1. UNI V ERS ITÁ CAT TO L ICA D EL SACRO CU O R E
SEDE DI P I ACENZA
Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Gestione d’Azienda
Venture Capital and High-Tech Start-ups in Italy:
The success case Pantea S.p.A.
Relatore
Chiar. Mo Prof. Fabio Antoldi
Tesi di Laurea di
Incardona Salvatore
Matr. N° 3808364
Anno Accademico 2010/2011

2. VENTURE CAPITAL RESEARCH
• VC Type
These internal dimensions and external circumference can be roated, bringing
• Focal perspective various theoretical perspective as existing at a specific location on the outer ring of
the kaleidoscope
• Stage in VC cycle
Theoretical Level of
Frameworks Analysis
Stage in VC cycle
Fund raising
Screening/Selection
Negotiation/Investing
Monitoring/Advising
Exit
Focal Perspective VC Type
Entrepreneur BAVC
Investor CVC
PFVC
Limits of our research: we have not a data panel but only a case study
1. Focal perspective: entrepreneur
Research
2. Stage in VC cycle: early stage/ start - up
Questions
3. Theoretical Framework: Strategic and Organizational Management
4. Level of Analysis: country/firm level
5. VC Type: Public Fund/industrial partner 2

3. ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND VENTURE CAPITAL IN ITALY
1. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2010: 4% Italy, 6.3% UE average
2. Easy of Doing Business 2011: Italy is located at 87 place
3. Mind The Bridge Data 2011: sample of 330 entrepreneurs and 111 start – ups
60% web start – ups
4. Does Start - Up Success depend on Forces outside control?
Seed Financing with high
risk level
Less structured Business
Plan
START – UP SUCCESS Entrepreneurial Factors
(Push Factors) Lack of Managerial Skills
Relatively ambitious
Project
Slow Growth
No risk taking attitude
Market makes hot an opportunity (Timing)
Feeling and trust between investors and Context Factors
founders (no friendly start up environment) (Pull Factors)
Seed Market in Italy underdeveloped
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4. WEB START – UPS AND VENTURE CAPITAL
Focus on Web Sector
1. Funambol Inc 6. RisparmioSuper
2. RubyonRails 7. CityNews
3. Blogo
4. MusiXmatch Serial Entrepreneurship
Lean Start Up: Blogo
Propensity to Mobility
5. NeoNetwork
MusiXmatch
Born Global Ventures Funambol Inc
Risparmio Super
NeoNetwork Does VC a fundamental tool for start up
RubyonRails growth?
8. GarbageLab, SportBoom, CityNews, Cinkue, Freshcreator, Blooming, Fubles, Spreaker, Iubenda are all furthers
start – ups recently founded.
9. A lot of web start – ups are not able to receive venture capital financing.
Which meaning and roles assume business models
within innovative sectors?
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5. E - BUSINESS MODEL and GENERIC STREAM BUSINESS MODEL STUDIES
“Business model as a point of contact between tecnology and organization”
1. Timmers (1998): e – business model
2. Rappa (2004): in his study "the utility business model and the future of computing services”
creates a new broader taxonomy of e - business models
3. Afuah and Tucci (2003)
4. Wirtz W. et al. (2010): the impact of 2.0 on business models
Content – oriented Social Networking
Commerce – oriented Interaction Orientation
Context – oriented Customization and personalization
Connection – oriented User added value
Source of revenue
5. From “pay for subscription” to “advertising supported, self – reinforcing”
6. From e – business model studies to generic stream business model studies
in strategy, organization, finance fields
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6. PANTEA S.P.A. - A COMPANY IN MOBILE INTERNET
VISION
“The 91,1% (43,790 millions) of Italians between 11 and 74 claims to own a cell
phone. Among those who claim to have access to the Internet from any location and
instrument, the penetration of the cell is equal to 96.1% (33,018 millions). Claims to
have Internet access from mobile 15.1% of the target population, some 7.3 million
Italians aged 11 to 74 years”
Dati AudiWeb Maggio 2011
KEY FACTORS
• Management Team – Ing. Liggieri and others senior managers coming from
leading telecommunication companies
• Technological Pole of Navacchio (Pisa)
• Presence, from earliest development phases, of a person with financial and
administrative skills
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7. BUSINESS MODEL OF PANTEA
FOCUS LOCUS MODUS
R&D – basic India Offshoring to contract
research manufacturer
Technical support
Italia Outsourcing
– applied
research
Administration Italy Inhouse
- Finance
Consulting Cross - Outsourcing
Services countries
• Technological scouting and Organization were structured, from 2008, in this way.
• From a first product, such a white label social media for enterprises Pantea changes
its core business in a new and more profitable product such a platform of Mobile
Advertising and Marketing called Adserver Pantea.
• Pantea is placed upstream in a B2B2C market.
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8. PANTEA PRODUCTS/SERVICES
1. Mobile Advertising
• AdServer CORE BUSINESS
• Reporting
• Rich Media
2. Mobile Marketing
• Go On Mobile, un Content Management System for building mini mobile sites;
• Landing Page e Qr Code;
• Mobile sites;
• Applications (iPhone, iPad, Android, Black Berry).
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9. VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING
BUSINESS PLAN FOR INVESTORS
Revenues
DISCONTINUITY
SCENARIO
Cost structure of Inertial
scenario does not allow to
face a SAFE DEVELOPMENT
POINT OF JOINT
INERZIAL
SCENARIO
ANNO 1 ANNO 2 ANNO 3 ANNO 4 ANNO 5 Time
• From Inertial to Discontinuity Scenario
• Cost Structure, after launched the first beta product, does not allow to obtain scale
economies, scalable business and an optimization of future cash flows.
• R&D costs cover 64% of total costs, 18% is covered by costs related to amortization of
intangible assets
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10. VENTURE CAPITAL FINANCING
The Management of Equity Investment
• Strategic Partnership with Neomobile
• Shareholders Composition: Atlante Ventures Mezzogiorno, Neomobile, Founders
• Pre – money and Post – Money Evaluation: from 1.050.000 to 1.500.000 million euro.
• Contractual Clauses : Antidilution, Liquidation Preference (1,5x), Lock-up, Drag
Along, Tag Along, Veto Rights.
• Amount Raised: 750.000 euro
• Venture Capital financing has led to a strong organizational change in terms of:
• Constitution of Board of Directors (1 President and 4 Directors)
• 5 Statutory Auditors
• An auditing firm
• Change of Legal form, from a Limited Liability company to a Limited Public company for
facilitate the transfer shares between investors.
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11. CONCLUSIONS
From a Managerial point of view:
• Pantea is a Talent Start – Up: founders had considered, from the beginning, venture capital as a
mean and not as an end;
• Strategy – Business Model Relation
Strategy Business Model
• Crucial elements in obtaining venture capital financing:
Trust and Confidence between entrepreneur and venture capitalist
“Marketing” around the project
International Experience of the Founders
From an Ecosystem point of view:
Entrepreneurial Communities are needed Columbia Ventures
More risk – taking attitude from financial system Business Angel
With reference to Digital start – ups at international level:
Wall Street Journal, <<Which start-ups should not raise venture capital?>>
Venture Capital Dispatch, 04/04/2012
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