Memorable quotes from Venture Camp 2009.

The web has seen quite a few testimonials leaving – through blog posts, comments and even personal videos – their valuable opinion about the Venture Camp experience.

So, straight from the camp live experience, here we go:

Jari Ognibeni – blogpost:
The bridge is here and it is real!

Aurora Incardona – blogpost:
Thank you, because – even if we are (still) far from the creation of an Italian entrepreneurial ecosystem that favours investments in innovation and new young ideas… some sort of start, in building this bridge towards the “land of opportunity” (whichever it is), has been accomplished.

Marcello Orizi, Prossima Isola (email)
Mind the Bridge, with the due media coverage, can be an attempt to change and improve our culture, enriching it.

Matteo Pernisa, Echolight (email):
Mind the Bridge: bridge between... dream and reality (and back). Exciting!

Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli (during the speech with Severgnini “The Italian Gold in Silicon Valley”):
The only reason I'm in USA is that my professor at Politecnico kicked me, and said "go there and learn!"

Francesco Inguscio (via mail)
I followed the whole event with the video streaming, I stayed up all night to watch it, but it really was worth it! Congratulations!

Beppe Severgnini, greeting the audience at the end of his talk:
My augurio personale (personal wish) is that that the serendipity in the room will travel very far.

UpStart Roma aims to bring together the italian startup scene

On Monday November 23rd, a small group of entrepreneurs, bloggers and web designers is organizing the first UpStart Roma event.
It will be a networking evening where entrepreneurs, developers, investors, bloggers and general startup geeks will be able to meet each other and create a new tech scene from scratch.

If you are in Rome and eager to meet the growing tech scene, please come along! You can register on UpStart Roma official website, where you can also get all the detailed information about the event.

With this event we aim to create a new network of people that can drive innovation and creative disruption of existing business models with the help of one another.
We would love for you to be part of this.

Disclaimer: I am one of the organizers of the event.

Finalists 2009/10

Adant
EchoLight
Fluidmesh Networks
Prossima Isola (Where is Now)
Thounds
TripShake.com
VRmedia

Venture Camp - Final numbers and videos

It's been just a week since our Venture Camp event. A week to decompress from the overdose of information and work.
However, rather than taking sometime off (the 3/4 years as we mentioned on stage) we

haven't broken our stride.
We have launched a new blog on Corriere.it (siliconvalley.corriere.it), we (in fact we=Gabriele) started loading the event videos on our YouTube channel.
Of all the positive outcome of the last week event, one really struck me:

- number people registered at the event : 475 (had to close the reservations a week prior to the event)
- number of online session, watching the real time video streaming (just Friday): 6398, of which 2566 in English!

To me, that alone gives us goose bumps.
It's a confirmation that what we are doing is relevant.

Remember: next Monday, we'll be announcing here the projects who have been selected.

Last but not least Alberto and me want (again) to pay tribute to everybody who helped in the organization, in particular:
- Gabriele Scoditti
- Massimo Carraro
- Tito Costa
- Jari Ognibeni

If there hasn't been a glitch in the whole event, we really owe it to them!

Two MTB Alumni pitch at CrESIT-Assobiotec Workshop 2009

With the support of MTB, an Elevator Pitch session has been introduced at CrESIT-Assobiotec Workshop 2009. The CrESIT-Assobiotec Workshop 2009 , that will be held on Nov 23 in Varese, is an international Conference on Life Science Industry, focused on business models and managerial issues.
This year we invited to pitch Echolight and Nano4Bio. Echolight is one of the 14 Venture Camp 2009 semi-finalists, while Nano4Bio is one of our first Alumni. Hope they will benefit from the chance of presenting their business model in front of investors specialized in life science and managers and CEOS from biotech and pharma industry. Click here for the full agenda.


The CrESIT-ASSOBIOTEC annual Workshop is the most important event of the year for the Italian Biotech Industry and attract hundreds of academic researchers, senior executives and practitioners in Biotech, Pharma, and Private Equity Industries from all around the world. This year will join the panel – among the others - Gary Pisano from Harvard University, Lisa Conte, CEO of Silicon Valley based Napo Pharma, Marina Del Bue, GM of Molmed. Together with them we will discuss how a life science company can design its own business model and global value architecture and raise funding.
The CrESIT-Assobiotec Workshop is jointly organized by CrESIT and CIBIE (the Centre for International Business and the International Economy of University of Pavia) in partnership with the Italian Biotech Business Association (ASSOBIOTEC) and Blossom&Company, advisory and consulting firm focused on biotech. The event is sponsored by Pricewaterhouse Cooper.
This is a free event, but pre-registration is required. For info www.cresit.it

My Venture Camp. by Jari Ognibeni

The Mind the Bridge Venture Camp just ended in Milan and after a lot of hand shakes, business card exchanges and hearing a lot of great projects and ideas I got some words in particular in my mind.
OPPORTUNITY.
This is the word that San Giovanni Vincentelli used to explain the economic and social moment we are living worlwide that other called "crisis".
It's amazing how things can be seen differently just thinking a bit different just turning our attention a little right or left in other words to simply believe in our ideas and their accomplishment, to belive we can do it and out there are people that can help you.

STARTUP.
Here there are the protagonist of the Venture Camp: people with ideas! I've been so happy to see and meet startup from all over Italy and different kind of background and industries. What emerged was that startup need a tool, need a direct contact with other people that can help theme to better understand their business, develop their business plan and increase their network.

THE BRIDGE
I like to describe the entire Venture Camp as a bridge from good ideas to their accomplishment; from Italy to Silicon Valley (and back). This bridge is made by people, professionals and off course ideas that strive to move in the same direction: create a new model to develop ideas and bring theme to the world. People out there need this bridge and now they can count on it. The bridge is here and it is real!

These words summarize the experience of beeing for two days with a lot of impressive people, professionals and young entrepreneurs that want to change the world with their ideas.
A big Arrivederci and Grazie to everybody which made this event possible and also a great In bocca al lupo to all the entrepreneurs and startup that have a great project in mind.

My Venture Camp. By Massimo Carraro.

An attendance that doubled the expectations. A list of attendees where most names had two lines, driving receptionists (us) mad. Jari, Tito and myself guarding the Gala Dinner door with a lady from Corriere with more cojones than all three of us together.



The startup guys with a special light in their eyes. The 'In bocca al lupo!' and the 'Crepi!'. Beppe Severgnini mixing English and Italian with unrivalled elegance. 334 badges done overnight with the invaluable support of my workmates @MonkeyBusiness. A live FriendFeed report of the Sangiovanni Vincentelli - Beppe Severgnini talk. One and a half day as the doorman of Italian technological innovation. Hearing the mentor of dozens of successful Italians in the Valley saying the only way to teach 'how to be available to people is by example'. Tito talking finance and world markets to me while welcoming attendees at the door. Checking in people online, in real time. Realizing that I'd never met some of my MtB teammates untile Venture Camp day (yes it's unbelievable isn't it?). Marco Marinucci calling the Italian team on stage. Meeting a few known faces. Understanding that networking is what it's all about. Understanding that networking is just another name for that age-old activity called 'human talk'.

Venture Camp mode: on.

The Venture Camp started about 5 hours ago.

The Sala Buzzati at Corriere della Sera is filled up, start-ups are having their 5-minute pitches, and a loud applause follows every speaker.

The atmosphere is really exciting, and we had to prepare a waiting list for tomorrow's session.

We'll catch up later with more, for now, enjoy the first pictures from Milano!

Mind The Bridge Venture Camp 2009: Showtime!

Tomorrow we will go live with our 2009 Venture Camp. For the first time in Milan, thanks to the support of Corriere della Sera and RCS Media Group that will host the event. The workshop looks promising. 14 really cool Italian startups will line up and pitch in front to investors. During the two days you will have the chance to hear from successful Italian entrepreneurs (like Paolo Barberis from Dada, Massimo Colomban, Alessandro Fracassi and Fabio Cannavale) and venture capitalists (such as Randy Mitchell, Massimiliano Magrini, Matteo Fago, Riccardo Donandon and Germano Carganico). Marco Marinucci and Matteo Daste will provide you with insights about Mind The Bridge. On Saturday morning Beppe Sevegnini will interview Alberto Sangiovanni Vincentelli, one of the most appreciated "Italians" in Silicon Valley. We will also give voice to our partners and affiliates such as Italiani di Frontiera, Fulbright-BEST, Telecom Working Capital, Fondazione Politecnico.
The event was entirely sold out in a few days. If you are one of the 340 who were so lucky (and fast) to get admitted, see you there. If you aren’t, you can follow the Camp live, streaming on Corriere.it. Enjoy!