Here you can find all my articles, I publish them in English or in Italian depending on how they take shape in my mind. Unfortunately, I am not always able to translate them, so, if you are interested in, visit my Italian Digidiario. Have a nice reading!
The view of the Earth from space pushes us to be better people
One of the reasons why I love space is because I am fascinated by the idea that technology could help humankind to exceed its apparent limits. When I was a child, a man flying or walking in a so hostile environment was very inspiring for me. More I studied aerospace...
Working is like sailing but with eight team members playing against you
Visualize your company as a sailing boat with a crew of 10 people. You have a clear mission like reaching a city in Sicily for a trophy. Your crew is complete, you found someone for each role on the boat: who at the helm, who at the sails and so on. It is early in the...
CEOs, if your company was on fire, what would you save?
If we ask to a CEO what the most important thing in their company is, probably the answer will be one of these two: - The product/service; - The employees. Now, if we change a little bit the question and we ask CEOs what the biggest priority is, the answer...
How a 200-page annual report can help you find investors
Honestly, it cannot! Have you ever fully read yours? So, why should other people read something you do not even like? If you ask an investor what he/she looks for, you will receive an answer like this: “What we want to know simply isn’t in there (ndr. annual report)....
Sustainability does not mean social/environment-friendly, but …
“Sustainability” does not necessarily mean “to respect the environment and the society”. Indeed, an energy company might profitably sustain itself extracting and selling fossil fuels for many years, without necessarily considering its impacts on global warming or...
Integrated Reporting Meets Angel Investing
I always hated finance because in this sector people are only focused on numbers and on gaining more without a real interest in what they are buying or selling. A domain where speculation has a dominant role, shareholders are just interested in making a quick and...
The Best Way to Approach a Business Angel
Talking with several entrepreneurs, and aspiring too, I often get questions about business angels like these: What if he/she wants to control the company? What if he/she does not allow me to do what I want to do? What if we have different and incompatible visions? And...
A Start-up Is an Egg
“A start-up is an egg” - I made the picture below when I was at EBAN and it shows the three main elements of a company: the idea (or better the product/service), the team and the execution. As we know, they are equally important to reach the success. But, curiously,...
For Men Only
Few days ago, I had a chat with a friend of mine about how it was going. I do not remember how, but the topic moved on women and she told me some stories where she was treated as an office’s decoration or, worse, a toy. These stories shocked me because I have never...
Happy New Year! 2018
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift... that's why they call it present” - Master Oogway. I wish you all a great 2018! A new years full of opportunities begins: we do not know what is going to happen, but if we work with determination,...
It Is Not a Sprint, It Is a Marathon
Good news: It is not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest - from a Alfred Binet's study on 1911. It is also valid for companies. Hard work and commitment can change everything! So, make a plan and do it!
Failing Is a Way for Learning
"Failure has been transformed from an action (I fail) to an identity (I am a failure)" - from an Amy Waldman's article on The New York Times in 1999. Unfortunately, it is still like this, especially in Europe. Failing is a way for learning, thus we are still learning....
A Good Team Is Also a Matter of Synergy
“Now when I consider investing in a start-up, I study the founding teams. Technical abilities and complementary skill sets matter, but how well the founders know each other and how well they work together matter just as much.” – Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal
Will Big Consultancies Become Big Business Angel Networks?
All Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC) are more and more involved in the start-up ecosystem. A quick look at their websites shows that Deloitte is working on a matchmaking service for start-ups and established companies; EY is working on several incubation centres...
What Is a Corporate Angel Network?
Corporate Angel Network (CAN) is a name I came up with to identify a new type of entity that is currently missing in the financing start-up cycle and that could play a very important role in the scale-up phase of the companies. As we know, there is a huge finance gap...
4+1 Reasons Why Corporates Invest in Start-Ups
More and more corporates are deciding to invest in start-ups, but why do they decide to do so? Why do big companies decide to invest a part of their assets in a risky business? Why don’t they focus on their own businesses instead of helping entrepreneurs with crazy...
Europe is Like a Hand
This short article is dedicated to our British friends with the wish of seeing you back soon. Although there has been much talk of the United States of Europe in recent years, I still like to think that our Europe is much more than a sum of States. The European Union...