Dr Yannis Pierrakis
Faculties, departments and locations
- Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation
- Small Business Research Centre
- ΢ÃÜȦ Business School
- ΢ÃÜȦ Hill
Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Email:
- [email protected]
About
I teach Entrepreneurial Finance and Innovation Management and my research interests include Venture Capital, Business Angels, Startup creation, Crowdfunding and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Before joining ΢ÃÜȦ, I worked as an Innovation Consultant for The World Bank, Finance and Private Sector Development Department in Europe and Central Asia and as a Senior Expert for multimillion EU Pre-Accession Assistance projects. I was previously Head of Investments Research at NESTA, the UK Innovation Agency (London, UK), and before that, I worked at Intrasoft International (Luxembourg) and in Cardiff Business School. I received my PhD from Cardiff University in 2012. My thesis examined the role of different types of venture capital, public and private, in fostering innovation at the regional level.
I currently serve as associate editor for the Strategic Change journal.
Invited expert positions
- International Expert Advisory to the Development of the ICT Sector Strategy for Palestine, funded by GIZ, 2022
- Corporate Finance Expert Advisory to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Equity Crowdfunding Project in Jordan, 2021
- Member of the Advisory Group for the UK Prosperity Index, Centre for UK Prosperity, Legatum Institute, United Kingdom, 2021
- High Level Evaluator of the Pan European Fund of Funds Venture Capital program (£300m), European Commission (DG Research & Innovation) and European Investment Fund, Brussels, 2017
- Academic Expert in Evaluation of the Horizon 2020 SME instrument, workshop organised by the in the European Court of Auditors, Brussels 2018
- Invited Expert in the study on "Planning the future of Entrepreneurship and business support. A study to inform the Welsh Government's future direction of the support provided to aspiring entrepreneurs and established SME's, Welsh Government, 2018
- Invited Expert - Publicly Guaranteed Debt to VC Funds, workshop organised by the European Commission (Economic & Financial Affairs), Brussels - 13 July 2017
Qualifications
- 2017 - Higher Education Academy Fellow
- 2012 - PhD in Investments and Innovation, Cardiff University, UK
- 2002 - MSc in European Regional Development, Cardiff University, UK
- 2000 - BSc in International and European Studies, Panteion University of Athens, Greece
Domains
BS7601 - Innovation Management and Entrepreneurial Finance
BS7033 - Innovation Management
BS7567 - Innovation Finance
Courses taught
PhD supervision
- Yohanna Babangida, "Cross-regional Venture Capital Investments", 2015 - 2020
Projects
- Supporting Business Innovation Centres and Business Incubators in Morocco, Caribbean, Kenya, Ethiopia, 2015 - 2017, The World Bank
- INNOGROW, ERASMUS+ Entrepreneurial Education, (2015), European Commission
- British Council (2015), Innovation Finance Executive Training
- Development of the Research & Technological Infrastructure of Gaziantep Technopark Project, Europeaid, Turkey, European Commission (2014)
- Regional Innovation Observatory (InnObs) Project, Russian Federation, The World Bank (2012-2014)
- Integrated Innovation Support Programme, Europeaid, Republic of Serbia, European Commission (2012-2013)
- Development of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure Roadmap for the Serbian Ministry of Science and Education, Republic of Serbia, The World Bank (2013)
- UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), (2013), Venture Capital Market Research
- Innovation Support Program in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, The World Bank (2012)
- Finance Wales (2011), Evaluation of Xenos Business Angels Network (with Prof Colin Mason, Glasgow University)
- Early Stage Investors for High Growth Businesses, Pro Inno Europe, European Commission (2007-2008)
- PRO INNO Policy Trendchart, DG Enterprise, European Commission (2006)
- Development and implementation of the Innovation Actions Programme for Wales, European Commission (ERDF) (2002-2004)
I possess over 20 years of professional experience the majority of those in the field of entrepreneurial finance, business development, innovation, entrepreneurship and improving the institutional capacity of companies and innovation centres.
During my career, I have taken part, as an expert or consultant, in several multimillion internationally funded projects including several World Bank, European Commission and EBRD-funded projects related to business development and entrepreneurial finance in the Russian Federation, Turkey, Jordan, Serbia, Palestine, Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobacco.
World Bank - InfoDev – Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Business Innovation Centres
- Consultancy support to the World Bank's InfoDev program, which helps innovative ventures through a global network of business innovation centres that assists early-stage entrepreneurs-offering mentoring, facilities, and seed funding.
World Bank - Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship, Private and Financial Sector, Europe and Central Asia.
- Task Leader: Establishment of the Regional Innovation Observatory (InnObs) (budget 2 MEUR) in the Russian Federation (sponsored RVC, RusNano and VEB).
- Innovation Support Program in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation.
- Development of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure Roadmap for the Serbian Ministry of Science and Education.
- Report on the Development of the National Innovation Strategy for Georgia, Georgia, 2013, The World Bank
Development of the Research & Technological Infrastructure of Gaziantep Technopark Project, Europeaid, European Commission, Turkey. EU funded project (budget 2.6m euros) aiming to increase regional competitiveness by supporting enterprises and improving business, R&D, Innovation, Technology and ICT environment in the Gaziantep region of Turkey.
EU funded project "Integrated Innovation Support Program, Serbia" (budget 2.8 MEUR). Improvement of Innovation Support Services, which focused on the improvement of capacities in innovation support organisations in the field of policy mechanisms in order to provide efficient support to innovative SMEs.
Publications
Cleantech incubators within the sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem : fundraising sources, income generation strategies and the role of public support
Pierrakis, Yannis, Ivanova, Anna and Chawdhary, Rahul, 2024, Strategic Change
Textual sentiment analysis and description characteristics in crowdfunding success : the case of cybersecurity and IoT industries
Yosipof, Abraham, Drori, Netanel, Elroy, Or and Pierrakis, Yannis, 2024, Electronic Markets (34), pp 30
Innovation and foresight in SMEs : lessons from the case of UK digital health companies
Vecchiato, Riccardo, Do, Hang, Pierrakis, Yannis and Blackburn, Robert, 2023, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management
Giving coins for free : does digital outsourcing of technical and advisory support influence the success of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)?
Pierrakis, Yannis and Bhimireddy, Nishanth, 2023, Strategic Change
Academic institutions and the changing entrepreneurial finance landscape
Pierrakis, Yannis, Berbegal-Mirabent, Jasmina, Gil-Doménech, Dolors and Colombo, Massimo G, 2023, Venture Capital
Editorial : Entrepreneurial finance for green innovative SMEs
Owen, Robyn, Botelho, Tiago, Mac an Bhaird, Ciarán, Ghulam Hussain, Javed, Pierrakis, Yannis, Scott, Jonathan M. and Lodh, Suman, 2023, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management (70), 3, pp 942-949
Startup ventures and equity finance : how do business accelerators and business angels' assess the human capital of socio-environmental mission led entrepreneurs?
Pierrakis, Yannis and Owen, Robyn, 2023, (25), 4, pp 371-395
Internationalisation and localisation : foreign venture capital investments in the United Kingdom
Harrison, Richard T, Yohanna, Babangida and Pierrakis, Yannis, 2020, Local Economy (35), 3, pp 230-256
Peer to peer lending to businesses : investors' characteristics, investment criteria and motivation
Pierrakis, Yannis, 2019, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (20), 4, pp 239-251
The role of venture capitalists in the regional innovation ecosystem : a comparison of networking patterns between private and publicly backed venture capital funds
Pierrakis, Yannis and Saridakis, George, 2019, The Journal of Technology Transfer (44), 3, pp 850-873
Do publicly backed venture capital investments promote innovation? Differences between privately and publicly backed funds in the UK Venture Capital Market
Pierrakis, Yannis and Saridakis, George, 2017, Journal of Business Venturing Insights (7), pp 55-64
Venture capital in crisis: the impact of the economic downturn in company’s time to exit
Pierrakis, Yannis, 2013, Journal of Alternative Investments (15), 3, pp 62-71
Venture capital, the regions and public policy: the United Kingdom since the post-2000 technology crash
Mason, Colin and Pierrakis, Yannis, 2013, Regional Studies (47), 7, pp 1156-1171
Towards a sustainable knowledge-based region (TASK)
Pierrakis, Y. and Price, S., 2003, WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (67), pp 505-512
Public policies and public programs with a regional impact in promoting entrepreneurship: the case study of government backed venture capital schemes in the UK
Pierrakis, Yannis (2015). In: Carvalho, Luisa, (ed.), Handbook of research on entrepreneurial success and its impact on regional development. Hershey, U.S.: IGI Global, pp 122-150
Banking on each other: peer-to-peer lending to business: evidence from funding circle
Pierrakis, Yannis and Collins, Liam (2013). London, U.K.: (NESTA)
The venture crowd: crowdfunding equity investments into business
Collins, Liam and Pierrakis, Yannis (2012). London, U.K.: (NESTA)
Atlantic drift: venture capital performance in the UK and the US
Lerner, Josh, Pierrakis, Yannis, Collins, Liam and Bravo Biosca, Albert (2011). London, U.K.: (NESTA)
Venture capital: now and after the dotcom crash
Pierrakis, Yannis (2010). London, U.K.: (NESTA)
Reshaping the UK economy: the role of public investment in financing growth
Pierrakis, Yannis and Westlake, Stian (2009). London, U.K.: (NESTA)
Shifting sands: the changing nature of the early stage venture capital market in the UK
Pierrakis, Yannis and Mason, Colin (2008). London, U.K.: (NESTA)
Mutual learning platform: blueprint for regional innovation benchmarking
Iurcovich, Luis, Komninos, Nicos, Reid, Alasdair and Pierrakis, Yannis (2006). Luxembourg: (Innovation Regions in Europe Secretariat)
Unveiling trends and transformations in entrepreneurial finance research
Bhimireddy, Nishanth, Pierrakis, Yannis and Vecchiato, Riccardo(2024). In: London Text Analysis Conference 2024, 12-13 Sep 2024 :London, U.K.
Uncovering themes in ICO-related tweets using BERTopic : an exploratory analysis
Bhimireddy, Nishanth, Pierrakis, Yannis and Vecchiato, Riccardo(2023). In: London Text Analysis Conference 2023, 07-08 Sept 2023 :London, U.K.
ICOs : how to measure success of an ICO
Bhimireddy, Nishanth Sai Reddy, Pierrakis, Y. and Vecchiato, R.(2023). In: Economics of Financial Technology Conference 2023, 21-23 Jun 2023 :Edinburgh, U.K.
Can Twitter sentiments predict success of initial coin offerings?
Bhimireddy, Nishanth, Pierrakis, Yannis and Vecchiato, Riccardo(2022). In: Paper development workshop (PDW) for PhD students and early career researchers, 25 Nov 2022 :Held online
Technology foresight in SMEs : insights from the case of UK digital health small firms
Vecchiato, Riccardo, Do, Hang, Pierrakis, Yannis and Blackburn, Robert(2022). In: European Academy of Management (EURAM) Annual Conference 2022 : Leading Digital Transformation, 15-17 June 2022 :Winterthur/Zurich, Switzerland
Social media sentiment analysis and initial coin offerings (ICOs)
Bhimireddy, Nishanth and Pierrakis, Yannis(2021). In: Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference : SME finance for building back better, 01-02 June 2021 :Held online
Technology foresight of UK SMES : opportunities and challenges for growth and productivity
Do, Hang, Vecchiato, Riccardo, Blackburn, Robert and Pierrakis, Yannis(2020). In: RENT XXXIV : Entrepreneurship in the digital era, 18-20 Nov 2020 :Naples, Italy (Held online)
Technology foresight for growth and productivity : case study of UK digital health SMEs
Vecchiato, Riccardo, Do, Hang, Blackburn, Robert and Pierrakis, Yannis(2019). In: Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) 2019 : SPACE – exploring new frontiers and entrepreneurial places, 14-15 Nov 2019 :Newcastle, U.K.
The cross-regional flow of venture capital investments in the United Kingdom
Babangida, Yohanna and Pierrakis, Ioannis(2019). In: 10th Annual Faculty Research Conference: Contemporary Issues in Business and Social Sciences in a period of uncertainty, 03 - 04 Jun 2019 :΢ÃÜȦ upon Thames, U.K.
The geography of foreign venture capital investments (FVCI) in UK regions
Yohanna, Babangida and Pierrakis, Ioannis(2018). In: 9th Annual Faculty of Business Research Conference: Contemporary Issues in Business, 04 Jun 2018 :΢ÃÜȦ upon Thames, U.K.
Do Business Accelerators invest in ‘lemons’? A comparison of the founders’ characteristics of Business Accelerator and Business Angels backed companies
Pierrakis, Ioannis(2017). In: 40th Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Annual Conference: 'Borders', prosperity and entrepreneurial responses, 8-9 Nov 2017 :Belfast, U.K.
Do publicly backed venture capital investments promote innovation? Differences between privately and publicly backed funds in the UK Venture Capital Market
Pierrakis, Yannis and Saridakis, George(2016). In: 39th Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Annual Conference: Institutional Voids, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, 27-28 Oct 2016 :Paris, France
Publicly backed venture capital funds and business innovation: empirical analysis of venture capital backed firms in the UK regions
Pierrakis, Yannis(2015). In: European Academy of Management (EURAM) Annual Conference 2015: Uncertainty is a Great Opportunity, 17-20 Jun 2015 :Warsaw, Poland
The academic/research view on financing
Pierrakis, Yannis(2013). 11-13 Jul 2013 : Grundlsee, Austria
Venture capital, the regions and public policy: the United Kingdom since the post-2000 technology crash
Mason, Colin and Pierrakis, Yannis(2009). In: 32nd Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ISBE) Conference: Celebrating 3 decades of excellence in education, research and practice: at the cutting edge of international entrepreneurship, 3-6 Nov 2009 :Liverpool, U.K.
Venture capital, the regions and public policy: the United Kingdom since the post-2000 technology crash
Mason, Colin and Pierrakis, Yannis(2009). In: Regional Studies Association (RSA) Winter Conference 2009: Global Recession: Regional Impacts on Housing, Jobs, Health and Wellbeing, 27 Nov 2009 :London, U.K.
Regional growth poles: regional ingredients and innovative recipes for growth in European regions
Pierrakis, Yannis(2006). In: 46th Congress of the European Regional Science Association: Enlargement, Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, 30 Aug - 3 Sep 2006 :Volos, Greece
Knowledge based approaches to sustainability: the TASK programme
Rhisiart, Martin and Pierrakis, Yannis(2003). In: 11th International Conference of the Greening of Industry Network (GIN): Innovating for Sustainability, 12-15 Oct 2003 :San Francisco, U.S.
Investments and innovation: regional venture capital activity, business innovation and an ecology of interactions
Pierrakis, Ioannis (2012), PhD thesis, Cardiff University