Attracting talents who work in the hi-tech sector: this is the purpose of the Scientific venture capital which provides the “1 year sabbatical” program aimed at employees of the technology sector and students. If the project is chosen, the proponent must be willing to take a work leave, or a break from studies, of 12 months which he undertakes to spend concentrating exclusively on the realization of his business idea.
The purpose of the call is to identify and support innovative projects that have been kept in the drawer for a long time, because they were thought to be impossible to achieve or irreconcilable with one’s working life. The new Scientifica Venture Capital call provides funding of up to 250 thousand euros for the start-up of five projects, offering access and technical tutoring at the proprietary laboratories or those of the Scientifica Lab network for carrying out the activities. The program has no deadline and is aimed at people of all cultural backgrounds and of all ages.
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On the hunt for “unheard talents”
“You can try to close them in a drawer, to turn them off in the dark of the night but even if you try to push them away with the belief that they are impossible to achieve, your ideas will continue to be felt. If you are looking for a chance to realize your project, do not waste any more time, join the “1 sabbatical year” program of Scientifica Venture Capital “. This is how the teaser of the Forensic Call states that “aims at that slice of talents who are waiting for the right push to go from dream to action”.
Tells Riccardo D’Alessandri, managing partner of Scientifica, at Italian Tech. “Scientifica was born from scientists for scientists, to give scientific thought a space for listening and an area in which innovative projects can be realized, which is why we wanted to address our new call to unheard talents who are already working. To give them what I call the sliding doors option, make option B (because they work) to become option A ”.
Why the gap year? “The goal is to free the trapped ideas. Today in Italy the expectation, the sabbatical year is still something unheeded, we want to clear this bad habit and show that it is full of employees who do not find the time and courage to devote to their idea of value, and their talent “.
In addition to the financing ticket, the venture capital will offer access and technical tutoring at the Scientifica Labs, for carrying out the activities. The Labs are spaces equipped with the latest generation equipment with specific areas dedicated to chemistry, bio-chemistry, electronics and 3D printing. The ideal context in which to complete the tech transfer along its entire path, from the idea to the market. The creator of the research project will be supported within the Labs to develop the prototype, while the Scientifica team will work on defining the identity of the future brand, on the enhancement of its USP and on the increase of the perceived value up to define the more adequate go-to market and / or exit methods.
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Scientifica VC, from launch to the future
Scientifica’s Venture Capital project was born in November 2021 with Riccardo D’Alessandri and Patrick Leoni Sceti, the goal is to invest in the pre-seed, seed and early stage phases and is a reference point for the Italian startups that operate in the field of scientific research and technological innovation. “Unfortunately Italy has long suffered from a significant flight of human capital, often talented researchers and specialists emigrate abroad”, D’Alessandri says. “This implies a serious loss in terms of scientific knowledge and produces a negative impact on technological and economic progress of the country. Research has always represented a strategic variable in the competitiveness of economic systems. Because it allows to incorporate high knowledge contents in the production of goods and services, with positive impacts on the overall results. We want Italian scientific thought to return to express its enormous potential. With Scientifica VC we want to fill that gap in the innovation process that does not allow ideas to become products, services, technologies “.
The five startups created so far
So far it already has assets cinque startup, an integral part of its portfolio. It is about Brieffounded by Massimo Falvo, who has developed a social network based on artificial intelligence able to identify the interests of users, collect related texts and articles and summarize them in short voice notes; Exo Lab Italiaa biotech startup, founded by Stefano Fais, Mariantonia Logozzi, Lorenzo Cilli and Valerio Carconi, which uses plant nanovesicles from natural organic farming to transport nutrients into the body; Vbitefounded by Matteo Astolfoni Fossi and Lorenza di Clemente, who developed a new type of bit for horses; Libera Biotech, founded by Giorgio Chiozza, who has created a line of highly innovative dermocosmetics and medical devices; in the end Green Independenceborn in 2020 with the aim of democratizing access to renewable energy.
Over the next two years, the incubator will select and invest in 20 startups in the advanced materials, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence sectors, while also providing infrastructure support. In fact, as well as in Rome and London, Scientifica is based in L’Aquila, where it has over 1,400 square meters of laboratories dedicated to mechatronics, chemistry and biotechnology, naturally connected with the other two offices.
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