Marina Hatsopoulos is an entrepreneur, director and angel investor. She is Chairperson of the Board and investor in Levitronix Technologies, the worldwide leader in magnetically levitated bearingless motor technology. She is a Director of Cynosure Inc., a $250 million leader in the laser aesthetics market. She is also a Director and investor in Dear Kate, which sells performance apparel using advanced materials. Ms. Hatsopoulos was the Founding CEO and primary investor in Z Corporation from 1994 through its successful sale in 2005. Z Corporation was a market leader in 3D Printing, a technology used to produce physical prototypes from design data at very low cost and high speed.
EMEAstartups.com met with her during MIT Enterprise Forum Greece StartSmart Conference organised in Athens on Tuesday, October 21st.
Marina Hatsopoulos has invested in various high technology companies and has been in the board of directors of both public and startup companies. Talking to EMEAstartups, she says that what drives her into investing in startups is the sheer fun of creating new things and partnering with people that have the fire to move their novel ideas forward.
“Being in the board of a startup requires being actively involved with decision that you wouldn’t get involved in the board of a larger companies and understanding the grassroots of what the entrepreneur is building“, she says.
In terms of what makes a good investor, Marina Hatsopoulos believes that they should be patient, have been through the lifestyle of a startup and understand the hurdles and have “deep-enough” pockets to survive the next rounds of funding.
You can watch the whole interview with Marina Hatsopoulos on the video below
0:22 – Background
1:56 – How Do I Invest
2:31 – My Motivation for Investing
3:23 – Being on the Board of a Startup
4:03 – How Do I Decide to Invest
6:13 – What Makes a Good Investor
7:30 – Advices for People that Want to Invest in Startups
10:01 – View on Greek Startup Ecosystem