in the U.S., visited labs and startups, connected with local entrepreneurs, and pitched to potential investors.

“Having the opportunity to be part of the US startup ecosystem inspired and motivated us to continue innovating in the hospitality recruiting sector”, said Katerina Santikou, Workathlon’s managing director.

“Our mission is to enable small- and medium-sized hotels to recruit on the same level as large chains do. We have been continuously working on improvements and tools that will make recruiting more effective and are excited to announce them in the coming months.”

When referring to the experience of attending the MIT Enterprise Forum Boot Camp, Ms Santikou underlined the “uniqueness” of the support network at Cambridge.

“Everyone I met with was willing to help me either by sharing their own experiences and advice, introducing me to someone who is specialized in hospitality or to a potential investor. This is what we would like to bring back to Greece as well”, she said.

“The hospitality sector in Greece has the opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation, to spark companies that can better service the industry and create a unique hospitality ecosystem that can benefit all companies.”

According to Ms Santikou, one of the most engaging and inspiring workshops she participated in at the boot camp was one that challenged entrepreneurs to deconstruct their beliefs and actively try to prove them wrong.

“I highly encourage every entrepreneur to do that and what will be impossible to prove wrong is what really sticks and is worth pursuing. It’s almost refreshing trying to prove yourself wrong, try it.”