Gravity Ventures OM: We invest in the greatest asset our country has, its human capital

First-time entrepreneurs and startup founders often turn to so-called business accelerators or startup incubators for help with their fledgling companies.

Here, we present another of the incubators that play a crucial role in the Cypriot startup ecosystem, speaking to Moyses Moyseos, Operations Manager, Gravity Ventures.

Gravity is a Venture Building Technology Incubator that supports deep-tech startups and aspiring entrepreneurs driven by purpose and a passion for impact. It supports and invests in startups from the idea level all the way to investment readiness and commercialisation beyond borders. Its mother company (CyRIC EU|BIC) has supported the startup ecosystem since 2014, and Gravity was officially established in 2016. The Gravity Ventures Incubator Programme delivers a seamless incubation service value chain, based on EU|BIC service quality standards, which ensure that all incubatees receive the relevant expertise and benefit from support in areas including business coaching, access to funding, technical support, legal advice, intellectual property and prototyping, as well as networking and internationalisation opportunities. The average incubation period at Gravity is 3.5 years. Its first startup, Capsule Skateboards, achieved international sales and gained global recognition as a market disruptor. In addition, Gravity recently exited from a startup that licensed a disruptive technology from CyRIC.

What changes would you like to see to the Cyprus startup ecosystem that could help it evolve and take it to the next level?

We believe that our nascent ecosystem has substantially matured over the last decade but there’s still plenty of room left for growth. However, there is a gap that we need to bridge – the gap between investors and founders. The investing community needs to be more knowledgeable and experienced in the area of technology investments. Our culture has not yet embraced the risk-averse but significantly impactful tech-sector and is keener on finding alternatives in more traditional investments such as hospitality and real estate. On the other side, tech entrepreneurs need to familiarise themselves with investors’ needs and insecurities and become more investible when it comes to the value proposition and global perspective. The Cyprus ecosystem urgently needs local VC investors that can support Series A tech startups and take them to the next level. We believe, we support, and we invest in the greatest asset our country has, which is its human capital.

This interview first appeared in the April issue of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.