esi: Who are you, what do you do and what makes you an expert on your start-upcountry?
Marina: My name is Marina, I am the manager and coordinator of StartMiUp, a coworking space and accelerator in Milan. StartMiUp is an office space, educational hub and cultural events venue. We are the drive to seed funding and entrepreneurial mentorship for early stage start-ups. Our aim is to support the rise of more and better tech start-ups in Italy. StartMiUp opened in April 2012 and it was the first tech oriented coworking in Milan. Now there are at least three coworking spaces focusing on tech start-ups.
esi: What is cool about your start-upcountry, what inspires you and keeps you thriving?
Marina: The environment in Italy is not yet fully organized, but everything is starting and there are many talented people and good ideas. Not only the scene is expanding in terms of the number of actors involved, but also in term of connection and collaborations. When we opened our coworking space, we had only start-ups and freelancers. Now in our space we also have a seed fund (Key Capital) and a team working on a marketplace for start-ups and investors (Siamosoci). This differentiation is very important to assure a strong and interconnected ecosystem.
esi: What makes you shake your head about your start-upcountry, what needs to be improved?
Marina: Bureaucracy in the overall system is still an obstacle in Italy. Also, the funding chain is not enough “oiled” yet, but is improving. Pre-seed, seed and venture funds are starting to cooperate more and all the involved actors of the ecosystem are starting to be more connected.
esi: What’s some cool fact we are likely not to know about your start-upcountry?
Marina: Italy is a country of small entrepreneurs. Traditionally Italians own small family business. This tradition has a double-faced impact on today’s growth: on one side this entrepreneurial tradition is an important background that makes young Italians ready to be entrepreneurs as their father and grandfather has been. On the other side, the large presence of small and family owned business make the typical Italian entrepreneur not so oriented to risk and expansion. Sometimes we prefer run a „lifestyle business“ than to go into more risky ventures. Still, Italy has also a strong history of large enterprises, as Olivetti or FIAT, who are still growing and expanding internationally. Or, more recently and from the internet economy, Tiscali, Amadeus and Banzai.
esi: Thank you for the interview.
About the interviewpartner:
Marina Calcagno Baldini is manager and coordinator of StartMiUp.
