New member in the VF family: Foteini

We are very happy to welcome Foteini to the VF team to assist us in finance, as well as new founder discovery and existing founder support. Foteini had been in the UK for the last 5 years, working in both finance and accounting roles, for big corporations as well as smaller companies. Earlier in 2021, she decided to return to Greece and join the VentureFriends team. She is well versed with the venture capital ecosystem since for the last 2 years she has been working at Target Global a reputable Venture Capital firm in London. Foteini was part of the finance team, focusing on fund valuations and reporting, and was liaising both with the investment team and founders.

She holds an MSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

In order to get to know her better, we prepared a quick Q&A!

Q: What is your favourite thing about your role with VentureFriends?

A: The role with VF is very diverse and this is the main reason I decided to make that step and join the team. I will focus on different aspects, which is something I very much enjoy doing. I will take over the fund reporting, which is a field I am very familiar with, as I had that role when working with Target Global. Given my finance and accounting background, I want to continue working on the finance field, as I believe I have a lot to give to the VF team. As you may know already, VentureFriends is an extrovert fund with very close relations with their portfolio companies, hence we decided with the team to go the extra mile and help our companies with their HR scouting. I will lead that process and the target will be to match potential individuals with the portfolio companies for new openings. I am very excited with that additional role I am taking over, as this is a new field that I always wanted to be involved in, and in this way, I will also interact and support the VF founder community.

Q: What fascinates you the most about the industry?

A: The fast pace, is what I find the most interest thing in venture capital and investments. It keeps me motivated and excited when things need to be done quickly. I prefer it when I know there is a tight deadline as I find myself working better under pressure. It gives me such a satisfaction when the deadline is met.

Q: What got you interested in your current field of work in the first place?

A: I think this started from the early years, during my bachelor’s degree. I was studying accounting and as many might know, accounting is a very structured field. That aspect really matched my personality. I am a person that cannot cope with chaos, I am very organized, and I enjoy processes. When I started my first job as a junior accountant, I realised with great pleasure that accounting was the same in practice as in theory; That is when I knew I had made the correct choice.

Q: Why have you decided to return to Greece?

A: London is an amazing city; I still remember my first month when I moved there. There is always something new to see and something new to try. Career-wise, there is a plethora of opportunities in finance. I am very happy I got to live there for the last few years as it was a dream I always had. However, Greece is the country I grew up and I love it. It was always in the back of my head that I wanted to return, and I believe this is great period to do so. A lot of things have changed since I left, 5 years ago. The economic climate is now stable with significant prospects especially for the technology sector that is extrovert. I was always optimistic about the Greek tech ecosystem, so when I found the opportunity to return I could not but grab it.

Q: What is your favourite way to spend a day off?

A: One of the best things to do on my day off is some alone time to reset and recharge. Although I am really enjoying my work, it has very busy weeks with long hours, and I feel I need some me time. I find meditation very helpful, as it brings me the balance, I want in my life. Although I am not meditating daily, I am trying my best to do it as often as possible, and my days off usually have some time for that. I also enjoy taking walks by the beach, which is something I do very often now that I moved to Athens.