MTB Italy Tour: Special Events in Torino and Cagliari

We have two special dates this month: on Jun 10th we are in Torino (@I3P - Incubatore Imprese Innovative Politecnico Torino) and, on Jun 25th, in Cagliari (@Sardegna Ricerche, Pula). They are special dates of our MTB Italy Tour 2010: two full-day events that offer terrific opportunities of learning and networking.
Check our website for information about the format of these special events and details about the program. Partecipation is free, pre-reservation is required



Why these special events? We receive every day a lot of requests about how to prepare a business plan, how to talk with a venture capital, and so on. Many of you ask feedback about his/her business idea. The MTB Italy Tour is going to provide some concrete answers to these requests.
The morning session (MtB Start-up School) is aimed at providing education re: entrepreneurship, business planning, venture capital market and Silicon Valley eco-system. Business school style, with a pragmatic approach (we give you the "nuts and bolts"). The modules are provided by Alberto Onetti, Chairman of MTB Foundation, and other top notch experts.
In the afternoon we replicate a session of our MtB Gym, the mentorship program we run in Silicon Valley. A panel of investors and entrepreneurs provide comments and feedbacks to selected start-ups that present their ideas. If you want to be considered for the MTB Gym, please send your executive summary to the following email address: torino2010@mindthebridge.org (for Torino) and cagliari2010@mindthebridge.org (for Cagliari).
And, during lunch time and in the evening, plenty of time for Networking.
Don't miss the opportunity. We are looking for seeing you in Torino and/or Cagliari. Check the website for details and reserve your seat.

2010 Business Plan Competition: the race is open!

Since the beginning of this week, the Mind the Bridge 2010/11 cycle is up and running.
The deadline to submit your business plan is July 31st.





You know the rules of our Business Plan Competition (BPC). We are looking for highly innovative startups, focused on a global market, with high growth potential.
A dozen of the semifinalists will be invited to present during the Venture Camp event on November 5-6th @ Corriere della Sera in Milan. The selected projects will go through several months of mentoring, including a two days Bootcamp (on September 24-25th in Varese) and Coaching (on October 15-16th in Pavia)
Some of the selected projects will be offered to join the MtB Gym, where our proto-entrepreneurs will be able to build their muscles in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
The business plans have to be submitted through our website where you can find the required formats to be used for the application



Starting this year, also thanks to the support of Cariplo Foundation, we launched a new initiative, "Call for Ideas" (CfI), targeted for students, researchers, scientists, Ph.Ds, who have a brilliant business idea, but not yet a structured and articulate business plan. The finalists of this competition will have the chance to present their ideas at Venture Camp 2010. The format for drafting your executive summary is available on the website.
If you have a business idea, even if at the early stage and not yet fully finalized, the MtB Call for Ideas is the competition designed for you. Don’t miss this opportunity!

MtB Italy Tour: this week we are in Milan and Bergamo

This week you can meet Mind the Bridge in Milan and Bergamo.
Tomorrow (May 18th), starting at 6:30pm we are at Università Cattolica. The venue is Aula Luzzati (Largo Gemelli 1).
On Wednesday (May 19th) our Italy Tour stops in Bergamo: we are hosted by the local university. The presentation starts at 10:30am (viale Marconi 5, Dalmine). Meet you there.
Menawhile, if you live in Turin, save the date: we will be there on Jun 10th, for a full day event. Stay tuned for more details.

MtB Italy Tour: next week (May 11th) in Novara

On May 11th, MtB Italy Tour lands in Piedmont, in Novara.
The event is organized jointly with Università del Piemonte Orientale and Incubatore d'Impresa del Polo di Innovazione di Novara.
The venue is the Faculty of Economics (Aula 204, Via Perrone 18, Novara). The event starts at 4pm.
We are looking forward to meeting students, Ph.Ds., reseachers and everyone is interested in understanding how to start-up a new business. See you in Novara!
Yesterday (May 3rd) over 150 students crowded Aula Manzoni (one of the most famous university places thanks to a well-known commercial)at Politecnico in Milan. 10 students stopped us at the door right after the conference for presenting their own ideas. This is the feedback we are looking for. Guys, we wait for you submitting your plans to our Business Plan Competion or Call for Ideas.
A special thank you to Professor Moramarco for the hospitality and for supporting us throghout the presentation.

Post Gran Finale: startup interviews and pics

New York:


From Sausalito, with San Francisco in the background:

MtB Italy Tour: the agenda for the incoming week

Quite intense program for the incoming week.
On Wednesday 13th, 3 presentations are scheduled at Politecnico of Milan, while on Thursday 14th we are at Parco Tecnologico Padano, the agri-food cluster that is located south-east of Milan.
See below for the details.



April 13, 10:15am
Politecnico di Milano
Corso di Impianti Informatici, Prof. Giuseppe Serazzi
Aula EG2, Milano Città Studi,
Via Golgi 39

April 13, 10:15am
Politecnico di Milano
Corso di Sistemi di Elaborazione dell’Informazione, Prof. Paolo Cremonesi
Aula EG3, Milano Città Studi,
Via Golgi 39

April 13, 4:00pm
Politecnico di Milano
Corso di Energie Rinnovabili, Prof. Paolo Silva
Aula CT 38, Milano Bovisa,
Via Lambruschini 4

April 14, 2:30pm
Parco Tecnologico Padano
Sala Convegni, Lodi,
Via Einstein-Loc. Cascina Codazza

MtB Italy Tour: next week dates

The week after Easter we have three additional presentations, all scheduled on Wednesday (Apr 7th). The venue is the Politecnico of Milan, where we will be hosted by Prof. Frattini (Corso di Impianti Industriali, starting at 9:45am, Aula BL 27.0.8, Via Lambruschini 4),Prof. Mainetti (Corso di Tecnologie Applicazioni e Servizi Internet, at 3.15pm, Aula BL 27.1.4, Via Lambruschini 4)and Prof. Colombo (Corso di High Tech Entrepreneurship, at 3.30pm). Thank to all of them for welcoming us (and obviously to our speakers, Giuseppe De Giorgi and Tommaso Minola).

Where you can meet MtB this week

MtB Italy Tour is on the road also this week. 3 presentations are scheduled in Milan. See below for the details



Tuesday, March 30th, 10am
Politecnico di Milano
Ingegneria Energetica
Corso di Impianti industriali (Prof. Chiaroni)

Tuesday, March 30th, 2:30pm
Politecnico di Milano
Ingegneria Gestionale - Corso di Finanza immobiliare (Prof. Colarossi)

Wedesday, March 31st, 4:30pm
Università degli Studi di Milano
Corso di Economia e gestione dell'innovazione (Prof. Ganzaroli)

Gran Finale Stanford: videos available

You can find the full event here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/mindthebridgeTV

Special thanks to Gabriele, for another sleepless night.

Mtb moves to the East Cost: on Thursday we are in NY

After the Gran Finale at Stanford, we replicate on the East Cost.
On Thursday (Mar 25th) we are in New York, hosted by Consulate General of Italy (690 Park Avenue @69th Street) and in collaboration with ICE (Istituto Commercio Estero).
Join us and meet the selected finalists from the Mind the Bridge business plan competition. Click here for the full program.
The event is close to be sold out. Registration is required. Click here for reserving your free ticket.


This week the Mtb Italy Tour is again on the road. On Thursady we are in Milan, at Politecnico (Campus Bovisa). We present at the Corso di Sistemi per l’energia e l’ambiente (starting at 2.15pm). Thank you to Prof. Manzolini for the accepting to host our tour
On March 26, we are at Corso di Sistemi per l’energia e l’ambiente held by Prof. Silva, again at Politecnico in Milan.