Welcome Finalists 2009!

With a welcome dinner in a rainy San Francisco, the 2-month road show 2009 has officially started.
Our friends from Gli Affidabili (already acting local) and Eris4 (arrived stoically after a trip of 20 something hours) got a warm welcome from a few MTB friends (Mike Borsetti, Matteo Daste, Alberto Cecioni and me).

Starting from tomorrow, we'll all have our hands full.
Here is the full Agenda for the next 2 months.

Pitch Competition @ Stanford University

Richard Boly just sent me this link.


It looks like a great opportunity for our startups that will be visiting the Silicon Valley shortly and for future reference.

The event is scheduled for March 26th-27th.

Deadline to send a 10-20 slides presentation is March 1st, 2009.

"All companies that apply will receive ONE complimentary pass to the entire 3-day event – a $795 value. This will provide the opportunity to network with top global investors, entrepreneurs and advisors, a “not-to-be-missed opportunity."

Preparing 2009...

With the beginning of the new year, we are glad to announce a few important news.

To start with, we are getting organised to set up a governance for the long term of the foundation.

From the beginning of the 2009 we established a new board of directors.

I (Marco Marinucci) will be joined by Fabrizio Capobianco and Matteo Daste, good friends who have been involved with the initiative since its inception.

The second important news is the launch of the MtB GYM, the project for mentoring and incubation of startups in Silicon Valley that we initially annouced in Venice in October.

Fabrizio and Matteo will be also involved in the GYM as partners, bringing their unique experience, namely, as entrepreneur in Silicon Valley and founder of BAIA and attorney.
The GYM will officially open in Febrary, physically with a space within the Plag & Play center in Redwood City (CA).

More to come on both the new governance of MtB and the GYM...

BEST - Fullbright is open

On Jan 13 Ambassador Spogli launched the 3rd edition of the BEST program.
Here are the details:

Fulbright BEST (Business Exchange and Student Training) favorisce il cambiamento culturale nelle giovani generazioni di scienziati, proponedo un modello imprenditoriale basato su innovazione e trasferimento tecnologico. Il programma, promosso dall’Ambasciata Americana a Roma, è rivolto a giovani ricercatori nel campo dell' ICT, Biotech, Tools and Machinery, Energy and Green Technology che lavorano su promettenti idee imprenditoriali, risultato di progetti di ricerca, da trasformare in un business gestito in prima persona.

Il programma prevede una full immersion di sei mesi nella Silicon Valley, regione californiana in cui sono nate e cresciute alcune delle aziende globali protagoniste della crescita negli ultimi venti anni. I partecipanti frequentano corsi accademici su imprenditorialità innovativa, marketing, finanza e gestione aziendale presso la Santa Clara University, e uno stage presso un’azienda ad alto potenziale di crescita operante in un settore merceologico coerente con l’idea imprenditoriale proposta. Sono previsti anche seminari presso altre due prestigiose università, Stanford e Berkeley, e opportunità di networking in collegamento con business communitiesitaliane e americane. La terza edizione dell’iniziativa è stata realizzata con il contributo di: ALCOA, Amgen Dompé SpA, Booz and Co., Comune di Milano, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Enel Green Power, Farmindustria, IBM, Mediaset, Poste Italiane, Provincia di Benevento, Regione Toscana.

Per partecipare è necessario presentare il proprio progetto entro il 27 febbraio 2009.
Il bando e altre informazioni utili sono disponibili sui siti: http://italy.usembassy.gov/best/ http://www.fulbright-best.it/

...the 2008/9 Finalists are...

 Here are the MtB 2008/2009 Finalists: 

• im3D(Medical images, CAD)        
  
• Free pack net  (development and rental of reusable transport package)        
  
• Nanoxer  (new materials, nanotechnology, insulation)        
  
• Zooppa  (crowd sourcing video advertising) 
  
• Passpack  (SaaS secure password storage)        
  
• Eris 4  (BSS/ OSS, billing, ecommerce marketplace)        
  
• Galgo/GliAffidabili  (Peer-to-peer services marketplace, social rating)
  

Congratulation to all the selected projects and thanks to the Selection Committee for their hard work.

The long preparation to the 2009 Silicon Valley tour will start officially next week.

For now, let's just enjoy the week end after a very long (as you can tell from my face) entrepreneurship week....

Here's the video that aired yesterday during the event in Florence.

Inviting Finalists: Nov 20 !!

On Nov 20th, during the workshop: "Nuova Imprenditorialita': operazione valore" we will officially communicate the projects that will be invited to the Silicon Valley road show in 2009.

The event is organized by "Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna" and will take place in Florence as part of the week long Global Entrepreneurship Week, promoted globally by the Kauffman foundation.

The event will be streamed live on the website of Scuola Superore Sant'Anna, and through this direct link.
The declaration of the finalists will happen at around 12-12.30....

Videos + Feedback = Even Better

We have started adding the videos of the 2-day Venture Camp event.


You can find them here.

This is also the right time to collect your feedback.

Do you think this activity is valuable for you?
What do you value most? Would you like to see more of this in the future?

VC investments and the financial crazyness

During the Venture Camp we have touched several times on whether or not you gonna be nuts to start a new venture in such an incredibly unstable financial situation.
I've heard during some of the presentations and during the various networking sessions (never too many...) people confronting opposite points of view.

The same day we started our forum, Sequoia flooded all startups and relevant investors with their famous Presentation , portraying an apocalyptic view of the world of startups in the next years to come.

I have the impression that, yes, we are facing tougher times in front of us (what the heck, if even Google is being cutting on extra-free-food...).
However Scarcity is the best status to spur Innovation. From scarcity it comes clarity.
How about seeing these funky times as a real opportunity for the best ideas that solve real, tangible problems, to emerge?

On the other side, I was reading the recent statistics of the performance of PEPI (table).
Indeed, the numbers look scary, considering they do not include the last few week earthquakes.
Still, the best long term (10Y) returns from all different investment scenarios, are coming from Early stage investments in startups.
Ergo, it's time to dump your stock and make your mattress thinner... and invest in your friend startup (the smart one, though).

It's all LIVE

Less than 10 hours to the opening of the MtB Venture Camp...

I landed in Venice not too long ago, and I bet a lot of other people have already started their travel plans.

For a good number of them (and us included) it feels like the "night before the exams" kind of feeling.

Let's be clear. It ain't easy to pull together such a 2-days event. We definitely raised the bar with 14 Start-up presentations, 2 live interviews, 4 panels, a gala dinner in the lagoon and a startup-investor match-making service...

a lot of energy and a lot of collaboration among different parties.

Now, that all is done, let's just enjoy the party!

Last good news.

We are planning to provide a video live streaming of the event. Stay tuned to get the connection .. (on www.mtbventurecamp.com).

See you there (live or virtual).

MM

Selected Projects for Venture Camp

After a 2 weeks selection process, with the support of our Selection Committee coordinated by Anna Gatti, we are glad to communicate the 14 projects that will be invited to present during the MtB Venture Camp.

The projects are... (roll of drums...):

• Wiva Group
• T4A
• im3D
• Free pack net
• Nanoxer
• YUBUK
• Zooppa
• Athonet
• Passpack
• Base 16
• Aermatica
• Amped
• Eris 4
• Galgo/Gli Affidabili

We'll be providing more information about them soon. The selection was based on a number of hard factors (financials, product quality, stage of development, etc.) but also some softer ones (i.e. represent a wide spectrum of innovative solutions, limited presentation spots).

For now, congratulations to the selected startups and thanks to our selection committee.

For all the remaining projects, do NOT fear.
During the event, we are planning to carve some dedicated time to allow 1:1 meetings between all the startups and the potential investors. 
Stay tuned for more information on the match-making process.

In the meantime, start making your plans for a memorable long week-end in Venice (the availability is limited).

-

MM