Warrick Cramer had never worked for anyone else, before becoming CEO of Tomorrow Street. He had never run an event in his life, before founding The Arch Summit. From life as a serial entrepreneur, to creating waves of success to envelop others, that’s him.
by: Lisa Burke
photo: Olivier Minaire / Silicon Luxembourg
featured: Warrick Cramer
Radiating warmth and success, Warrick is a man who made it early in life and seemed destined to do so. He oozes charm and knows his worth but remains modest, with a laser sharp focus.
Cramer’s conversation flows easily, veering from raising a teenage daughter to his concerns about the algorithms which lie behind AI datasets and ethics in the tech world-to-come.
His sense of purpose is to help others achieve – to ‘pay it forward’. And after four and a half years here in Luxembourg, he is returning to Australia, to his family, having left the Cramer stamp on the entrepreneurial heart of Luxembourg and so many people.
Everyone contributes, everyone counts.
Warrick grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where his parents ran a chain of clothing stores. From this time, two lessons were absorbed: a penchant for perfectly crafted suits, (he’s rarely seen looking less than perfectly groomed), and the need to understand every aspect of your business.
“Everyone contributes. Everyone counts. It’s important to value people.”
From his parents’ business, he knew that they, and in turn he, learnt every role in the chain. This respect for every part of the cycle transfers to his respect for everyone he meets. Cramer fundamentally understands the intricacies and interlinking of people and their work. He understands the need for the overview of all aspects.
Tomorrow Street Innovation Centre
From his early teenage years, Warrick was an entrepreneur. He consequently learnt the hardest potholes to cross on the entrepreneurial path. When the Vodafone Procurement Company and the Government of Luxembourg asked him to create the Tomorrow Street Innovation Centre, he knew what was needed and took on the challenge.
The combination of a global procurement centre with direct access to the Luxembourg Government gave Cramer great ballast and resources to mould and influence part of the burgeoning start-up scene here in Luxembourg.
“Luxembourg is stable, nimble and willing to play into something different”.
It also helps that Luxembourg also sits at the top table in world GDP rankings.
Tomorrow Street sits atop Vodafone’s headquarters in Kirchberg, with its fern-lined coffee bar, communal working spaces and meeting rooms, ranging from Arabian themed ‘tents’ to the stars at night; the décor another mark of Cramer’s radar attention to detail. The selection process means that only late-stage entrepreneurs will make it through the net, so despite available space, selection is meaningful.
Entrepreneurs need relationship capital
Tomorrow Street does two things, above all. It plugs start-ups into an environment with other entrepreneurs, and it provides access to a network of corporates and decision makers; a fast-track to growth. The two worlds meld in a space where they can speak the same language.
“As an entrepreneur, the capital you invest in is people. Entrepreneurs don’t have all the answers or resources to do everything alone so you learn from others. I rely on my network to teach me.”
Cramer knows the importance of how others help to build your business, and wants to create an environment in which entrepreneurs can thrive with fewer potholes than he had to jump over. Building the right network seems to be an intrinsic part of that ladder to success.
“Invest in good relationships. Trust you have the right people around you. Ensure your network and circle are big enough to have someone to ask.”
And that’s exactly why he decided to create The Arch Summit – to create a space where entrepreneurs, corporates and venture capitalists could meet each other.
“Have confidence to go do things and take a leap of faith. Go for it. Don’t worry what others will think or say. People will come behind your idea.”
The Arch Summit
“I’ve never run an event in my life”
This is a minor concern to Warrick, who is undeterred by a challenge. He felt the idea was right, and would be positive for both entrepreneurs and investors.
Then, he turned to his own network to learn and built the right team. His enthusiasm is such that it’s never a burden to want to work the extra hours to ensure his ideas work. Because his ideas are beyond himself, to help so many others.
Cramer admits that he doesn’t get it right all the time. He can be obsessively persistent.
“I’ve been kicked out of places!”
But he always uses these experiences as a time for self-reflection and resilience-building.
“Why did that happen? Well, my message was probably not clear enough.”
Keeping a sense of the big picture is ever-present. Cramer knows that much of the work he does is not life threatening.
“I’m not holding someone’s life in my hands. I’m not a surgeon. I shouldn’t be stressed if my event doesn’t go well. If people don’t show up, it’s ok. It’ll bruise my ego but that’s ok.”
Holding his greater purpose in mind, he can deal with almost any reactions.
“It’s all about me trying to help other people prosper and go forward. Knowing that you’ll make a difference.”
When Warrick returns to his homeland, he hopes that Tomorrow Street and The Arch Summit will continue to thrive. He doesn’t want Arch to become an ever expanding event, but a tight-knit, strong community of start-ups and corporates / investors.
FTI – Failure to Implement
To his staff at Tomorrow Street, Warrick has been the acme of inspiration and drive.
One of his key acronyms is FTI – Failure to Implement.
“Do it, then readjust.”
But God damn, just do it.
“Say yes, then you look at the back end. How are you going to implement it? Sometimes you don’t have all the answers but you can learn as you go.”
For this, many of us have to unlearn years of education: schools and universities, so frequently set up for just the opposite, where failure is not seen as a step to fine-tuning and readjustment.
“Have confidence to go do things and take a leap of faith. Go for it. Don’t worry what others will think or say. People will come behind your idea.”
And for the Arch Summit, that, they definitely did.
Warrick Cramer leaves Luxembourg with a sense of accomplishment and legacy, for all who have met him.
