Erasmus for young entrepreneurs programme A success story between two entrepreneurs from Greece & Denmark
The New Entrepreneur from Greece, Mrs. Panagiota Pouliou and the Host Entrepreneur from Denmark, Mr. Lasse Grønnerup Johannesen, participated in the Erasmus for Young entrepreneurs programme, for 6 months, (October 2019 – April 2020). They believe that it was a valuable experience and they are completely satisfied by their cooperation. With no doubt, it was great that they had the chance to exchange ideas and experiences. See below how do they present this successful business exchange relationship.
Lasse is a well accomplished architect located in Copenhagen. He studied architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts. At the beginning of his career he was a project manager at COBE, one of the most renowned architectural studios in the world. After some time there, him and Tobias Mürsch decided to pursue their career goals together and create their own company. WERKT is a hybrid of contemporary architecture, new construction materials and the elegance of the Nordic design.
Panayota is a recent architecture graduate who specialises in 3d printing and modeling. She is very familiar with coding and her goal is to open “LAB 42”, which will be her own studio / workshop. Panayota has worked in the past in other offices as an architect, both in Greece and abroad, and her dream is to apply innovations to architecture. She considers technology very important and suggests the use of computational mechanisms for the creation of concepts, buildings and facades. She also finds very interesting the research concerning new materials and 3d printed forms.
The EYE program gave them the chance to work together and broaden their efficiency, their perspective and develop new skills and ideas. The goal of this project was to gain experience and share knowledge in both parties.
Both Panayota and Lasse gained a lot of experience through the EYE program and they have decided to extend their collaboration after the end of it.
Panayota levelled up her business and communication skills. She learned how to promote her work and how to attract customers.
Panayota also managed to understand the procedure of setting up a company as a whole, the importance of teamwork and the importance of the leader (how to keep balance in the work environment, and all the employees productive and happy).
Lasse, on the other hand, also gained a lot through this collaboration. He found Panayota to be inspiring and very professional. He thinks her ideas are revolutionary in the field of architecture and he believes that her practises can be in good use. Lasse and Panayota worked together for a period of 6 months. They worked together on several projects and at the same time in the different phases for each one. This allowed them to see things differently.
Panayota used to believe a lot in architectural competitions. Now she is embracing the idea of trying to achieve direct communication with customers instead. Werkt studio now has a 3D printing department so they can produce their own models and experiment with new strategies and materials.
The outcome of this collaboration has led to the offering Panayota a job at Werkt. Even though Panayota gained a lot from the EYE program, she believes that extending her visit in Denmark allows her to learn and evolve more as a person and as a business woman. Her plan is to open LAB 42 in the next few years. Hopefully, Lasse and Panayota will keep working together when that happens.
“Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a very challenging and offering program at the same time. It was a pleasure being part of it and having the opportunity to become an efficient entrepreneur myself.” Panayota Pouliou, New Entrepreneur
“Working with new entrepreneurs is always very refreshing and can make you realise what is happening all over the world. It provides new market perspectives and ideas.” Lasse Grønnerup Johannesen, Host Entrepreneur