Venture Camp 2011: here's what happened

33 speakers, 15 startups, 375 participants, #MTBVentureCamp the top discussion topic in Italy on Twitter, just to name a few numbers.

Part of the discussions we had, ended up on the Italian Government official website. Santoro has been chasing us and our speakers every since. The real "Iene" wanted to exchange T-shirts, like you do at the end of the worldcup (expect that we run out of ours).

Established entrepreneurs who attended the events are saying our startups are officially ready to play the major league, meaning Silicon Valley (Massimo Sgrelli: "Startup italiane pronte per la Serie A")

Even more established industrialists, at the very end, communicating they want to invest heavily and directly in the Mind the Bridge Foundation (Gaetano Marzotto: min. -38)

But what happened really?? It's all kind of blurred now. I remember showing up with Iene-like sunglasses, talking with Rampagna (RCS) about the role of larger companies in Italy (to acquire startups!), with Villanueva (McKinsey) of the role of governments in promoting Startup Chile-like programs, with Earner (VC) about the chances of Italy to survive at the current pace of innovation production, while discussing the always spicy assessments of my good friend Vivek Wadhwa (Washington post, Techcrunch, etc)

I then remember Loris Degioanni and Bonzio talk about the role of role-models and father figures in one's success ("Chi vola vale, chi vale vola, chi non vola non vale (ed e' un vile)")

Bassetti, Marzotto and Beretta (that is, the best of Italian brands in the world!) kind of looking back and see how to leave a significant imprint for younger generation of entrepreneurs.

And then Vito Lomele (Jobrapido, $20M+ revenues in less than 5 years), Mario Mariani (ex Tiscali), Leandro Agro' and Gabriele Gresta (Bibop) proud representatives of a new Italy that is making waves, against all odds!

And then Nick Heller (Google) describing Google's new efforts in the "startup-incubation'

space (new incubator in London, support for similar programs in Israel and South Africa), Gesess and Baldini about their recently launched new funds.

And then Byers (Stanford) and de L'Etraz (IE) addressing the key questions entrepreneurs should answer.

And how to forget a highly inspired and always funny, Lady Innova, bringing the wisdom of the crowds (=Twitter and Facebook) in the room with the speakers.

And the evening event? Playing Light Painting with Claudio Bonoldi (boy, is that difficult!), listing to the live music of the Trio Fabio Mariani and... being totally disrupted by the Il Moralizzatore from the IENE... all flown in from Rome to attend our evening event.

Was it all real??

Did you miss it? Really??? Listen up. This is your last chance: in a few days you'll be able to see all the videos from our YT Channel.

PS the awesome pics are by Paolo Bonnacorsi, photographer (Paolo, you rock!)

The new MTB GYM @ One Market is open for business

It's been barely 3 weeks. And yet, it seems like a new era had started.
It seems like yesterday that we had to move from our beloved pirate cove, Pier38.
In the typical Silicon Valley way, where everything is dynamic and accelerated, so was our move.
And exactly on Oct 3rd, together with most of the Pier38 Startups, we moved.
Where?
It's arguably the most iconic business building in San Francisco, also known as "The Landmark", home of dozen among the most successful companies in the Bay Area (Salesforce.com and Autodesk, just to mention a couple).
One Market is the dream location for any company, a stone throw from the Ferry Building, a stunning view of the bay, and the most desirable location for public transportation, restaurants or a relaxing walk along the Embarcadero.

We occupy the entire fifth floor of the Steuart Tower, on the South-East corner of the One Market Plaza complex.
I kid you not. This is not the usual bare-bone space you are used to associate with the scrappy startup world. This is a full blown, top corporate space. How on earth can startups afford such a space? As they say here: "don't ask, don't tell" ;-)
There is still plenty of space available (30K sqf total), but things are coming together pretty quickly, including the famous common area that has been transported entirely from Pier 38.
As far as we are concerned, we took a spacious wing of the floor, filled natural light, where we can run our loud presentations, training modules, etc without killing the other startups that are busy changing the world.
In fact, since we moved in, we've been running our October session of our Startup School, and things, so far, have gone as smooth as silk.
Last night, we even hosted the first official Open House event in our new home.

We do have plenty of space, so that we are starting renting out desks to folks who are a good fit with our philosophy.
If you are interested, start having a look at the pictures here. Wondering why our pictures look so professional? Because a real pro took them, Paolo Bonaccorsi, one of the brilliant participants to our October Startup School (thanks Paolo!!).

The Venture Camp Gala Dinner. A dream venue for a rocking party.

A terrific event requires a royal celebration … and when it is time to celebrate we never refuse.
We are going to put together all the ingredients for a great party. A dream venue, fun and amazing people. And yes, we have them all!

A very special venue. The selected venue for this year Dinner Party is the Showroom EDRA, an Italian design company that has found the keys to success through fantasy, risk and imagination. We like that. And we are sure you’ll fall in love with this place at first glance.
Fun. Games and entertainment, networking and yes … pure fun (someone says Le Iene will be there..). And sure, you’ll get surprised..
Amazing people. However, what really makes the difference is you! Wanna have a proof?
Look at the pics of the last year HEROS. This year we wanna do even more..

Mark your calendar and join us for an unusual night of fun, networking and…a lot more.

yes, we are IENE too

It's true. We are IENE inside.

Following last night's airing of the Iene's special on the brain-drain in Italy, we finally showed our true self. For the few that don't know IENE (Italian for hyenas), they are the investigative reporting news show.

When Lucci contacted us (via Loris Degioanni), it wasn't quite clear what kind of cut he wanted to give to the topic.

What highly controversial story did they want to build around us?

Truth being told, both Loris and I were quite apprehensive to be devoured by "the hyenas" we all grew up with.

Now, the day after, it's all clear.

The hundreds of emails, messages, facebook/linkedin connections we received within the few hours after the show, really made it clear.

We posted some of those on our blog on Corriere.

The truth is that in Italy there's a whole world in the 20-something generation (but not only) that today is in pain.

Their well expressed messages are a clear request for help: to have the opportunity to make a difference, to feel appreciated or, sometimes, just to express their dismay about their future.

Nothing to ask really, mostly the need to talk to "an entity" that could feel their pain.

For us, being identified with that role is not only flattering. It's our life juice. It's what gets us going. It's an honour and a privilege.

Thanks.

Venture Camp 2011 warm up

5 weeks only!

The countdown is on for the MTB Venture Camp 2011, the top event hosted by Corriere della Sera, bridging technology and startup world from Silicon Valley to Italy (and back).

At its 4th edition, the event will have the usual format: a 2-day conference focused on promoting the new Italian talents coming from the MTB Business Plan competition, learn from success stories of who "made it" and address the issues that today are impeding the Italian entrepreneurial ecosystem to blossom.

Some joucey news coming: significant prizes from our partners (ie Marzotto, RCS), top speakers lineup and our renowned (un-)usual Friday night party (see picture...).

Tickets are available here. Remember, they go fast!

Significant discount for you early birds until Oct 10, so act now....

Here are the 15 startups admitted to 2011 Venture Camp

Here we are. After collecting the feedback from all the Instructors @ MtB Boot Camp in Turin, our Selection Committee has finally completed its job. They had a hard time to pick-up the best 15... since all the 29 startups we selected for the Boot Camp in Turin were actually very good. But a choice has to be made. And, most of the time, it is a tougher to say no than yes...

Below you can find the list of the 15 startups admitted to pitch at the Venture Camp in November (Milan @ Corriere della Sera). The final ranking merges the original evaluation from the desk analysis and the qualitative analisys we performed during the 3-day Boot Camp we organized last week.

Kudos to the selected startups but also to those that did not make it: you are good, tune a bit your business plan and never give up! We are working to organize an event dedicated to you as well as a subset of the startups that have not been admitted to the Boot Camp. We are confident that some of them have a great potential and can be the next protagonists! We are going to work with you guys...



STARTUPS ADMITTED TO 2011 MIND THE BRIDGE VENTURE CAMP

Arkimedia
D-Orbit
Frestyl
Gowar
Iubenda
Mangatar
Naevi in silico
NextStyler
Phlur
Sounday
stereomood
Timbuktu
Treedom
Vinswer
Vivocha

See you in Milan @ Venture Camp and leverage the support of your brand new Stanford interns (more info here)

MTB and Stanford solidify their partnership

I'm just back from Florence where I spent two days teaching with Tom Byers @ Stanford Campus. I had the privilege to work with the Stanford students attending the Comparative Analysis of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Course that Tom is teaching in Italy this term. Really, really bright guys.

I'm back from Florence with two phenomenal news.

Phenomenal News #1) Tom Byers will be one of our key notes speakers at the Venture Camp on Nov 4th-5th @ Corriere della Sera in Milan. He is undoubtedly one of the top expert in the world re: entrepreneurship and a terrific speaker. Then you can't miss the chance to hear from him in Italy.

Phenomenal News #2) 15 Stanford students will be assigned as "shadow interns" to the 15 startups admitted to the Venture Camp for a 2 mos period. This way our startups will benefit from the smart support of some of the most brilliant students in the world. They will be at their disposal for testing the product, doing some market research, improving the pitch, ... and, most important thing, add a fresh Silicon Valley perspective to each team... Enjoy!

Let’s Boot Camp!

Terrific speakers, awesome venue, promising startups! We are talking about the MtB Boot Camp that kicked off last Thursday in Milan (hosted by the Social Media Week) to continue for the 29 semifinalists at OGR – Officine Grandi Riparazioni in Turin.
More than 300 people attended the MtB Boot Camp Open Forum. Alberto Onetti (MtB Chairman) anticipated some data from the Mind the Bridge Survey 2011 “Startups in Italy. Facts and Trends” that will be presented in November at the Venture Camp. Then a group of terrific speakers animated the stage: James C. Roberts III (Lawyer & Managing Partner at Global Capital Law Group), Marco Magnocavallo (Co-Founder at Blogo and Wikli), Stefano Maruzzi (Country Director at Google Italy), Pietro Bezza (Managing Partner at Connect digital media ventures), Massimo Ciociola (Founder & CEO of MusiXMatch) and Piero Bassetti (President of the Giannino Bassetti Foundation).

Central theme for the day was the ability to embrace a culture of risk in Italy, magisterially captured by the “pony allegory” narrated by Charles Versaggi (President of Versaggi Biocommunications®), the MtB Boot Camp Director.
September 23 and September 24, different venue (Turin), but same enthusiasm: the 29 MtB semifinalists went boot-camping @OGR – Officine Grandi Riparazioni (Stazione Futuro the tag for our place, quite evocative), together with a stellar group of mentors.

Learning sessions in the morning and GYM pitching session in the afternoon. Hosted and sponsored by TOP-IX Consortium, this two days program represented both a great opportunity for startups to learn and get inspired by our Boot Camp instructors and an invaluable occasion to test themselves and improve their communication skills. Among the mentors, led by Charles Versaggi: Ivan Farneti (Partner at Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures), Marco Magnocavallo (Co-Founder at Blogo and Wikli), Elisabetta Ghisini (Founder at Verba - International Communications) and Stefano Bernardi (Dave McClure’s Shadow at 500 startups).
Moreover, as already specified in our previous posts, this event represented a further selection step in the process that will bring 15 startups to the MtB Venture Camp in Milan at Corriere della Sera and later on to Silicon Valley.
Curious to know about the top 15's names???

Just stay tuned!

The end of Pier 38 (the way we know it)

It's official. By the end of the month, all Pier 38 tenants (~70 startups to our last count) will have to move out.
It doesn't really matter what's the real story behind it (Chronicle, Techcrunch) , the 400 people signing a petition or the visit of the mayor of San Francisco.

What really matters is the bottom line.
On Sep 30th, Pier 38 will stop being that unique, creative, open, vibrant hub for startups as we've known it.

We can't say enough about how this pirates cove had an impact on our beloved organization.
It's been our first home. But since we moved in, just over a year ago, things have happened faster than we all expected.

The open, anarchic spirit of this place, almost a commune where nobody has any other interest than promoting successful startups, has been deeply inspiring.

Here's where we started organizing events for all possible occasions, the end of a startup summer school, a large group of visiting students, GYM Openhouses and demo days.
You name it.
That's also where my 5-year daughter (with other 90 something people) ended up celebrating her graduation from Preschool.
It's all good.
We are definitely not worried about our new home. In fact, we'll be moving to the One Market building, another San Francisco landmark.
It's a great opportunity to grow. And we'll take it.
But, as good pirates after a successful assault, we want to honor our first battleship, or rather, our beloved galleon.

On 9/20 we'll host our GoodBye party for Pier 38. Drinks, startups and laughter. Pier 38 way.

From Marco Marinucci

2011 Business Plan Competition: here is the short list of the the top 30!

This year we received a lot of submissions for our annual Business Plan Competition. Most of them are really cool and interesting projects...
Then our Selection Committee (coordinated by Fabrizio Capobianco) had a hard time to come out with a short list. But they did it. Thanks guys for the great and passionate work.
Below you can find the short list of the top 29 startups that have been admitted to the 2011 Boot Camp Mind the Bridge (with the active support of TOP-IX) organized from Sep 22nd through Sep 24th.
During the three days we will provide your with top notch training (here you can take a look at the agenda ... our speakers and instructors are impressive) and have the chance to know more about your startup and business plan. Then the Boot Camp represents a further evaluation step to identify the 15 semifinalists admitted to pitch at the Venture Camp (Nov 4th and 5th, in Milan @ Corriere della Sera).
A final note aimed at the hundreds of startups that are not included in the list below. Don't give up, there is potential in your team and idea... We are looking forward to meeting you in Milan for the opening of the BootCamp (on Sep 22nd, at 4pm, at Mediateca di Santa Teresa, the event is open, just click here to get your free ticket).
And we are planning to organize a mini Boot Camp reserved to the best startups that have not been selected...then we definitively want to stay in touch with you guys and help you succeed. And you can do it...




Startups admitted to MTB Bootcamp 2011

ARKIMEDIA
BLOMMING
COOKOUS
D-Orbit
DigitalFluency
FLYBBLE
FRESTYL
FRINZER
GOBILABS
GoWar
iubenda
mangatar
Mytata
NAEVI IN SILICO
NextStyler
OkeyDokeyEvents
Phlur
QUIPU
RickyRoubin
Smartruck
SOUNDAY
SportSquare
STEREOMOOD
TIMBUKTU
TREEDOM
TWIMBOW
Video Template
VINSWER
VIVOCHA