Tag Archive for: remotework

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.

From Bristol to Athens: iCOMAT’s Journey in Aerospace and Automotive Technology

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Whether you’re an avid F1 enthusiast or a casual observer, chances are you’ve been mesmerized by the speed and precision of these incredible machines. But have you ever wondered about who is behind such engineering brilliance? We spoke with Giorgos Stamatopoulos, a structural analyst at iCOMAT since 2022, to explore the story of one of Athens’ top funded startup’s and its groundbreaking work in aerospace and automotive technology.

The Spark That Ignited Innovation

It all began in 2017 when Evangelos Zympeloudis, then a postgraduate student in Bristol, envisioned a transformative future for composite manufacturing. Collaborating with his supervisor, he patented a technology that manipulates carbon fibers with precision, steering them without creating defects. This invention laid the foundation for iCOMAT, a company confident to redefine the possibilities of composite materials.

Starting modestly with a small UK team and just one employee in Greece, iCOMAT’s workforce has steadily grown. Giorgos himself was the second team member in Greece, and now the local team is rapidly expanding to keep pace with the company’s growth.

icomat employee working with new state-of-the art technology.

Collaborating with Titans

As Giorgos explains, iCOMAT serves a diverse clientele, ranging from aerospace giants to luxury automotive brands. Their expertise has contributed to components for rockets, satellites, and high-performance cars, including the elusive world of Formula 1. While Giorgos remains tight-lipped about specifics, he hints at exclusive visits to the headquarters of a certain top-tier F1 team. For those outside the field, the impact of iCOMAT’s work boils down to three game-changing benefits: enhanced performance, cost efficiency, and sustainability.

Image with examples of which industries iCOMAT work with: Aerospace, automotive and space.

A Startup Backed by Visionary Investors

Innovation attracts attention, and iCOMAT is no exception. With a staggering €20.13 million in funding, the company ranks 7th among Greece’s top-funded startups according to the Venture Financing Report 2024-2025, Startups in Greece 2024–2025. Velocity Partners, one of their earliest investors, has supported them every step of the way, helping them transform their vision into reality.

The big news? iCOMAT will take its expertise to the next level by producing its designs in-house as they’ve opened their first factory in Gloucester. When asked why the UK was chosen over Greece, Giorgos explained that the complexity of their cutting-edge technology demands specialized knowledge that is currently more accessible in the UK.

A Home at Stone Soup

In Athens, iCOMAT enjoys the collaborative environment of a private office at Stone Soup. Beyond the facilities, they value the dedicated support from Olga and Giorgos, who are always ready to tackle challenges and celebrate milestones. Stone Soup’s community events are a highlight for Giorgos, who fondly recalls the monthly Meet and Drink. An event that aims to bring members together to share ideas and successes.

As the company continues to push boundaries in composite technology, their journey from a university lab in Bristol to global recognition is nothing short of inspiring. With innovation at its core and a team of passionate professionals steering the wheel, iCOMAT is the startup shaping the future of aerospace and automotive technology and engineering—one fiber at a time!

iCOMAT team working at Stone Soup

Ingredients for a tasty coworking experience

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Coworking spaces have established themselves as the “new normal” and their fundamental characteristic is a sense of “community” and “collaboration”. Coworking communities are a transformed version of the traditional workplaces which are slowly decreasing in size as an aftermath of the pandemic crisis.

The coworking space is a new type of workplace: heterogeneous professionals, in terms of employment, their field of work, organizational status, and relationships, work all together in the same space.

This broad definition is due to the fact that there is no common interpretation of coworking in the academic literature. It is not a coherent phenomenon but a “new normal” based on the values of collaboration, openness, community, accessibility and sustainability, which each organization interprets ad hoc.

Uda’s (2013) definition of coworking spaces is a widely accepted one and goes as follows: “it is a way of working in which individuals gather in a space to create value while sharing information and knowledge through communication and collaborating under conditions of their choosing”.

We all agree that the practice of coworking in a space is a hybrid of remote working and working from a flexible office that does not commit you to anything!

Coworkers enjoying their hotdesk memberships

The importance of co-creative work

Co-creative work is linked to the concept of “hubs”. Their structure and content can take various forms, such as coworking spaces, studios, clusters, incubators, accelerators etc. Often the boundaries between these are blurred and there are no clear definitions.

Co-creative work is a manifestation of affective creative labor and its essential ingredients are proximity and co-location. These two characteristics, together with inclusivity, are usually necessary to bring out a complete profile of a coworking space. 

The importance of informality as a component of openness is also in the core of coworking. Informal relationships are truly motivating. When it comes to joining coworking spaces such as Stone Soup, we are proud of our coziness! 

coworking life

The life of a copywriter from the UK

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Elliott is a freelance copywriter from the UK and one of Stone Soup’s newest members. He will add his copywriting skills as an ingredient to our soup. Originally from London, he studied politics at University of Bristol and has been a freelance copywriter for about a year, mainly working for tech companies and startups. Before that, he was working a full time job for a PR Agency, therefore digital nomadism is quite new to him. Elliott is currently splitting his time between his home base of London and destinations abroad.

After spending a year in California as an exchange student at University of Berkeley, Elliott travelled a lot, including parts of Asia.

Elliott has travelled to Southern Europe and has worked remotely from Porto, where he enjoyed the relaxed lifestyle and slow living. Being already familiar with the Mediterranean climate, Elliott chose Athens as his base for the next few months. It’s his third time in Athens and, as he really liked the vibe of the city, he returned in order to work remotely from our coworking space. He is planning to stay in Athens until Christmas and he isn’t sure about his next destination: ‘I may stay in Athens, might go back to Portugal. I also consider going to Malaysia!’

Combining freelancing and travelling 

Staying for a longer period in places he works gives him the opportunity to have time for everything, without rushing. That’s how he found our coworking space. ‘By spending a few months somewhere, you get to know the people and the place without being chaotic’. 

‘Even though freelancing gives me the flexibility to build things around my schedule and I really like the autonomy, it can sometimes get lonely. Coworking is a good way to meet people and Stone Soup is a supportive place to work.’ On top of that, Elliott mentioned that it’s really motivating to see things getting done around him.

Specifically, he really enjoys working for tech startups and innovative companies, for example, for Beyond Identity, which created a software that allows companies to eliminate passwords and has grown into a really successful company within 2 years.

digital nomads; working on the beach; camping and working; flexible

What makes a successful copywriter? 

‘Obviously, you need to be good with words and able to express your ideas very clearly in written language’ says Elliott. Moreover, it’s equally important to have a good understanding of marketing, as well as knowing how to get into the minds of the customers. Balancing the above mentioned with good writing makes a copywriter stand out.

Elliott has met clients through a variety of channels, like a Facebook group for content writers, but LinkedIn is the main professional network. Networking can, of course, happen in a coworking space: as he said, he has met clients through coworking spaces.

As a freelance copywriter, the creative process isn’t always the same: ‘I have to talk with my clients about their marketing goals and what they want to communicate. It’s more like a collaborative process: we discuss ideas and find what fits in with how clients want to build their brand.’

In conclusion, a freelance copywriter needs to be autonomous: ‘It’s not like working in an office where you can consult your colleagues. You have to work things out on your own’.

coworker from the UK ; freelance copywriter; member of the community
Elliott is a freelance copywriter