MtB Italy Tour 2011: here are the dates

We are going to hit the road again. After the opening on February 11th in Rome, we will be in May in Florence and in June in Pavia and Genova. Do not miss the opportunity to get in contact with our speakers and learn from them the key elements to start a new business.




Here the incoming dates and venues of the Mind the Bridge Italy Tour 2011.
FIRENZE, May 13th
PAVIA, June 17th
GENOVA, June 22nd

Why the MtB Italy Tour?
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 every week at Pier 38 in San Francisco with the startups admitted to our incubator. 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 sessions, please send your executive summary to the email address indicated at the webpage of each event.


What’s the goal of the MtB Italy Tour?
The key word of the Gym is open discussion comments, honest feedbacks. Ultimate goal is fine tuning the business idea (what and where it works, where and what doesn’t) and improving the presentation. Then participating to the Gym session is a must for all the startups, not only for the ones we selected to present. Everybody can largely benefit from the discussion of all the business ideas as well as the education program in the morning.

Who are the recipients?
If you are a wanna-be-entrepreneur with an innovative business idea, a research or Ph.D. aiming at creating a spin-off or a startup at the early stage, this program is something you can’t miss.

What is required for participating to the Tour events?
Admissions are free, pre-registration is required. You can find details for registration at the webpage of each event.

For further information and updates on the single events please refer to our website

Virtual IID Fair, today 8AM PST

It wouldn't be a real innovation day if nothing significantly new shows up.

And here you have it!

Today, Thu Apr 7th @ 8AM PST (5PM in Italy) the Virtual Italian Innovation Day fair will officially open.
What does that mean really? It means that:

1. you'll be able to setup your avatar (not quite Wii style, but you can decide to wear your Arabic look...)
2. you can visit all the virtual booths of the Startups (room/pavilion B in the virtual world) and SMEs (room A) that participated at the Stanford event.
3. you can download all the relevant information you expect from a trade show. For every exhibitor that means business cards, marketing material, videos, etc
4. Watch the videos of the entire conference who took place @ Stanford (hint: do not miss the investor panel)
5. Only today 8-11AM you'll be able to interact synchronously with the exhibitors. Chat, shaking hands, conduct business, even interview ...kind of like at a real trade show (expect the painful feet part)

It will be a first for me. And I can't wait to try it, eventually.

For the record, the virtual fair is the result of the amazing work done by our friends @ Hyperfair, one of the startups still hosted @ the MTB GYM.

I tried today, here's my personal feeling.
It does take sometime to download the plugin, setup your account, avatar, answer the highly politically incorrect questions, etc...
Also to understand how to move about avoiding to hit the wall at every curve. But once you get the hang of it, it's definitely a new experience.

You'll just need to come prepared with a glass of prosecco. That one has to be real.

See you in the virtual world!

Lessons learned at the Gym

People say, time goes by so quickly when you love what you are doing. Well, it seems to be true. A month spent at the Gym? No way, there must be a mistake! But the truth is these days went by really fast and indeed a month has gone.

At the farewell party, while eating the famous focaccia made by Vittorio Viarengo, we asked the startups which are the key lessons they learned during their time spent in Silicon Valley. Here a summary of their thoughts.

1. Timing: In Silicon Valley timing is key. In Italy we are not less smart than people here but we need to learn to keep their pace.

2. No understatement: Too often Italian entrepreneurs underestimate their own qualities and capabilities. In this month here, the startups achieved top posititions at international competitions as at the Plug and Play Internationa Expo. These great results gave them the concrete awareness of their potential in a highly competitive arena as the SV.

3. Networking: The density of people that can give you advices, suggestion, feedbacks and introductions to other people is enourmous in SV. Exploiting this unique SV potential is an essential ingredient for being successful.

4. Packaging: Italian entreprenuers often tend to focus on technical quality, functionalities of the product and competitive price, even too much. But a product need to be appealing for a customer also from an aesthetic standpoint. In SV entrepreneurs have a talent to present products in an appealing way for the customers.

5. Shipping: Feedbacks are very useful and in SV you can find them everywhere. However there's a point when you need to stop collecting feedbacks and start executing. You are the person that cares most about your business, you need to feel you are doing the right choice yourself.

6. Pitching: Pitching is like playing a comedy in a theatre, you need to practise a lot for a good pitch. However you can't be a good actor without the talent for improvisation - in SV there is always an opportunity to pitch and you need to be ready for 30 second pitch, 1 minute pitch, 2, 4, whatever time the other person gives to you.

These were the main lessons we collected but we are sure each startup has a full list of lessons that he/her will remember for a long time.

So, dear startups, wherever you will be in the next future we hope you will share with other aspiring entrepreneurs what you have learned here!

Good luck!

Ladies and gentlemen, the IID SMEs

Italian pearls, today @ Stanford

The countdown is officially on.

Within the 12 startups that have been preparing this moment for the last month at the MTB GYM and the 9 SMEs that flew from a far-away land, the excitement is palpable.

And we, the organizers, have a night-before-the-exams kind of feeling.

Let's be honest. Putting together such a production, between startups, medium companies, partners and media has not been a walk in the park. Starting from the effort of aligning different organizations, with very different DNAs, but yet, moved by very similar drivers, we wanted to communicate our strong belief that we, together, can make a difference.

And yet, this is a result of a gut feeling. And a pretty strong one.
That we, Italians, have still an opportunity to shine as innovators, even in the land of innovation by definition: the Silicon Valley.
And tomorrow we'll have our opportunity to prove it, providing data (a white paper) and "the beef" (the innovators).
We'll have a pretty full agenda full of stimulating content.
Have a look/download the full brochure here.
I just can't wait...
So people. Let's get this party started!!

IID goes virtual (with Hyperfair)

[guest post by Andrea Ballarini, Hyperfair COO]

Don’t miss the opportunity to attend the Italian Innovation Day from the convenience of your home of office: the Italian Innovation Day goes virtual!

One week after the physical event, on April 7th, 2011 from 8am-11am PDT (17:00-21:00 GMT+1) you will be able to live the event again. Go to

virtual.italianinnovationday.com
sign up and start enjoying a fully immersive 3D experience. After styling your avatar you will be able to walk in a 3D world and get to know more about the companies by visiting their booths and interacting with their representatives through audio and video chat. You will also get the chance to watch the full recording of the conference by going to the virtual auditorium.

Be innovative yourself and attend the Virtual Italian Innovation Day!

Fourth week at Mind the Bridge Gym - Highligths

Ladies and gentlemen, our ten startups are almost at the end of their adventure with the Mind the Bridge Gym. However, they have no time to think about that, they are using every single second of their day to take advantage of their experience here!

This week we run several seminars as part of the Gym Edu program. The following are the most notable:

IP Rights: Vijay Toke, expert in IP rights, talked about patents, trademarks and copyrights - According to its technology a startup needs one more than another, but when a company grows up likely a combination of the three will be necessary to fully protect your intellectual property rights.

Innovation and Human Resouces: Vittorio Viarengo shared with us his meaningful experience with his startup focusing on team building. People is one of the most important ingredient for a startup. Always hire people that are smarter than you are - Class A person hires class A people, class B person hires class C people. Also, are you an entrepreneur-like guy or more a big company-like guy? Consider the 5 Fs principle. In a big company you have more time for Family and more Force; working in a startup is Fun, and has, as potential, Fortune and Fame. Which set of Fs fits you better?

The art of Networking: Evan Nisselson talked about the power of networking. One of the most important asset an entrepreneur might have or build is his/her contacts portfolio, especially in Silicon Valley. Be very smart in using it in a proper manner.

A first great result from one of our startups! Giovanni Venturini, CEO of Agroils, after few days here signed a partnership with Roberto Crea, PhD to start a new company Biosolids Technologies. This is the startup he's going to present at the Italian Innovation Day.

On Friday we had the last session of Gym Fridays' presentations. All three sessions were a big success, with an increasing number of people coming to assist to the presentations providing very useful feedback. This Friday we had some Gym Mentors and people from Microsoft and Guidewire group.

A few but intense days left with the 10 startups getting ready for the Gran Finale at the Italian Innovation Day at Stanford. We look forward to seeing their presentation after a month training at the Gym. Good luck guys!

Third week at Mind the Bridge Gym - Highlights

The third week at Mind the Bridge Gym has been a very intense week for all the MTBers!

Events in Palo Alto and Sunnyvale, meetings in Redwood City, Mountain View and Stanford...our startups are getting the chance to know the Silicon Valley and its vibrant network pretty well!

While working hard to get their pitch ready for the Gran Finale at the Italian Innovation Day at Stanford, this week our 10 startups were invited to participate to a few pitching events in the area and they participated to two seminars within Mind the Bridge Gym Edu program.

VISA issues: On Wednesday 16th, Jim Mayok, expert in immigration Visas, talked about the different typologies of Visas. Having a good law consultant facilitates the possibility to get a Visa tailored to the business you have rather than tailoring your business according to the Visa you can get. Getting a Visa requires a startegy that needs to be taken into account in your business plan if you are planning to move in the US.

Accounting system in the US: Elizabeth Shwiff, talked about some differences between the accounting system in Italy and in the US and she stressed the importance of relying on experts especially if you don't know pretty well the system yet.

VC Task Force: On Thursday 17th Minteos, Supercompare.it and Skipso presented their startups at VC Task Force. Marco Brini won the top score with Minteos while Supercompare.it and Skipso arrived in the first 5 positions among 11 startups. Good job guys!

Happy birthday Italy: Although in San Francisco, our startups didn't want to miss Italy's 150th anniversary celebration. What else better than a Italian flag - colored pasta? Milan, Turin, Sicily, Bologna, Florence, Brindisi.. no matter what city are you from, nobody can disagre with pasta!

Pitch @ Plug and Play: On Friday 18th, eRalos3, Glossom, Minteos, Mopapp and Supercompare.it were invited to present their ideas at Plug and Play in Sunnyvale.

Mind the Beer with Technogym: This week ended with a fantastic Mind the Beer event with Nerio Alessandri, founder and president of Technogym. He shared with us the inspiring story of his company, a story of passion, persistance, and hard work - three the key words that guided him in these years: passion, innovation and execution.

A great and inspiring example of a successful company based in Italy but internationally known, exporting its product everywhere.

Each entrepreneur and his/her own startup have particular conditions that may make more or less difficult or opportune to base or scale the startup in Italy, but examples like that gives some good hopes.

The debate is open..

Italian Innovation Day, March 31 - Stanford

In the day of its 150th anniversary, our Bel Paese finds itself facing some serious troubling times. Probably the most challenging since several generations.
To be able to see the light at the end of this long tunnel, Italy needs to focus firmly on nurturing its best talent, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.
In one word, it should move Innovation at the top of its priorities.
Nurturing innovation domestically and packaging better its existing excellence to the eyes of rest of the world are the 2 main pillars around which we built the Italian Innovation Day concept.

It's the natural evolution of the "showcases of the best Italian innovation" (focused on our startup business plan competition) that we've been organizing for the last 3 years.

To be able to make a substantial imprint both internally and in international markets, we ought to widen the scope, including young companies as well as the most innovative small and medium companies that are notoriously the backbone of the Italian economy.

This is a very ambitious project that requires the support of multiple operators.
As such, the Italian Innovation Day was born as a joint effort between the Mind the Bridge foundation, Intesa Sanpaolo, sponsor of the Startup Initiative and Booz & Co main supporter of the Fulbright BEST program.

In addition, for every event (Stanford, New York, etc) further local co-organizers will join the organization committee.
Aligning the effort of such diverse entities, is already a clear sign that we are in the right direction (against all odds, one could suggest) adding rather than disaggregating.

Today, Italian Innovation Day is a nascent platform that will inaugurate its first event exactly in 2 weeks, on March 31 @ Stanford University (CA).

The half day event will consist of 3 tracks:

• a conference: in collaboration with the prestigious Harvard Business School, we'll present the macro economical prospective of what's happening in Italy today, challenges and opportunities. Does Italy still matter to the world? The session will be followed by a stellar panel titled "Does Silicon Valley still matter?". Moderated by Fabrizio Capobianco, we'll have Tim Draper (Skype, Hotmail, Baidu, Overture, etc) , Scott Sandell (Salesforce, WebEx, NetIQ, etc), Jeff Clavier (Mint, Eventbrite, Milo, Ustream, etc), 3 of the world best startup investors.

• a showcase: a set of selected most innovative SMEs will be showcased throughout the event in the exhibition area. A Scientific Committee, composed of all Italian superstars that made a significant imprint in the Silicon Valley innovation history, will evaluate the projects, interact with them and select the most innovative

• a pitch session: a dozen startups, after 4 weeks of incubation at the MTB GYM, will have the opportunity to present their elevator pitch to the world best startup investors, chaired by: T. Draper, S. Sandell, J.Clavier and F.Capobianco

We expect to live an epical night, that, hopefully, will get us one step closer to the lofty objectives we posed ourselves.

Your admission can be booked here.
We see you guys all there!

Second week at Mind the Bridge Gym - Highlights

The second week at Mind the Bridge Gym has gone!

Although our 10 startups are sleeping just a few hours every day - they're trying to be aligned both with the Italian and with the Silicon Valley time zones to manage their business operations in the two areas - they seem to have an endless energy!

After a first week of "orientation", their second week was pretty intense and full of meetings with potential partners and customers, networking events and seminars from Mind the Bridge Gym Education program - Presentation skills, Business Development and Corporate Operations in Silicon Valley.

Here the main highlights!

Presentation skills. On Wednesday 9th Elisabetta Ghisini gave our startups useful suggestions on how to make an effective pitch. It's probably true that experience and practice help you a lot, but there are yet some key points that everybody should keep in mind for a good presentation. Share your energy and your passion with the audience is one of those.

Business development. On Thursday 10th Matteo Fabiano shared interesting thoughts on how to develop the business model. Talking about partnerships, when you realize which would be your best partner, even if it's a big company, don't be afraid to negotiate with them deciding to go to the second choice partner instead - there are two reasons: first, the time you will spend to negotiate the partnership it's more or less the same, second, if you go to the second choice your competitor will go the best choice using you as case study!

Corporate operations in SV. On Friday 11th Matteo Daste talked about technology transfer models, exit strategies, cap tables, term sheets and valuation. An important aspect that came out of the discussion is that in Italy the valuation relies mostly on the past and expected revenues probably because having customers is one of the few ways to assure revenues to the investors due to the limited numbers of exits, M&A and IPOs, that occur in Italy.

In SV instead the valuation is determined by several other factors as portfolio of IPs, background and track record of the team, other investors involved etc. - if you have an interesting patent a company may be extremely interested in the acquisition of your startup and investors know that!

MopApp presenting to SFBeta. On Wednesday 9th Alessandro Rizzoli presented his startup at SFBeta, San Francisco's largest and longest running sturtup mixer, at the session Maximize Mobile Apps receiving very good feedbacks.

First session startups presentation. On Friday 11th we had the first session of startups presentations. Risparmiosuper, Xapio and Smania presented their business in front of their mentors and other people within MTB network receiving useful feedbacks to improve their final presentation.

Mind the Golden Gate Bridge! Saturday some of the startups decided to ride on their bike till the Golden Gate Bridge, that was quite an adventure for them - it took five hours to arrive there with a few technical stops during the journey! But they made it and after arriving to the bridge, well the view was breathless!

Stay tuned because the third week seems is going to be even more exciting!