Recalling Made in Italy 2.0.2.0 London edition 2017

redazione / 26 Sep 2017

Many of us remember the second edition of Made in Italy 2.0.2.0, held on Monday April 10 in Westminster, with a Gala Aperitif at the British Parliament building.

In the afternoon, 10 carefully selected startups introduced themselves in front of 200 guests, including domestic investors, international investors, iStarter’s Equity Partners and the major British and European investment funds.

Among these, we remember the essential presence of Andrea Colombo of U-StartGiuseppe Donvito of P101 Ventures e Lucia Rigo of General Atlantic, who, at the beginning of the event, spoke to us on the health of Venture Capital in Italy.

After that, it was time for Nicola Garelli, our President. In his speech “The case for investing in Italian Innovation”, Nicola remembers the reasons why it’s worth investing in Italian innovators and mentions in particular how the brand “Made in Italy” is still among the strongest in the world, startup cost lower compared to other countries, skills and capabilities in-line with the OCSE Countries, and expectations for even greater support from The Government to Italian entrepreneurs.

Then, the startup presentations: BeMyEye, Charity Stars, Chatsim, Debut, Eucardia, Primo, Soldo, Viniexport, Worldz, and Velasca exposed their projects in front of an enthusiastic audience.

In the aftermath of the event, we remember, with great pride, how all the participating startups demonstrated their gratitude for the copious contacts developed, that helped them to close important rounds. Like Soldo, for example, of Carlo Gualandri, who succeeded in closing a € 11 million round in June 2017; or as Primo Toys, of Valeria Leonardi, which collected an “undisclosed amount”, a few days after the London event.

At the end of the event, it’s impossible not to remember the several Italian and International newspapers, which celebrated the success of the Second Edition of Made in Italy 2.0.2.0 and underlined how the choice of the location was not accidental: sponsored by British MP Tania Mathias, the Italian accelerators chose one of the most prestigious British symbols in the early Brexit years.

“This event was our small contribution to show that the relationship between Italy and the United Kingdom is as solid as ever” – said Tania Mathias and her colleague Robert Courts during the Gala Dinner. Messages that become viral online by the hashtag #strongerthanbrexit. Do you remember?

Moving on with the memories, we want to cite the satisfaction of our 50+ Equity Partners who took part in the event and for whom we organized a more informal Pre-Event Aperitif at the Tornabuoni Art Gallery. Without this community of entrepreneurs and its strong effort, this event could not have been.

We could continue to remember … but we leave room for further insights that will accompany you until the fantastic Chinese stage of our World Tour in Beijing.

Stay tuned … stay on #MII2020 #onthefootstepsofMarcoPaolo