Women Business Angels’ seven lessons training course on How to Take Off as a Business Angel? brought to life in the framework of the WINGATE project has the goal to develop and train women entrepreneurs and women business angels across all Europe.
The third event of the training series took place on the 7th of June and had as an expert guest Gábor Patkó.
Gábor Patko is a senior executive with a 20-year track record of success building, growing, transforming and managing online and offline businesses across 3 continents. In his work, Gábor tends to combine a strategy consultant’s rigorous and systematic approach with an entrepreneur’s energy and get-things-done attitude all the while focusing on the continuous development of those who he works with. After gathering significant industry experience in various fields, in 2021 Gabor decided to launch his own startup, SkillCert.io.
SkillCert empowers its users to compete on equal terms with their professional peers by providing an affordable, recognized, and reliable way for them to prove their individual skills to employers in the international job market.
We asked Gábor about his motivation to become an entrepreneur, mentoring, and the Brazilian innovation ecosystem compared to the European (CEE). Last but not least we were also curious about his thoughts on why are women much needed in the investor community. Enjoy the conversation.
Women Business Angels: How would you introduce yourself to our readers?
Gábor Patkó: I’m a globally-minded idealist who still believes he can change the world for the better 🙂
WBA: What made you become an entrepreneur in your forties? Do you regret it?
GP: I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart but I either lacked the courage or the right idea to go all-in. I was fortunate enough to find an idea I was passionate about at a point in my life where I feel I’m both well prepared for the ride and can take a risk
WBA: What company are you building now?
GP: I’m building SkillCert, a high-quality, low-cost skill assessment and certification platform which aims to democratize access to the global job market by credentialing candidates independently of their background/pedigree, merely focusing on their hard and soft skills
WBA: What role do mentors play in your career? Who are the most important ones and how do you maintain relationship?
GP: I found the right mentors for me late in my career but still feel thankful for having them in my life, whether it’s to give me difficult feedback I’m in need of, share insightful angles on challenges and opportunities i’m facing, or boost my confidence when times are rough
WBA: Who do you mentor?
GP: I mentor whoever asks me to be their mentor and who puts the effort in to drive the relationship. In my experience, mentoring is always driven by the mentee.
WBA: What is the status of Brazil’s innovation ecosystem compared to Europe/CEE?
GP: It’s hard to compare the two as Brazil is a much bigger market, attracts more capital, and has way less state intervention than Hungary. The cultural orientation to the US also significantly contributes to the ecosystem being on a much more advanced level of development, although it was practically a VC desert 10-15 years ago…
WBA: Why are women much needed in the investor community? Why do you think Women/Business/Angels Association plays an important role?
GP: Without going into specific clichés, women tend to have a different perspective and approach to most things in life versus men and are desperately needed to balance a strongly male-dominated industry.