Nektarios Liolios: Driving FinTech Innovation and Mental Health Advocacy

On this episode of the Scouting For Growth podcast, Sabine VdL talks to Nektarios Liolios, a true FinTech trailblazer, a passionate entrepreneur, and a dedicated mental health advocate. In this episode, we'll dive into Nektarios' wealth of experience and insights on the evolution of FinTech, building thriving startup communities, investing in early-stage ventures, and fostering a more inclusive and mentally healthy entrepreneurial landscape. KEY TAKEAWAYS          When I started the accelerators, we were riding the first wave of glorified entrepreneurship in 2011-13. Startups were cool, & we created artificial pressure around building things faster than in the wild. There were glimpses of people struggling, but I really didn’t take them too seriously. The real understanding of how bad people's mental health was affected in the early stages of building a business wasn’t something I was fully aware of. But it became clearer to me as we progressed with building these programmes. In 2018, I lost my Dad the day after I finished work at the accelerator. I had to deal with the mess that comes with leaving behind a big chunk of my identity. I thought, perhaps there’s room to do something about this & I joined a woman I knew who had started Founder Anonymous within the VC fund she worked with to give founders the space to talk about how hard it actually is. There’s a bag of things: identity, loneliness, imposter syndrome, and co-founder conflict. There are so many things that naturally happen in life, concentrated in the world of building a startup, & these people are completely left to their own devices to deal with these challenges. I got into entrepreneurship in my mid-40s, so I already feel I was a little better prepared for these things than younger entrepreneurs who haven’t had much life experience. But I wasn’t expecting my identity to be so messed up. The challenges faced by someone working in the corporate world and someone working in the entrepreneurial world are different, especially for founders. You don’t have the same support system. In the corporate world, you can take some time off and talk to HR; there may even be support initiatives. But founders are very specific kinds of animals; it takes a particular type of makeup to become one in the first place. Research shows that entrepreneurs are more likely to have anxiety, depression, and neurodiversity manifestations (ADHD, bipolar) in their family history. BEST MOMENTS ‘The outside picture is that startups are cool & the hustle is cool & you need to ruin yourself because the potential returns of a successful startup aren’t comparable to corporate life, I want to demystify that.’ ‘We were part of the problem; we cared about the business, we didn’t care about the people behind the business.’ ‘We want to build a business where we don’t want to kill ourselves. That doesn’t mean we’re not working hard; it means being allowed to say I’m struggling. Authenticity is important.’ ‘There’s a link between wanting to be your own boss & experiencing certain mental health issues.’ ABOUT THE GUEST Nektarios Liolios is a visionary FinTech entrepreneur, investor, ecosystem builder, and mental health advocate, passionate about driving positive change. His work has taken him around the globe, where he has closely collaborated with hundreds of entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses in London, New York, Singapore, Dubai, Amsterdam, and Melbourne. His dedication to entrepreneurship, collaboration, and improving lives has earned him recognition as a FinTech veteran and a spot on the Pride in FinTech Powerlist 2023. LinkedIn Innovate Finance The Future Farm ABOUT THE HOST Sabine VanderLinden is a corporate strategist turned entrepreneur and the CEO of Alchemy Crew Ventures. She leads venture-client labs that help Fortune 500 companies adopt and scale cutting-edge technologies from global tech ventures. A builder of accelerators, investor, and co-editor of the bestseller The INSURTECH Book, Sabine is known for asking the uncomfortable questions—about AI governance, risk, and trust. On Scouting for Growth, she decodes how real growth happens—where capital, collaboration, and courage meet. If this episode sparked your thinking, follow Sabine VanderLinden on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights. And if you’re interested in sponsoring the podcast, reach out to the team at [email protected]