TechCrunch, the leading technology media outlet, is coming to Greece to hold the first ever StrictlyVC event in the country on Thursday, May 8, with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as a guest. Shortly before the event, TechCrunch’s director and StrictlyVC inspiration, Greek-born Connie Loizos, spoke to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) about the philosophy of the event, current global technology trends and Europe's place in the global innovation landscape, while expressing her admiration for "the resilience and growth" of the innovation ecosystem in Greece.

StrictlyVC is TechCrunch's influential technology and venture capital newsletter, read daily by tens of thousands of investors, entrepreneurs and opinion leaders, offering exclusive interviews, analysis and insider information on the global innovation landscape. In addition, StrictlyVC events, organized in the US, bring together the most powerful names in the technology and venture capital ecosystem.

StrictlyVC was founded by Connie Loizos, editor in chief and general manager of TechCrunch, who pointed out that "StrictlyVC was created to offer something that is increasingly rare in today's media landscape: depth, context and truly unpretentious information. In both our newsletters and our events, we focus on quality over quantity, on meaningful conversations over rhetoric and - most importantly - on building community. I often hear that a StrictlyVC night feels authentic in a way that many events don't, and that's very gratifying."

For the first time, last year, StrictlyVC events crossed the Atlantic and took place in London. The second European event will take place in Athens this Thursday at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as well as important investors and startup creators, as guests. Another European StrictlyVC event will follow in London on May 13.

"We hope to make this a recurring event in our calendar. The rapidly growing startup ecosystem in Athens deserves the spotlight," Loizos underlined. She stated that "I have been really impressed by the resilience and growth of the innovation ecosystem in Greece, especially considering the economic challenges the country has faced, and I really like to see it accelerate," adding that she always supports the country.

Her connection to Greece is deep, as all four of her grandparents were from Ikaria. "Although I have no remaining relatives there, I have visited the island and felt an immediate, deep connection that surprised even me. It was a strange but very tangible bond from the first moment I was there," she noted.