Valentinos Tzekas is a Greek entrepreneur who believes that new entrepreneurship is the answer to Greeks failing economy. He created a mobile app called “Near-Check who is nearby.” It is a map that will let you see who is within two miles of you. This makes it so you don’t have to check Facebook, or call or text your friends. You and the other person would have to agree to let each other see your location, so a stranger with the app wouldn’t be able to see where you are. You always give permission to let people track you. He came up with this idea from a not so great problem, losing his friends at bars. (I did not know this until I got invested in the idea) He describes himself as a “one man army” and through everything he had to fixing this problem. He spent all of his own money on this idea, he sold almost everything in his room to fund this idea. He did all the coding himself, market research, and design one night. Valentinos sees this as an investment.

A very difficult part of starting this business though was the economic environment in his country at that point. Currently in Greece it is still bad, but has made some minor improvements. There was little hope in that country and any idea of starting a business was met with instance negativity. “They have lost their hope of a better future. They become reluctant to innovate. They stopped dreaming big,” says Tzekas. “My own friends, in trying to keep me safe, keep telling me about the odds of failing and wasting time and money. They say I can’t make a living as an entrepreneur in Greece. ‘Get a degree and a job.’ is what they say. Personally, I consider them to be closed-minded. No one really understands your dreams but you have to stick to your guns. If you think you can do it, do it.”

Greece offers very little for startup or young entrepreneurs and that acts as a further deterrent to start your own business. The thing that could help save the economy is being pushed aside and labeled unimportant. That doesn’t stop Tzekas, he says “I believe that startups offer the most promising solutions; a way out of this mess that will help my country to get up back on its feet.”