MEET THE MENTORS AND FOUNDERS OF ACCELERATE GREECE 2026
George Stroumboulis with fireside chat host Yonida Koukio discussing entrepreneurship, resilience, international growth, and building businesses beyond borders.
Greek entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and business leaders come together in Toronto to help the next generation of Greek companies build, scale, and compete globally.
Another incredible group of Greek entrepreneurs is taking their businesses to the next level through Accelerate Greece 2026, bringing founders from Greece into Toronto and connecting them with the experience, relationships, investment community, and entrepreneurial ecosystem of North America.
At the center of the program are the founders themselves. They are taking the risks, building the companies, developing new ideas, and pursuing opportunities beyond their home market. Surrounding them is a network of entrepreneurs, investors, executives, lawyers, operators, and industry leaders who can share experiences and help them navigate the realities of building and scaling a company internationally.
I was honored to join this year's program as both a mentor and fireside keynote speaker. Having built businesses across multiple countries, I know firsthand how valuable the right relationship, introduction, or piece of advice can be at the right moment.
THE VISION BEHIND ACCELERATE GREECE
A huge amount of credit belongs to Peter Polydor, the visionary behind Accelerate Greece, for his leadership and continued commitment to connecting Greek innovation with opportunities in Canada, the United States, and beyond.
Accelerate Greece launched in California in 2019 and has evolved into an important bridge between Greek entrepreneurship and the North American business community. Today, through The Hellenic Initiative Canada, the program brings founders to Toronto and surrounds them with mentors, investors, strategic partners, and business leaders who can help them think differently about the next stage of their companies.
What Peter has helped create goes beyond a traditional accelerator. It is an ecosystem built around relationships.
A founder may arrive looking for advice about entering Canada and leave with an introduction to a potential investor. Another may discover a different approach to pricing, hiring, intellectual property, or international expansion. Sometimes a single conversation can challenge an assumption a founder has carried for years.
That is the real value of bringing the right people into the same room.
MEET THE 2026 COMPANIES
Congratulations to the three companies selected for this year's Accelerate Greece cohort: Carepoi, MammoCheck, and Drops Smart Hubs.
Each company arrives in Toronto at a different stage and with its own technology, challenges, ambitions, and opportunities. What they share is the desire to take what they are building to the next level and explore opportunities beyond their existing markets.
That's what makes this program exciting.
The goal isn't simply to tell Greek founders how business is done in North America. It is to create an environment where they can ask questions, test assumptions, build relationships, meet investors, learn from other entrepreneurs, and determine what international growth should look like for their individual companies.
I'm looking forward to meeting the founders, hearing their stories, sharing some of my own experiences, and seeing where this journey takes each of them.
A NETWORK BUILT AROUND EXPERIENCE
Supporting this year's founders is an impressive group of mentors representing entrepreneurship, investment, technology, finance, law, healthcare, professional services, and international business.
The mentor network includes Peter Polydor, Founder & President of Ergo Holdings; Xavier Tang, COO of TransformML Platforms; Morty Soley, Founder & Director of Soley & Company; Nagar Rahmani, Managing Partner at Mill Run Capital; Marc Weiner, Managing Partner at Westhaver Partners; and Yonida Koukio, Corporate & Technology Lawyer at Oziel Law.
Also participating are Alex Athanasopoulos, Managing Partner at Messini Capital; Alex Seimanidis, Founder & CEO of B2B Wave; Sam Coleman-Shapiro, Analyst at EnerTech Capital; Elliott Schwartz, Expert Storyteller; Steven Makrinos, President of BenefitsPensions.com; and Panagiota Danopoulos, Founder & CEO of Enosi Health.
The mentor group also includes John Mavriyannakis, Partner at Deloitte; George Gretes, Managing Partner at Taygetos Capital; Alexandros Sklavounos, CEO of Blue Ocean Technologies; Steve Kriaris, President of KOLONAKI Group; Michael Yan, Founding Partner at Friction Ventures; and myself, George Stroumboulis, CEO and Co-Founder of Ideoli Group.
The value isn't simply in the titles. It is in the collective experience behind them.
Each mentor sees business through a different lens. An investor sees something a founder may not. A lawyer identifies risks others overlook. An operator recognizes problems that appear when a company begins scaling. An entrepreneur can share the mistakes and difficult lessons that rarely appear in a polished company biography.
MENTORSHIP IS ABOUT BETTER QUESTIONS
I have always believed that good mentorship isn't about giving someone all the answers.
It's about helping them ask better questions.
When you're building a company, particularly one with international ambitions, there are hundreds of decisions competing for your attention. When should you raise capital? How should you price your product? Who should you hire? How do you enter Canada or the United States? Which relationships should you pursue? What should you localize, and what shouldn't you change?
There is rarely one answer that applies to every founder.
The advantage of having experienced mentors around you is perspective. You can learn from what worked for someone else, but perhaps more importantly, you can learn from what didn't.
BUILD IT IN GREECE. SELL IT TO THE WORLD.
One of the messages I continue to share with entrepreneurs is that geography should never determine the size of your ambition.
A company can be founded in Greece and serve the world.
But crossing borders requires more than a great product. You need people who understand the market. You need relationships. You need mentors who challenge your assumptions. You need investors and strategic partners who understand the opportunity. And eventually, you need champions willing to put their own credibility behind you.
That's why Accelerate Greece matters.
It brings together Greek innovation and North American experience and gives founders an opportunity to develop relationships that can continue long after the official program is over.
Throughout my own career, people have opened doors for me, made introductions, shared lessons, challenged my thinking, and sometimes told me something I needed to hear at exactly the right moment.
Being part of Accelerate Greece is an opportunity to do the same for someone else.
A special thank you to Peter Polydor for his vision, leadership, and continued commitment to connecting Greek innovation with opportunities around the world. Thank you as well to Irene Anargyrou, Yonida Koukio, The Hellenic Initiative Canada, the Accelerate Greece team, and all of the mentors investing their time, experience, relationships, and perspective into this year's cohort.
And congratulations again to Carepoi, MammoCheck, and Drops Smart Hubs.
The founders are the reason we're all here. Now let's see where they take it. Build it in Greece. Build relationships. Build trust. Sell it to the world.
“A great company can be built anywhere. The right relationships can help take it everywhere.”
Peter Polydor kicking off the Accelerate Greece reception in Toronto.
Impromptu Greek dancing.
Connecting Greek entrepreneurs with North American opportunities.
George Stroumboulis sits down with Dean Karnazes, world-renowned endurance athlete, bestselling author, and the legendary "Ultramarathon Man." Filmed in Newport Beach, California, they explore the mindset behind extraordinary resilience, pushing beyond perceived limits, and the life lessons endurance can teach entrepreneurs, leaders, and anyone striving for excellence.