Super-closing for the MtB Italy Tour 2011!

Last week more than 150 people attended the Genova final date of Mind the Bridge Italy Tour 2011 hosted by IIT – Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia.

With amazing guest speakers talking about their successful entrepreneurial experiences in Silicon Valley and giving inspiring lessons, MtB met the enthusiasm and attention of the participants who felt immediately involved in the discussion. Thanks to Marco Marinucci, Fabrizio Capobianco and Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli, who told their stories and enriched the discussion with their comments, the Startup School coordinated by Alberto Onetti represented a real interactive moment for learning and collecting inestimable hints.

Moreover, the insights and feedbacks given to the startups selected to pitch by the panels of experts during the Gym Session, gave a panorama of what are the must-haves for an effective presentation for high technology based products: do not go too deep into the features of the product (often very complex), but focus on the value proposition and the discriminators.

Mission accomplished! A few days after the end of the MtB Italy Tour 2011 we feel even more eager to receive the business ideas from all the other Italian talents we haven’t the chance to meet.
The Business Plan Competition 2011 is open! It’s time to send us your ideas..
Remember, the deadline is July 31st.

Mind the Bridge Startup Summer School & Wired

Finally we have the names of the two winners of the scholarship Mind the Bridge offers in collaboration with Wired!

• Mariano Ambrosio, 24 years (Roma)
• Simone Lini, 21 years (Crema)

Although both very young, Simone and Mariano have submitted a promising business idea they will work on while they are host at Pier38. They will join the other selected students for this first edition of Mind the Bridge Summer School starting on.. July 11th!

A special thank to all the other applicants that have not been selected for the scholarship. Don't miss the opportunity to participate to the Business Plan Competition or stay tuned because, given the high number of applicants, we might replicate the school during this fall!

Well, it's almost time to start.. we will keep you posted on this brand new Mind the Bridge initiative!

Are you ready for Genova? Here the selected startups!

The last date of the Mind the Bridge Italy Tour 2011 will be hosted in one of the most prestigious landmarks of technology, the IIT- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. Tomorrow we have the opportunity to hear from 6 exciting startups showcasing their business ideas!

Thanks to the presence of Marco Marinucci (MtB Executive Director), born in Genova and Google Manager in Silicon Valley, and of Fabrizio Capobianco (Funambol President&Chairman), both arriving from San Francisco to take part in the event, the Startup School coordinated by Alberto Onetti, will be further enriched of invaluable insights and experiences.
The afternoon, structured as a Gym Session, will be devoted to a bunch of startups presenting their business idea in front of a panel composed by relevant investors and seasoned entrepreneurs such as Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli (Univ. of Barkeley), Giuseppe Rasero (Genova High Tech, Leonardo Technology Spa), Joe Petillon (Banner Ventures LLC) and many others. Goal of the session will be to give constructive feedbacks to the admitted startups and look in deep at their business in order to seek out either the points of strength or of weakness.

What about the selected projects? Here are the names of the startups that will present tomorrow.

1. SunWise

2. Twimbow

3. 3Brain

4. Best Creativity

5. NANOMED 

6. Arbot Technology

This time the choice has been even harder than usual. Besides receiving a high number of Business Plans, we found a quite consistent number of interesting ideas. Thus, our choice has been driven not only by the quality of the idea, but also by its attitude to be discussed and its potential to be a helpful case study for the audience. Do not feel left out! Not being selected does not mean there is no potential in your plan. On the opposite, we are pleased to invite you to attend both to the Gym Session- for listening to the precious feedbacks and advices provided by the magnificent panel of experts to the startups- and the education program in the morning.

See you in Genova!

Great day in Pavia! Learn more about the selected startups..

Startups, enthusiasm, constructive feedbacks, terrific speakers.. that’s what you need for organizing a successful event!

Yesterday, we recreated for a day the atmosphere of Silicon Valley in Pavia, involving startups, entrepreneurs and investors, students, Ph.Ds and whoever was interested in learning how to turn an idea into business.

The introductions of the Mayor of Pavia, and of Margherita Balconi and Annalisa Tocchio, respectively the President of the local Polo Tecnologico and industrial association immediately set the tone: create an ecosystem in Pavia to support a new generation of Italian entrepreneurs.

The speeches of Alberto Onetti, Charles Versaggi and Fabrizio Capobianco inspired the participants.

And in the afternoon, a Gym session. Six startups were invited to present their innovative business idea, in front of a panel of experienced investors and entrepreneurs. Let’s briefly introduce them!

Among the early stage ideas we heard from Linksten - a mobile application that reproduces a short jingle during the idle time while your smartphone opens a link, THE WHITE RABBIT – an innovative software platform aimed at providing innovative solutions for business, education, healthcare, home and social needs through touch-screen applications - and EasyGoing - a multi-platform (social web, website, SMS, mobile app, telephone) management system for car pooling. The presenters got a lot comments, feedback and tips that for sure will help them to focus more on their business and exploit their business idea.

Danmax Tech Solutions, tpenso and iLIKE.TV presented their prototypes and products.

Danmax Tech Solutions produces an universal charger for cell phones to be applied into the wall’s outlet.
iLIKE.TV, structured as a web tv channel on cross-media social platforms, allows users to be involved to the shows, influence and interact with them via a secondary screen.
tpenso presented its product - Margerita Salvadita - an innovative device that reduces the risk of needlestick injury from syringes.


Then a lot of good and promising ideas…and - for one of them - an incredible opportunity to make it happen.
We were able to open the door of the MtB Gym to one of the 6 startups. This thanks to Durabo, whose general manager - Tommaso Mazzocchi - volunteered to offer this opportunity to one of the startups in memory of his father Antonio.
Carlo Giuberchio, tpenso founder, received the best of the day award. For him a 3 months stay at the Gym, the mentorship program held @ Pier 38 in San Francisco. Great opportunity for exploiting the business potential of his device!

Carlo, see you in two weeks in San Francisco! All the others, see you on Wednesday next week in Genova!

Summer School: who's in!

MTB people,

after launching our first Summer Startup School a few weeks ago, we did experience an overwhelming response from you.

One more sign that the popularity of the Silicon Valley-Startup pair is at its tipping point amongst Italians.

Here are the candidates who made it through, for our next 3 sessions (July, August, September):

• Andrea Amedeo
• Andrea Morra
• Luigi Greco
• Marco Solfato
• Enrico Prunotto
• Albert William Pozzi
• Fabio Parisi
• Eugenio Pugliese
• Matteo Bortolu
• Giancarlo Vergine
• Luca Bernardi
• Alessandro Coscia
• Michele Orsi
• Giorgio Bertolino
• Federica Riva
• Alejandro Martinez
• Giuseppe Pace

We are still working on the selection for the promotion in collaboration with Wired.it

Stay tuned to get more info.

In the meantime, congrats to all those who have been accepted.

You can start packing (and don't forget some thick socks + hat!)

Pavia, here we go!

Guys, we are almost there! Everything is ready for the third date of the MtB Italy Tour 2011. The venue is Pavia, the date Friday, June 17th. 6 cool startups have been selected, investors and entrepreneurs are eager to meet young talented entrepreneurs. Moreover special guests are coming to participate in the event!

Just to mention a few.. Alberto Onetti, MtB Chairman, serial entrepreneur and professor in Finance and Innovation Management, is the most suitable person to give you the nuts and bolts for starting up a business.

Directly from San Francisco, Charles Versaggi will provide you with invaluable insights about how to tell your business story. Founder of Versaggi BioCommunications and MtB Mentor, Charles is recognized not only for his experience as entrepreneur, but also for his cheerful charisma and unique communication skills.

Among the others, Francesco Carione (New Business Director and Digital Incubator @ RCS Group) will introduce you to the RCS Digital Publishing Prize, an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs with an innovative idea in the digital media/publishing field. Joe Petillon (Banner Ventures LLC), Maurizio Liverani (Baryon Capital Corporation) and a lot of other investors and entrepreneurs will populate our investors panel, providing stratups with comments and helpful tips. Not enough reasons to join us in Pavia? Last but not least, Barbara Labate, the winner of the Mind the Bridge Business Plan Competition 2010, awarded last month @ the Italian Innovation Day in New York, will tell us her engaging experience at the MtB Gym in San Francisco. See you there!

Startups admitted @ Gym Session in Pavia

On Friday the 17th (yep, Friday the 17th...), we are in Pavia for the second date of our Italy Tour 2011. In the afternoon we replicate a Gym session, with a bunch of startpus pitching in front of a panel of venture capitalists and seasoned entreprenuers.
As usual we received a lot of applications.
Anyway, here are (in alphabetical order) the startups we selected for the Gym in Pavia:
- Danmax Tech Solutions
- Easygoing
- iLIKE.TV
- Linksten
- The White Rabbit
- tpenso



As we always point out, not being in the list above does not mean that there is no potential in your plan. You can largely benefit from the discussion of all the business ideas as well as the education program in the morning(BTW Charles Versaggi is joining me on the stage...terrific opportunity to learn). Thus we are looking forward to meeting all the startups (not only the selected ones) in Pavia, where to share insights and provide some feedback.
We strongly suggest to take part to the whole event with your entire management team (please register with all the members if you haven't yet done). Startups admitted to the Gym session have 8 minutes for presenting their idea (we will send you a template for helping you in structuring the presentation). Presentation will be followed by 20/25 minute time of Q&A.

Gym OpenHouse: Jun 9th

We are adding an important feature to our Mind the Beer social mix.

Fear not. Booze will still be part of the mix.

But in addition, starting this Thu June 9th, we are planning to open the door of the GYM incubator and add a demo area for some selected startups.

..... more Info here.

We plan to run those events throughout "the summer" (disclaimer: no summer in San Francisco).

The following startups will be showcased (in "demo-with-a-beer" mode):

• Hyperfair, Andrea Ballarini.
• Spreaker, Francesco Baschieri
• Beintoo, Antonio Tomarchio
• Vinswer, Daniele Alberti
• Quipu, Elisabetta Bianchini
• SMANIA, Silvia Bossi
• QIRIS, Nicholas Caporusso
• Treedom, Lorenzo Martelletti

An awesome mix between startups hosted at the GYM and the subset of the 2011 Fulbright-BEST winners who run a startup (including the ones supported by MTB).

Spend the summer in San Francisco: startup summer school

Tired to spend the summer in Costa Smeralda?
Had enough of the usual month on your yacht in Saint Tropez?
It's time to get serious about your ambitions to become a successful entrepreneur... and spend your summer in San Francisco!

In case you haven't noticed, a few days ago we officially opened the doors of our GYM incubator in San Francisco for a summer startup school.For 3 weeks, you'll leave the life of our startups incubated at Pier 38, follow a number of seminars, and, most importantly, you can work on your project.
Don't have one yet? No problem.
You'll get assigned to one of the startups and will work on their business plan!

We have very limited availability, so apply ASAP if you don't want to miss this life changing opportunity (and I'm not kidding...).
Else, you'll be forced to spend yet another summer in Costa Smeralda!

You'll find all detailed information here.

Presenting Premio Gaetano Marzotto

Do you want an additional compelling reason to participate in the Mind the Bridge Business Plan Competition 2011? Here you go.
You can be eligible for the Premio Gaetano Marzotto for young high-tech entrepreneurial ideas.

How does it work?
The Project Gaetano Marzotto aims at supporting a young entrepreneurial idea developed in a high-tech field with the possibility to grow internationally. As presented by Alberto Onetti in the video above, thanks to the partnership with Associazione Gaetano Marzotto, we can offer to one of the selected startups the opportunity to attend our Gym program @Pier 38, our incubator in San Francisco, for a period of 4 month.
It is a terrific opportunity! You will learn how to structure your business idea, making your business plan valuable, solid and successful! Relationship with potential partners and investors will be facilitated, and everything happens in the heart of the Silicon Valley, totally free of charge!

How to enroll for the Premio Gaetano Marzotto for young high tech entrepreneurial ideas?
Just apply for the Mind the Bridge Business Plan Competition 2011 (deadline July, 31st), have an innovative high-tech idea and be under 35 (for startups at least one of the founders’ team should respect this criteria).
Young Innovators, we want you!