Posts about projects

Zoe Fragou: Redefining Workplace Wellbeing and Culture

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What it means to be an organisational psychologist today


When we asked Zoe what she’s up to at Stone Soup, she opened up and shared the diverse roles an organisational psychologist plays. Her focus includes corporate training, team building, psychometric tests, and especially programs around culture change in the direction of equity, diversity, inclusion, and mental health. Now, her work has grown way beyond that.

Zoe Fragou is the founder of Fragoulous Minds, which she described as more of an ecosystem than a company. “Half the people I work with are artists,” she said, because apart from training, they also produce comics, videos, podcasts, and are even working on a board game about personal development. “Everyone expected me to write a book,” she laughed, “but I said, no—not yet. Let’s make a board game instead.”

Are people happy to be at work?

Zoe pointed out that workplace wellbeing, mental health, and inclusion are finally on the agenda for more and more businesses. But not all of them get it—some just want to “tick the box.” Still, she sees a shift, especially thanks to Gen Z. “They have boundaries,” she said. “They’ll just say, ‘this isn’t for me,’ and leave. And that’s pushed companies to change, because they can’t keep people anymore unless they do better.

The impact of this type of work is measured with tools like pre- and post-intervention tests, retention rates, absenteeism, and how emotionally committed people are to their workplace. There are many ways to measure progress and the wellbeing of workers, but she stressed the importance of asking the simple question:  “Are people happy to be at work?” That feeling matters.

Zoe Fragou giving a talk on inclusion, diversity and mental health.

Zoe’s favorite sessions are the ones that focus on promoting inclusion, especially “because a lot of non-inclusive behavior comes from lack of awareness, not bad intentions.” Also, a growth mindset—helping people believe they can change, no matter where they’re starting from.

The trend she’s not a fan of? Resilience. Not because resilience is bad, but because too many companies use it as an excuse. “They say, ‘You’re not resilient enough,’ instead of taking responsibility for the toxic environment they’re creating,” she said. “It shouldn’t just fall on the employee.”

At the heart of Zoe’s work is the idea that empowerment isn’t a buzzword—it’s a mindset, and one that needs the right environment to grow.

Zoe Fragou's podcast which explores wellbeing, ethical change, inclusion, diversity and mental health.

Being Part of a Coworking Space 

For the team, choosing a private office within a coworking space was a conscious decision. A place like Stone Soup offers the best of both worlds—the privacy of your own space, along with the chance to connect with others and meet people working on a variety of projects.

When it comes to professional circles, Zoe pointed out an unexpected alignment, “I would say it sounds weird, but we vibe more with tech people and marketing people and not so much with people from the mental health sector, although that’s who we are technically, but the way we approach business is closer to tech companies and media companies.” 

Check out Fragoulous Minds work and projects here

Theofilos Petsios from Crash Override on Tech Collaboration and Remote Working

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Getting to know our newest members, we sat down with Theofilos Petsios, who has been a principal engineer with Crash Override since the company’s founding in 2022. We discussed tech collaborations, remote working and the journey of Crash Override.

A Natural Tech Collaboration

After a decade long tenure in the USA completing a PhD in Computer Science at Columbia University, and a short stop in Berlin, Theofilos relocated to Greece and took on a vital role in the NY-based B2B SaaS start-up which is only a couple of months away from launching.

Having worked with John Viega (CEO and Co-Founder) at John’s previous start-up during his time in New York, they happened to cross paths again and join forces on this new project. Both John and Mark Curphey (Co-Founder) are both very well known in the security community, the culture fit and engineering ethos was a perfect match so the decision to collaborate came naturally, as Theofilos shared.

Air tags for code

Air tags for code? Sorted

Founded in 2022, Crash Override has grown to a team of more than twenty, spread across the UK, USA, and Greece. They build tools to help developers understand where their applications are developed, where they live and how they’re deployed—“like air tags for code,” as Theofilos puts it. Initially focused on application security, the team quickly expanded to address broader questions that companies would ask around ownership, development, and deployment of software. This led to the creation of not only a SaaS platform but also a series of open-source projects like ‘Chalk’—a tool to make software lifecycle data accessible to all.

Connecting software

Balancing Remote Work and In-Person Syncs

Crash Override emphasises cross-border collaboration but recognizes the challenges of remote work, especially when time zone differences are involved. “It’s crucial to have an office and for folks to be in the same room” he explained. “There are some things that you cannot really replicate in a virtual environment.” Theofilos stresses the importance of having an office space for in-person interactions, like whiteboarding and spontaneous mentorship, which can’t easily be replicated virtually.

Despite these challenges, Theofilos is optimistic about the team’s ability to adapt, crediting their engineering excellence and collaborative spirit as key strengths that make Crash Override stand out from the crowd. “The technology and foundational things we’re building are really, really cool.” While there are competitors, none are focusing on the kind of visibility Crash Override is offering, and that’s certainly something to brag about, despite Theofilos’s humility.

Life and Networking at Stone Soup

When Theofilos is in Athens, he works from Stone Soup on most days. He loves Stone Soup’s super central location, the lovely terrace and the Athenian feel that the building and décor maintain. “It’s more intimate than larger coworking spaces you find abroad” he stated.

Theofilos recognises the power of networking in his journey and believes it’s particularly important at this early stage of Crash Override. If you see him around our shared spaces or at a community event, don’t hesitate to introduce yourself and say hi!

Check out Crash Override’s blog posts about the security industry here.

Unfolding Data Stories with Cogni.zone

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Transforming Data for Better Insights

Cognizone, a semantic technology consulting firm based in Brussels, has spent the last decade transforming complex data into clear, interconnected systems and graphs. Their work allows organizations to maximise the data potential through their better understanding, connecting, and utilisation. As a data-startup innovating with Greek tax authorities they are leveraging semantic technology to streamline public sector processes.

At Stone Soup, we had the pleasure of catching up with Dimitrios Perperidis and the Greek team from Cognizone (CZ) to hear about their latest achievements since joining Stone Soup in 2023.

Data-Startup Innovating with Greek Tax Authorities

Cognizone marked its entry into Greece through a groundbreaking collaboration with the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (IAPR, or AADE). This project harnesses linked open data and semantic web technologies to create a state-of-the-art application ecosystem designed to support IAPR’s legislative and regulatory processes. The system revolutionizes navigation and understanding of Greece’s intricate fiscal and taxation legal framework, setting a new benchmark for clarity and efficiency in legal and regulatory management.

The team innovating with Greek Tax Authorities

Improving Workforce Mobility with the ESCO Classification

The company works with high-profile clients like the DG-Employment, ETF, European Parliament, EC Publications Office and the governments of Luxembourg and Switzerland. Another one of their important projects is the ESCO classification for the European Union’s DG Employment. This classification standardizes job roles and skills across EU member states, aiming to support greater job mobility across the continent. It’s an essential and innovative tool for harmonizing labour markets, making it easier for workers to move and for employers to find the talent they need.

A Startup That Cannot Fail

Dimitrios explained to us, “If we mess up the data, an entire mission critical platform or EU website could go down.” This highlights the level of responsibility and precision Cognizone delivers—ensuring that the data they manage is not just correct but flawlessly integrated into the larger ecosystem.

In fact, what Cognizone does is unique—not just in Greece but across Europe. There’s no other company in the EU quite like them, especially in the legislative sector where the stakes are so high.

Find out more about what they do here.

Empowering women in tech and advocating for ethical AI

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Can AI create poetry? Will driverless cars navigate through Athens anytime soon? Will Facial Recognition Technologies be deployed in public places? One of our latest members can suggest many potential answers to these intriguing questions. Sacha analyses ethical guidelines and suggests policy frameworks on artificial intelligence (AI). She works for the nonprofit think-tank The Future Society that focuses on AI policy and ethics. We had the chance to speak with her about her research on AI and the role of women in tech, a field that she is motivated to promote. 

Sacha on the coworking rooftop

Getting into the tech industry and AI policy

Sacha is Franco-Chilean. She was raised in Paris and studied politics, philosophy, and economics in the UK, France, and the US.  During her Master’s studies in International Affairs in Paris, she participated in an exchange program in Boston. This decision was a turning point for her career in AI policy. It is during this exchange program that she met the co-founder and president of The Future Society, Nicolas Miailhe. While in Boston she became accustomed to AI and digital innovation, but also to the lack of women and minorities present in this field. 

She is an inspiring example to everyone who loves traveling and experiencing new ways of working with others. Furthermore, she did research about the lack of women in the tech sector: the gap is huge for reasons that are both social and economic. Her studies led her to argue that diversity (ethnic, gender, socio-economic, political) is an important factor to boost productivity and creativity in the workplace. 

Sacha on the rooftop

From theory to practice: working on responsible AI adoption  

Once back in Paris, Sacha was able to reconnect with The Future Society’s co-founder and evolve in an innovative, rapidly changing field. The Future Society specializes in the ethics and governance of AI while advancing its responsible adoption for the benefit of humanity. At the same time, they support the empowerment and active voice of women in tech. In the upcoming month, Sacha will work on Tunisia’s AI National Strategy.

She has also conducted research on different relative topics. These include the ethical challenges for the adoption of contact tracing apps, and the use of AI to fight against the pandemic (with the Global Partnership for AI). As a side project, she built a whole digital community of Affiliates, coming from 20 countries, to advance responsible AI adoption globally and support the organization’s workstreams. They share their views and experiences through a Slack group while using the Signal app for chatting.

Sacha and colleagues

Digital innovation & AI policy for a sustainable society

Sacha’s research on AI policy is about finding the right balance between capturing the upsides of AI and limiting its risks.

AI development can lead to curated educational programs and healthcare self-diagnosis on one hand, and online surveillance and political disinformation on the other. 
For example, Sacha notes that digital contact tracing apps used during the pandemic may be very helpful to identify clusters and limit the spread of the virus. But on the other hand, citizens may not use these apps, even when the design achieves high levels of data privacy, as they have lost trust in governmental authorities and are suspicious of technology using sensitive data! 
Moreover, Sacha underlined the example of automatization of work. Automatization done correctly can bring work-life balance with less working hours, more free time, and same or higher salary. We must change the way we think about labor values and measurements of productivity, she adds. Lifelong learning can help prepare workers for upskilling and repurposing of work goals and practices. 

Sacha and colleagues in Athens

“It is important to remember  that we are still at the dawn of AI adoption, so many paths are possible. We tend to think that the course of technology is linear, when actually we can collectively decide upon its trajectory.”

How does AI relate to remote work?

Digital innovation and AI policy are definitely related to coworking practices! So we asked Sacha to suggest tips and apps we can use while working remotely to keep our private data safe:

  • Using a Protonmail
  • Trying the Signal app
  • Connecting to a VPN
  • Installing an Adblocker is such a relief!
  • Checking the cookies on a website is truly crucial too! Let’s learn to avoid the “accept all” option!

The EU currently has one of the most regulated frameworks in the world (GDPR) so it takes two seconds to check your cookies!

The pandemic is an awakening call that teaches us to be able to organize ourselves in distance and work remotely. This can happen on a personal level. We learned from Sacha that Greece kickstarted the process to draft its AI strategy last summer. This builds on other local ongoing initiatives, such as the “AI and Rule of Law” Roundtable, which happens every October. According to the Chair Of the AI and Rule Law initiative, Nicolas Economou, who organized the second annual Athens Roundtable on  “AI and the rule of law” last October, this is a very promising initiative that will also help Greece digitize its public sector. 

Sacha in AI civic forum

Advocating for more women in tech

During her exchange in Boston, Sacha researched the reasons behind the lack of women and minorities in the tech sector. She shared some shocking numbers! According to a report published in 2019, there are only 18% of women researchers in the field of AI.  This inspired her to build curriculums and mentorship programs in AI policy and ethics to train more women in this field. And we might get a taste because we discussed planning an AI policy and ethics discussion group at Stone Soup too (of course we’ll let you know)!

Sacha coworker on rooftop

Working on digital innovation from Athens

Do you know what else boosts Sacha’s creativity? Athens itself! She ended up here during the pandemic when she realized that she doesn’t have to stay in a specific place to work. She admits that the sun makes her more productive. Athens is an underrated city in her opinion, still unnoticed by many apart on their way to the Cyclades, and she characterized it as the Berlin of the Mediterranean! She loves how the city flourishes artistically while conserving its original vibes. Because of her work,  Sacha is often thinking about the future, and in Athens, she finds the perfect balance to live in the present as well. And we are happy to add her ingredients to our pot!