Accompanying new innovation talents on their growth path: this is the goal of startup accelerators. In Italy, since last April, a highly specialized National Accelerator Network has existed, born from the will and commitment of CDP Venture Capital. To grow, a startup must take many small steps, but quickly, and in a context that is as ready as possible to welcome its potential.
Stefano Molino is responsible for the Accelerators Fund of CDP Venture Capital and explains that the starting idea is to intervene in the initial phase of the startups, in the pre seed, which is a very critical phase of the development path: “let’s invest in startups that may have already developed a prototype, have a cd minimum viable product, something more than an idea, but they still need to be supported in the development phase and in the identification of the correct market, business model and commercial strategy. It is a question of defining the cd product market fit: understand if you are in an attractive market with a good product that can satisfy a perceived need “.
A National Network that did not exist before, with guidelines common to all accelerators. The objective of CDP Venture Capital’s industrial plan is to launch about twenty of them and place them throughout the Italian territory. A single infrastructure whose nodes are connected, where each becomes a national reference hub, due to its skills and specificity, an ecosystem that binds international partners to local operators. It is a systemic logic that was not yet widespread in Italy.
“The real challenge is to ensure that startups and corporations as well as actors from the world of research and innovation work together to develop talents and growth opportunities – adds Molino. From this point of view, startups must not only be trained but even corporates to the logic of open innovation. In Italy there are many small incubators or very local accelerators, little capitalized and which have difficulty in supporting and helping startups to grow. And then they tend to be generalists: they have a very local area and range from on various fields “.
The approach of the CDP National Accelerators Network, on the other hand, is different. “We are trying to create very specialized programs. Each of the programs we launch is on a specific vertical. There are Clean Tech in Rome, Motor Tech in Modena, Cyber Tech in Cosenza, Fintech and Insurtech in Milan, Edu Tech in Treviso and Sport Tech in Rome. They are all programs that focus on a particular sector or on a particular technological field. In addition, as partners there are world players, international platforms that develop these acceleration programs and have expertise specifications “.
Like Plug and Play, which with CRIT, a Vignola technology broker, manages the MotorValley accelerator in Modena, the first of the CDP National Accelerators Network to start. Enrico Dente is the program and ventures manager. “We have already selected nine startups. The partner companies, which are Marelli, STMicroelectronics, Dallara, OMR, CLN, HPE, Sabelt, responded immediately in a very positive way. Now we are working to extend the partnerships. The goal is to create an ecosystem that allows Italy to get closer to European reference countries in the sector such as France, Germany or the United Kingdom. But also an ecosystem that aims at Silicon Valley. A circle that feeds itself: between startups that are born, grow and reinvest capital in the same market, in new founders and entrepreneurial ideas mind set in investors. And this is what we are trying to do here in Modena. Based on the experience we have, we can already say that this model is working “.
In the meantime, the first was in Modena call for application opened in April. Soon, mid-December, there will be the second. “Among the nine startups – continues Dente – there are a Croatian and a Russian that will bring their company to Italy: for us it is a great satisfaction. Then we are also following startups from Sicily, Bari, Turin and Padua. July we launched the program, then we started with the five-month acceleration. We assigned a first investment of about 100 thousand euros per startup, and we started the weekly workshop activities on various topics, also making available a network of mentors of different skills “.
The first phase of acceleration ends in December. “The goal is to select the projects that have shown the most value and make a second investment in the order of half a million, for two / three start-ups a year. There will be an expo day where the start-ups and companies will present what they have managed to create and achieve in recent months “concludes Enrico Dente, program and ventures manager.
To date, the CDP National Accelerators Network has set up six acceleration programs. Stefano Molino, head of the Accelerator Fund of CDP Venture Capital, explains the general functioning of the programs. “We have a vehicle for each sector, the fund invests in the vehicle and together with us both the accelerators and the partners do so. It is essential to work together so that these startups can continue to grow. When they open the call, these programs tend to collect between 100 and the 150 applications that are selected by the partners and by us. We choose ten each year for three years and we will follow them in their path. We invest in all of them. A financial support immediately to enter the program and then we are ready to put additional resources even later to supporting its development path and helping to attract further investments “.
Zero is the accelerator that operates in the field of Cleantech, developing projects and technological solutions aimed at minimizing the carbon impact, facilitating the reduction of emissions, optimizing the waste cycle, speeding up the energy transition processes and promoting the circular economy. . Giulio Montoli is head of acceleration and pre-seed of LVenture Group, another player with great experience in the sector.
“We not only invest money in start-ups but we also set up an accompanying path. We have been doing it for 19 years. We started working with CDP Venture Capital in 2020. So far there was not a thriving ecosystem for startups in Italy. We are proud of to be part of the project. The design is to put in contact the capitals, the know-how from companies like ours and companies that need innovation. We work side by side with startups. It is 5 months marked by bi-weekly planning with the internal team with technical and business objectives and we raise the bar more and more, slowly, inserting in the path other various figures of experts in all sectors to extend the audience of investors. We do it gradually to allow the startup to arm itself in the moment in which he goes to introduce himself to the stakeholders: customers on the one hand and investors on the other “.
And that’s not all. “We are working to develop the network – concludes Molino, CDP Venture Capital -. Other programs will start in the coming months. Our vision is clear: each program will be the node of a network, in which all partners have a vision of all the startups that we are following, and they can easily get in touch with us. Combining this aspect too, we believe we can give great value to the world of start-ups “. Find out more about the national accelerator network.
CDP Venture Capital is an SGR (70% of CDP Equity and 30% of Invitalia) with over € 1 billion of resources under management. It aims to make Venture Capital a cornerstone of the country’s economic development and innovation, creating the conditions for an overall and sustainable growth of the Venture Capital ecosystem. It operates with a series of funds that aim to support startups in all their life stages, making both direct and indirect investments.
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