Free Daily Podcast Summary
EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN: Daily Summaries Delivered
by BORRN
Get key takeaways, quotes, and insights from EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN in a 5-minute read. Delivered straight to your inbox.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- Jul 4, 202536 min
What Europe’s next generation of founders is building right now
With Chris Mantolas, Elena Papadonikolaki and Eilon GrouperWhat happens when the next generation of European entrepreneurs steps up? And how do they turn personal obsession into scalable ventures?In this special season finale, we sit down with three of Europe’s emerging founders — each building in wildly different arenas, but united by clarity of vision and ambition to reshape their industries.🛥️ Christos Mantolas is the co-founder of Seago, a platform rethinking mobility across the Greek islands with private boat transfers and luxury yachting experiences.🧿 Elena Papadonikolaki is the founder of Boutique Setters, a premier B2B hub for the boutique hospitality industry, connecting hotels, vendors, and service providers worldwide and promising to revolutionize the realm of boutique hospitality.🧠 Eilon Grouper, a gamer-turned-AI-influencer, is building tools and content that demystify artificial intelligence — and turning his personal transformation into a platform for global reach.Together, we discuss discovering their passion, finding their early users, and navigating the tension between bold ideas and local realities. Join us for a chat about the future of European entrepreneurship: scrappy, soulful, and surprisingly global.
- Jun 20, 202521 min
How to lead with product intuition—not just data
With Renia RigopoulouHow do you ‘Orphimize’ the music world? And why does a top product leader ban the phrase data-driven?In this episode we sit down with Renia Rigopoulou, Group Product Manager at Orfium—the Greek-born scale-up that helps labels and publishers detect, claim, and monetize music across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other UGC platforms. Renia walks us through a decade of building products at eBay, Deliveroo, InstaShop, and Blueground, and discussed why she prefers data-informed to data-driven decision-making and how “be the user” became her golden rule (including engineers fixing bugs in greasy kitchens). We also discuss the benefits—and limits—of Greece as an R&D hub for a global business and why the the one skill she’d double-down on tomorrow is resilienceWhether you’re scaling a rights-management platform or just trying to ship features with impact, Renia’s playbook on revenue focus, cross-functional empathy and global product thinking is packed with field-tested takeaways.
- Jun 13, 202518 min
How to invest in outliers, not consensus
With Alex VamvakasWhat makes a founder worth betting on? Why should deep tech be the next big focus for European VCs?In this episode, we speak with Alex Vamvacas, founding partner of Evercurious VC—a new early-stage venture capital firm focused on commercializing deep scientific research across Europe. With a background that spans CERN, medical device startups, and asset management in Zurich, Alex shares what led him back to Greece to co-launch Evercurious. We talk about how to identify conviction-led founders, why real problems require real technology, and what makes an “investor-ready” startup. Plus, why sometimes the best move is to ignore the advice of those with “institutionalized thinking.”
- Jun 6, 202520 min
How Native Teams is rethinking global work
What does it take to build a borderless company from the Balkans? And how do you design a startup culture that people actually want to stay in?In this episode of Europe Builds, we talk to Jack Thorogood, founder and CEO of Native Teams, a fast-growing fintech platform simplifying payments, employment, and compliance for global professionals. With roots in North Macedonia and a footprint spanning 85+ countries, Native Teams is tackling remote work infrastructure with a bold cultural ethos and an employee-first mindset.We explore how a personal problem became a scalable business idea, why building for the overlooked is a winning strategy, and what it means to create company culture with real intention. Jack also shares his playbook for hiring across borders, why remote culture needs more than Slack and Zoom, and how to build a business where no one wants to leave.
- May 30, 202521 min
How Headway Inc bootstrapped its way to 150 million users
With Oleks Yaroshenko How do you scale an edtech startup into a company with 150 million users worldwide, without taking outside funding? And what’s it like building it from wartime Ukraine? In this episode, we sit down with Oleks Yaroshenko, Chief of Staff at Headway Inc, the company behind one of the world’s most popular lifelong learning apps. Previously known as Headway, the company officially evolved into Headway Inc, marking its transformation into a full-scale consumer tech platform. Oleks shares how the team navigated competition, used A/B testing as a superpower, and built resilience through necessity. We also dive into Ukraine’s growing startup scene and debunk some myths about bootstrapped growth.
- May 23, 202518 min
How Evercurious VC invests based on conviction, not trends
With George GeorgiadisHow does an engineer turn into an investor? And what does it take to back world-changing technology before it’s cool — or proven?In this episode, we talk to George Georgiadis, Founding Partner at Evercurious VC, a new deep-tech venture fund betting on scientist-founders building defensible technologies. George shares how his decade at Volkswagen’s HQ shaped his approach to investing, why Europe keeps inventing breakthrough tech but failing to commercialize it, and why Evercurious prefers conviction over hype when picking early-stage bets. We also explore how VCs can help technical founders become leaders — and what makes a startup worth waiting six years for.
- May 16, 202530 min
How Hellas Direct built a tech-driven insurer amidst a crisis
How can you build something disruptive and transformative amidst one of the biggest economic downturns in recent memory? And how can fixing potholes be a brilliant move for an insurance company?This week, Alexis Pantazis, co-founder and co-CEO of Hellas Direct, joins us on EUROPE BUILDS to share how he and his team built a next-generation insurance company in Greece—during the height of the Eurozone crisis. A former Goldman Sachs executive, Alexis explains why Greece was the perfect “blind spot market” for disruption, how Hellas Direct scaled to multiple countries, and why authenticity, vulnerability, and persistence are core to their leadership model. We also talk about the power of timing, the myth of the solo visionary, and how to build lasting trust in a notoriously unsexy industry.
- May 9, 202523 min
How Big Pi Ventures mastered the art of timing and humility in VC
What does it really take to back the right idea at the right time? And why might humility, not hype, be the most underrated trait in great investors?In this episode of Europe Builds, we sit down with Nick Kalliagopoulos, Partner at Big Pi Ventures—one of Greece’s most prominent VC funds. With a decade of experience spanning Prime Ventures in Amsterdam and the Randstad Innovation Fund, Nick brings a rare blend of insight from both deep tech and the future-of-work sectors. We discuss how to evaluate truly transformational technology, what traits set apart the founders worth backing, and why ego can be a liability on both sides of the investment table. Nick also shares lessons in timing, discipline, and the quiet power of long-term conviction.For anyone building or betting on the next frontier, this episode is full of insight.
Get EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN summaries in your inbox
Free AI-powered daily recaps. Key takeaways, quotes, and mentions — in a 5-minute read.
Get Free Summaries →Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
You Might Also Like
Listeners also like.
EUVC
The European VC
Fund/Build/Scale
Walter Thompson
Product&Growth Show
Product&Growth Show
Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology
Riding Unicorns Productions
Second Time Founders
Second Time Founders
Founder's Story
IBH Media
Funds and Founders: Untold Journeys Behind Their Breakthroughs
Abhinav Sinha
A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders
Mistral.vc
Fundadores: Startups y Venture Capital
Alex Gálvez
Frontier Founders
E15 VC
Founder Breakthroughs
Jeff Durso
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Harry Stebbings
About EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN
Europe’s startup ecosystem is no longer just an underdog story. Europe builds and it builds well. This is a podcast dedicated to diving deep into the real stories behind its startups. Each episode tackles, among others, topics like scaling challenges, funding disparities, diverse entrepreneurial culture, and the art of storytelling—through candid conversations with those who live these realities every day. Visionary founders across the continent.
Customized Recaps
AI-powered recaps with compact key takeaways, quotes, and insights.
Straight to Your Inbox
Get key takeaways from EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN in a 5-minute read.
Save Hours Every Week
Stay current on your favorite podcasts without falling behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Podzilla's EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN daily summary?
It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
How does the EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN podcast summary work?
When a new episode drops, our AI transcribes and analyzes it, then generates a personalized summary tailored to your interests and profession. It's delivered to your inbox every morning.
Is this an official EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN product?
No. Podzilla is an independent service that summarizes publicly available podcast content. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by BORRN.
Can I get summaries of other podcasts too?
Absolutely! The free plan covers up to 3 podcasts. Upgrade to Pro for 15, or Premium for 50. Browse our full catalog at /podcasts.
How often does EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN release new episodes?
EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN publishes weekly. Our AI generates a summary within hours of each new episode.
What topics does EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN cover?
EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN covers topics including Business. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
Start getting EUROPE BUILDS by BORRN summaries tomorrow morning.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.