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Couple in life and at work. That Dane, one of the most successful software engineers in the world. That Greek, force of nature, with new ideas and Mediterranean temperament at every turn. He puts technological logic, she puts passion for new things.
Lars Rasmussen started 20 years ago. He and his brother had the amazing idea of ”fitting” a map of the entire planet to a computer. Thus they created one of the most popular and easy-to-use applications in the world. What we know today as Google maps. He did not become a billionaire like others with less innovative ideas. Because telephone technology was not advanced enough to integrate Google Maps into your mobile phone. Smartphones, which arrived a few years later, removed the app, which we all use almost every day now. Now Elomida Viswiki and Lars, who lived for years in London and then New York, are moving with their team of associates to Greece. And they have invested all their power in a new technology that leaves you speechless. Adapt the music you listen to at your disposal. If you are “depressed” you will play “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones in a bluesy atmosphere. And if you run on the treadmill, it will “adapt” “When a man loves a woman” to the rhythm of your running. Crazy things. Let’s take them
but from the beginning.
– Well, how did you suddenly decide to settle in Greece?
– Elomida (laughing through Zoom): Do you know any Greek who has the opportunity to go back to Greece and not do it?
– Lars (laughing too): Apart from the pressure from Elomida, I’m also excited for Greece. There we go on vacation, there we get married and baptize our little daughter. And I have to say that Greece is somehow captive of the reputation created by all the countries that are famous tourist destinations. That it is a “relaxed” country and that its inhabitants do not work very hard. However, my experience, working with Greeks all over the world, but also on our team, is completely different. Not only are they hard working, but they are trustworthy and very dedicated to their work. Greece now has a better name than Sydney 20 years ago when we designed Google maps there. And there, when I decided to go, everyone discouraged me, because people, they say, are constantly on the beach, swimming, drinking beers and without an appetite for work. In Sydney, however, there are now several high-tech companies, billions of dollars each. There are still no such “success stories” of high-tech companies in Greece, but it has already attracted many promising startups, creating a first “yeast”. Some investors may be a little nervous about our choice. However, we tell any of the engineers that we intend to create a technology hub in Greece, a high-tech summer camp, they act like crazy to participate in this new collaboration. Greece is not Sydney yet, but it will be: the effective way in which it handled the pandemic impressed us and I think it greatly raised expectations for the country abroad.
– Does the country’s infrastructure cover you?
– Lars: Yes. The infrastructure is satisfactory. In fact, as I heard from the Minister for Digital Policy, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the government is trying to attract “great minds” in the country by preparing to offer 5G services next year in the Greek islands. The tax incentives that the country offers are also important, although we made our decision before knowing them. So, we will try to come to Greece for one year and I hope that it will become our permanent base.
– Elomida: In the post-coronavirus era, Greece has a huge advantage. It can attract “tech nomads” with its beauties, especially when it offers tax incentives. I think the country has a great opportunity ahead. Now it is at a level where it can become the base of this type of technology company, and its bet is to become more friendly with technological immigrants. In other words, to create a “receiving package”, like the one created by other countries, eg. Eg Estonia, which helps newcomers in their first steps to integrate more quickly into the daily life of the country. That is, to be able to easily find a house to rent without being “scratched alive” by a professional who will try to take advantage of their need, to quickly and efficiently resolve visa and visa issues, to guide them to find school, their children, the doctor or the hospital they will go to if there are any health problems. In other words, the country’s services must create a “compass” that guides newcomers to avoid mischief and to move safely to their new city. But also to help the new company installed in Greece to have access to banks, lawyers, accountants, platforms that will be responsible for the payment of personnel, etc. Set up a reception committee to make the transition as smooth and seamless as possible.
– I heard that you have already spoken to the Prime Minister about technology issues.
– Lars: Yes. We had an online meeting with the Prime Minister, who called several expats, expatriates (I was the only one who was not Greek) and asked everyone to tell him why they wanted to return to Greece or not, depending of everyone’s decision. If you want 500,000 scientists to return, who left because of the crisis, your country must be attractive and for 500,000 non-Greeks who will come to work in the country, he argued. I think Greece should be a leader in what it wants to offer. Have a mission through which to transmit a message, give a signal to the whole world. Become, for example, a champion in clean energy. A country with winds, sunshine 350 days a year, which aims to combat climate change by any means. I think it would be, together with the beauties of the country, something that would attract many young people to come to work in Greece.
The music will adapt to the mood of the listener!
I first saw Lars Rasmussen at a TED talk in Athens in 2011. He was trying to explain to young audiences that engaging in technology applications can bring success and dozens of failures. Nothing is guaranteed. The point, he said, is not to quit. And from time to time he would project a sketch with a frog which, being almost entirely in the mouth of a pelican, squeezes the bird’s neck with both hands to prevent it from swallowing it. “I persuaded him with a thousand efforts to speak in front of people,” says Elomida, “I did not want anything. Classical concert. He was anxious, although he spoke about what he knew as much as anyone else. In fact, it was the first time that his mother (she was also present) I saw Lars speaking in public… “.
– What are you doing now? What is your new project?
– Lars: Now we have a high-tech company that deals with music. What we are trying to create is a technology, from which the recorded music will follow the mood of the listener. It will adapt to the time, the content and the occasion. Not only will it speed up the pace of the song, but it will also play it differently, giving you a unique and different experience every time. As if you have your favorite band in your ears and you play the song you like live, trying to adapt to your mood. It is a very useful application, for example, for those who play music. The musical piece follows your steps or your heartbeat. Increase the tempo and make you run faster. Or, if you don’t want to exceed a beat limit, the tempo starts to slow down when you see that your heart is near this predetermined limit. It is a technology that can have different applications – in the field of fitness, dance, video games, etc. The beautiful thing about our work is that for different technological projects we collaborate with different specialties. When we made the maps, I was spending hours every day with the cartographers. Now we are trying to marry software engineers like me to professional musicians. And we learn from each other. And I have to tell you, we did not know before we decided to come to Greece, that we are excited because there are amazing startups in the country dealing with digital applications for music (music engineering). And I’m sure we will find talent from the local community to work with us.
Ambitious young man, adventurous
“The younger generations of Greeks that we have met through our work,” says Elomida, “are different from traditional Greeks. They do not care as much about the security of a good job that they will spend their whole lives with as their parents. They are ambitious, adventurous and want to do great and interesting things. Especially children who have lived abroad for many years can clearly see and evaluate the advantages of Greece and at the same time realize the benefits that life in the big has to offer. European countries, in America or in Canada. And the objective of the country, I think, is not to bring back those who left, but to give them the opportunity to come to Greece and leave again, if they find something that interests them, and then come back. And go again. And then come back.
The meeting
We “met” with Lars and Elomida online through Zoom. They were in Connecticut, they were gone forever
New York, at the height of the coronavirus, when the city mourned thousands of victims every day. There, in the countryside, in a green area surrounded by nature, we created a ‘home of sanity’ where all our partners could take refuge for a few days and work outside the city.
Living in such a place, isolated, we created strong ties between us and our work had twice the productivity.
It was a bright ray of happiness in the bleak landscape of the pandemic. ”We want to do the same in Greece.
