What it's like to work at EMBIO Diagnostics

We’re like a nursery for young minds and we’re all growing together,” quips Lazaros Konstantinou, a junior scientist at EMBIO Diagnostics.

Lazaros Konstantinou

Perched on the top floor of a modest building at the far end of Nicosia’s bustling Athalassa Avenue, EMBIO hums with the energy of a close-knit team of 20. The office is a blend of labs, a conference room, open-plan work areas (where quotes from Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius adorn the walls) and a well-equipped kitchen – a true home away from home, as Konstantinou describes it.

Founded in 2016, EMBIO has evolved from a fledgling startup to a scaleup, following its recent acquisition of AG Catalytic Solutions, a cleantech company specialising in eco-friendly ballast water treatment solutions. Today, EMBIO’s two flagship products are a portable chemical analyser (B.EL.D) and an air quality monitoring system (airbeld), which is discreetly installed throughout the cosy office space. Growth is evident not only in EMBIO’s technology but also in its performance, as 2024’s first-half sales matched all of 2023’s revenues, and in the expansion of its team. Konstantinou joined in 2020 when there were only six employees. By the first quarter of 2025, that number is expected to reach 33.

Like most small teams, EMBIO’s staff wear multiple hats. “Yes, I’m a junior scientist,” Konstantinou says, “but everyone here is involved in all aspects of the business. I came in focused on science but soon I was working with customers, marketing and promotion. It’s not just about developing the product but about getting it from lab to market – that’s very important.” While EMBIO can’t offer the perks of corporate giants, like gym memberships or gourmet lunches, Konstantinou insists that what draws people is the opportunity to work among other talented individuals. “We have biologists, biotechnologists, PhDs, hardware and software engineers under one roof. When all these people come together, you gain a small part of each one and you will grow alongside them,” he notes.

The camaraderie at the scaleup has created an open atmosphere where issues are aired freely. “There’s complete trust,” Konstantinou explains. “If someone has a problem, they can talk to their supervisor and, together, with top management, they’ll find a solution. Like any family, we have disagreements but we work through them to find the ‘golden mean’.” Though fast-growing scaleups often prioritise momentum, EMBIO balances it with a healthy work culture. Konstantinou emphasises that there’s no burning the midnight oil here; everyone pitches in when necessary but they also make time to decompress. EMBIO may not have a ping-pong table or arcade games but it’s buoyed by an esprit de corps, where inside jokes often spill into weekends as the team meets for coffee or dinner after work. On the company calendar, some details of which are penned with permanent markers on the window walls partitioning the space, there are team bonding activities, including planting 100 trees at Episkopi in Limassol as part of the non-profit Green Shield activities and an escape-room outing. Even so, Konstantinou notes that it doesn’t take long for new members to feel at home. “We have a new member who came in last month and it already feels like she’s been here for years,” he mentions.

EMBIO has also embraced flexible hours, accommodating everything from doctor’s appointments to the responsibilities of newly-minted parents. Fridays are abbreviated to end at 2 pm, practically giving the team long weekends, a change first suggested by an employee and quickly adopted company-wide. “This is a place where your opinion can be heard and it means a lot to our management,” Konstantinou says, who himself had contributed to the lab remodel design back in 2021.

“We’re a family and everyone who comes here can see in the first 30 minutes how well we know each other. From my own experience, the CEO and my manager were very supportive in giving me the space to finish my academic studies. That’s the culture – we are trying to promote our employees,” he says, adding that being one of the few local startups focused on rapid diagnostics and air quality, it offers talented people a chance to tackle important challenges head-on. “We’re aiming big – our vision is to revolutionise diagnostics,” Konstantinou notes.

(Photos by Michalis Kyprianou)

This interview first appeared in the November edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.