It was Covid that gave Tobia Lorenzani a glimpse of the future of his sector and convinced him to leave a permanent and prestigious position in the marketing division of Bacardi, owner of the Martini brand, to become an entrepreneur. “I understood that the pandemic would change our lives forever, even in the way we drink. Generally, people don’t know what they’re drinking, they don’t distinguish a Negroni from an American, but they want to learn ».
Thus was born Mr. Dee Still, the company of Lorenzani and associates, which in its name winks at spirits and is a “shoppable magazine”, halfway between Amazon and cultural dissemination, specializing precisely in alcohol.
The first move was the meeting of Lorenzani and his friend Antonio Augeri with the business angel Federico Bini. They were joined by two company shareholders, each with a 10% stake: the Timossi group, which has been distributing beverages throughout the country for 60 years, and the IT group Fos Spa, specializing in system integration services.
After a first round of 355 thousand euros of investments, the start-up started on December 14th. “We are in line with our goal of € 250,000 in turnover by the end of the year”. The market, explains Lorenzani, is for now Italian and metropolitan. «Milan, Rome, Genoa, Turin and the province of Venice. Our customers range from 27 to 45 years on average ». Mr. Dee Still is, like Amazon, a showcase where others display their products and which retains a margin on sales, and an information site and advertising vehicle. “We produce, at the request of companies that want it, videos and other content which we then publish on the site”.
The philosophy of the project is the same set out in an interview with the Financial Times in January by Campari’s CEO, Bob Kunze-Concewitz. “The culture of making cocktails at home will survive the pandemic,” he said. “People didn’t even know what was inside a Spritz. Then Covid arrived and they started searching for recipes on Google ». 100% Genoese, Mr. Dee Still is also, for Lorenzani, a winning bet. “It is a city perceived as old and slow. In economic statistics, it doesn’t always shine. In addition, I had been coming to Milan for ten years. But I found a much more fertile environment than I imagined. Mr. Dee Still’s three investors are all Genoese ».