Success Story:
Stefano Melaragno and Ioannis Polychronakis
Dates of the exchange: 15/06/2016 – 14/10/2016
Duration of exchange: 4 months
New entrepreneur: Stefano Melaragno (Italy)
Company name: M Quadro
Sector: Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services; Construction sector and real estate
“Sharing experiences, knowledge and ideas with Ioannis well-established firm was a unique opportunity. The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a valuable programme through which I acquired everything I need to start my own firm. I strongly recommend to apply for it!”
Host entrepreneur: Ioannis Polychronakis (Greece)
Company name: Polyergo constructions
Sector: Construction sector and real estate; Hotel, restaurant, tourism, travel services and wellness
“Stefano brought fresh ideas and new dynamic to our company. EYE programme is a great opportunity to establish cooperation with young entrepreneurs, guide them to fulfill their vision and exchange ideas and experiences that will help me further develop my business”
Stefano is a young building engineer with a strong theoretical and technical background in architectural engineering, wishing to establish his enterprise in the field. He considered EYE as an extremely valuable opportunity to learn how to start up a successful business in a competitive sector such as the one of architectural engineering services.
Ioannis is the manager of Polyergo, a family business established in Crete active in the construction sector but also in the Real Estate and Tourism.
Stefano and Ioannis strongly believe in the importance of networking among entrepreneurs to identify potential partners for the future.
Since the beginning their collaboration was a success!
Stefano was introduced to the company and gradually involved in several projects at the stage of concept design and in an advanced phase. Their collaboration brings to a real exchange of competencies and know-how about design, analysis and construction techniques.
At the early phase Stefano carried out site inspections and surveys in order to collect building information and measurements. Thanks to this period at Polyergo, Stefano had the opportunity to have consultations with clients, to arrange meetings and to discuss how to meet their needs. Ioannis and Stefano collaborated then in a more detailed design phase, regarding folder preparation to obtain building permissions. Furthermore, Stefano was involved in interior design of various running projects which range from a basic interior design of flat to a large scale renovation of hotels and resorts. Lastly, Stefano was guided by Ioannis in business development and in the preparation of graphic design and production of promotional leaflets and activities about digital business development!
Thanks to this experience and with the support of Ioannis, Stefano improved competencies in running and managing a firm offering architecture and engineering services. He became aware of the difficulties and key aspects of running one’s own company. The opportunity to be fully involved in all aspects of this well-established firm increased his architecture knowledge and skills about sustainable constructions and project design and management. Ioannis involved Stefano in Polyergo business activities and succeeded the increasing of the company’s productivity and further development.
Both entrepreneurs are committed to stay in touch and continue their relationship by setting up joint business activities in Greece and Italy.
For more information, please contact:
Host entrepreneur’s contact point:
Asset Technology (Athens)
Stylianos-Manos Andreadis
asset@asset-tec.gr
This article was funded by the European Union’s COSME Programme (2014-2020).
The content of this article represents the views of the author only and it is her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
