Recent testimonies of successful business networking - Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme
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New entrepreneur:
Marcin Grabowski (Spain)
Age: 31
Company name: Niam-Niam (Start-up)
Sector of activity: IT, office and communication equipment, services and supplies
Marcin Grabowski (Spain)
Age: 31
Company name: Niam-Niam (Start-up)
Sector of activity: IT, office and communication equipment, services and supplies
From day one, my host helped me build a road map for my project. I improved my skills in marketing and online platforms. I learned how to professionally manage contacts with my customers. This experience changed everything and will be fundamental for launching my business.
Host entrepreneur:
Christian Walter Atz (Germany)
Age: 35
Company name: Pamyra / www.pamyra.de (8 years of experience)
Sector of activity: Transport and Logistics services
Christian Walter Atz (Germany)
Age: 35
Company name: Pamyra / www.pamyra.de (8 years of experience)
Sector of activity: Transport and Logistics services
Marcin added great value. Thanks to him we could evaluate the Polish freight forwarding market and decided to currently not to put further emphasis on it. He made our team more diverse, saw where he can be of help and challenged us to think about his and our project from different points.
Period of exchange: 09/2019 until 01/2020
Duration of exchange: 5 months
Marcin was born in Poland but lives in Baeza in Andalusia in Spain, where his mentor had told him about EYE. Being in the process of developing an app whilst not having much of an entrepreneurial background, yet going abroad to learn from an experienced host seemed to be a perfect idea. Marcin was specifically looking for a host with a young start-up who understands his current situation.
Christian, with his platform-based company Pamyra could offer exactly that. Before joining it as the Business Development Leader, Christian had also participated as a young entrepreneur in EYE and founded his own startup. Knowing how much this experience had helped him become a successful entrepreneur the decision to host a young entrepreneur was easy to take. Marcin’s dedication as well as his Polish background made him the perfect match for helping Christian evaluate whether to enter the Polish market as a next step.
Marcin and Christian focused on exploring the option of Pamyra entering the Polish market. Having a native Polish speaker proved to be very valuable for the team. Marcin’s skills were crucial for creating new contacts, negotiating with potential customers as well as writing press releases for the host's company. Aside from providing this experience to Marcin, Christian could also help the young entrepreneur with applying for European grants. Marcin also used the exchange to learn from Christian about important aspects for startups. Christian introduced him to the efficient use of platforms as well as to his start-up-network in the city of Leipzig.
Both entrepreneurs got along very well - on a professional and personal level. The central outcome for Christian is that his company could gain new contacts through Marcin and could make a decision on the market entry. This wouldn’t have been possible in the period of a pandemic without the cooperation of Marcin. Key documents and websites are now available in Polish and Spanish as well. Being able to contribute to the working and decision making processes at Christian’s company reinforced Marcin’s plan to launch his start-up. He learned how to evaluate target groups/markets, gained valuable contacts and is currently applying for grants for his project. Both entrepreneurs will stay in touch and are looking forward to working together in the future.
For more information, please contact the local contact points involved in the exchange:
New entrepreneur's contact point:
Andalucía Emprende, Fundación Pública Andaluza (Sevilla, Spain)
Host entrepreneur's contact point:
RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITAET HEIDELBERG (Heidelberg, Germany)
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