This document summarizes the state of entrepreneurship and venture finance in Italy. It notes that Italy has a large number of small and medium enterprises but lacks large companies. Innovation plays a minor role in the economy. Venture capital investment is also limited, with only around €70 million invested annually in early-stage startups. While Italy performs well in basic research, there are issues in commercializing research into businesses due to a lack of technology transfer and entrepreneurial skills. The document proposes building bridges to discover and nurture Italian talent, provide training, showcase promising startups, and connect them with partners and investors in Silicon Valley to help address these challenges.

3. In Italy SMEs are 98% of the total

4. Mostly mature business

5. Primarily Services (67% of GDP), Manufacturing is only 24%

6. Innovative industries play a minor role (2-5%)

7. Strong family business vocation

8. “One man only at the helm.”

9. “Companies are life-long enterprises.”

10. “First get some revenue, and then invest.”

11. “Think real.” ITALY: INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION TO GDP (2009) 2 Source: CrESIT 2010

13. Of the €4.5B invested yearly (avg. 2006-2008), approximately €70M went to early-stage investments (AIFI & Pricewaterhouse­Coopers 2008)

14. Only 186 start-ups were able to get funded in the last three years, with an average deal size of €0.5M to €1M (AIFI & Pricewaterhouse­Coopers 2008)

15. In H1 2009: 46 early stage deals (€56M invested) (AIFI & Pricewaterhouse­Coopers 2009)

16. Small size of the stock market does not help

17. The stock market capitalization to GDP ratio is lower than 60%, versus 140% in the United States and 170% in the United Kingdom (IMF & World Federation of Exchange)

18. The aforementioned lack of large companies makes the exit from investment difficult3

20. Cumulative R&D investments are €17B (4% of GDP), whose 30% from universities and 20% from public and non-profit (ICE, Cotec, Istat)

21. 400k scientific publication in the period 1998-2008 ranking 8th in the global classification (7th for number of citations) (Thomson Reuters, 2008)

22. Biotech: 750 clinical trials in progress during 2007 (Blossom-Assobiotec 2009)

23. Issues in turning research into business

24. Lack of efficient technology transfer offices

25. Universities do not offer incentives for lecturers to spin-off business initiatives

26. Scarcity of skilled executives with strong entrepreneurial skills

27. Italian scientists do not think business4

29. High mortality (“crisi del primo miglio”)

30. Bridging research into business

31. Mindset

32. Managerial skills

33. Exit on the domestic market

34. Technology hot shots aspire to sell out to new economy “leviathans”

35. Language barriers5

37. Selecting the best of breed (Annual MtB Business Plan Competition & MtB Call for Ideas)

38. Providing training & education to the new generation of entrepreneurs (MtBBootcamp and Coaching)

39. Showcasing the most promising startups and opening an international debate (MtB Venture Camp @ Corrieredella Sera)

40. Hosting&mentoring the most promising startups in the Silicon Valley (MtB Gym)

41. Pitching US investors / partners (MtB Gran Finale events)Connecting Talent MIND THE BRIDGE FOUNDATION Not for profit..…… 501c(3) California Independent………… fundedbydonorsnotgovernment Ecosystem.……..…… partneringwith the mostrelevantactors 6

42. Does Success Depend on Forces Outside Our Control?

44. 300+ people crowding SalaBuzzati last November

45. 9,000 people attending the event in streaming (40% from outside Italy)

46. 150+ people attending the Gran Finale at Stanford on March 18th

47. 100 people attending the Gran Finale in NY (Italian Consulate) on March 25th

48. Over 30 road-shows in Italy in the period Feb-Apr, 2010, 2.000+ students and researchers attending

49. 3,000+ people subscribing our Newsletter, 750+ fan on Facebook: a growing community

50. Blog on corriere.it (Silicon Valley) with really nice feedbacks