Tags: Editoriale

The Italian start up ecosystem is a strange animal... It emerged around 2004-2005 (actually the second attempt after the internet bubble at the turn of the Millennium). From there, it grew both in character and proportions. Today it is literally exploding; start ups are the new Holy Grail - everyone wants to be one, to work with one, to write about them, to organise events with and for them.

Today, some start-uppers, investors and others involved in the ecosystem are calling for greater support from both Government and institutions, hoping new laws can facilitate the creation and development of new enterprises. To date, politicians have promised various initiatives but these projects have rarely materialised. The result? A huge loss of time, resources and squandered opportunities. Lobbyists too, these days, are acting more in their own self-interests, placing themselves in the spotlight, rather than truly advancing the ecosystem. Even considering the most optimistic scenario, differences between politics and the start up world - of both vision and approach - are vast...

But fortunately, the last word is not yet written. Recently, the new Italian Government named a task-force comprising a group of people with the necessary skills, competencies and fully motivated to develop new rules, guidelines and laws that will further encourage and enable help to be given to the start up network. It is now just a matter of waiting a little while longer, until next summer, when the document's proposals, known widely as the 'Italian Start Up Act', must be ready and operative. In the meantime, the Italian Minister for Economic Development, Corrado Passera, spent a day (May 26th, 2012) with ecosystem advocates, to discuss new ideas and suggestions. (See also article on page 50 of this issue of Innov'azione).

What must be recognised is that running a start up is not simply a matter of making money or creating a web based service, app or any other technology; it is about passion, risk, and a commitment to making the world a better place. It is about digital developments, cleantech, biotech, nanotech, medical devices, robotics, new materials... It is about producing value out of real innovation, with great teams for making them happen. It is not copycatting because copycats are the triggers of a new, potential bubble that may explode – or implode – as at the beginning of the Millennium. It is about creating social value and is, at the very least, making the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship something that all people appreciate as being important, as the only possible road to renewing the economic and social facets of the country, involving the industrial, financial, academic and political sectors.

But the ecosystem we have created is also at risk. Like the population of a remote island with too few connections to the outside world, it needs to evolve, to become more open, so as to minimise the risk of self destruction caused by a lack of fresh resources, experiences and inspirations.

If we do not seek new paths, we will see the ecosystem collapsing. To avoid this, we have to position Italian innovation and start ups on the international scene. We need to stage events and conferences with English as the official language. We need to invite the international press to appreciate, first-hand, what is happening here. We need to convince international investors to take a look at our impressive start ups. We need Italian entrepreneurs who are successful abroad to contribute in making our ecosystem more international, more open, more attractive to the rest of the world. We need initiatives such as incubators, accelerating programs and business plan competitions to consider English as their first language of reference. In Berlin, Barcelona or Beirut, when the start up ecosystem talks, it talks in English. So must it be in Milan, Rome and indeed the whole of Italy.

"Innovating the world without Italian creativity is like the soccer world cup without the Brazil team", said an international innovation expert to me recently.

Internationalisation of ecosystems is key, combined with changes in the industrial sector - traditional large, medium and small enterprises that need to innovate (almost all of them do). Such businesses, in order to accelerate their innovation processes, must align themselves more closely with the start ups; when there is a common business interest, a consolidated company with a well known brand, sales network and possibly an international presence, combined with a start up and innovation, is a win-win partnership. We need to innovate in all sectors where new technologies play a role, in the digital field as well as those more closely aligned to the manufacturing tradition of Italian industry, such as low cost robotics, rapid prototyping and medical devices.

We need to target our achievements and drive the Italian innovation ecosystem forward, becoming part of the worldwide start up scene, one that is growing rapidly from North and South America to Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Numero 018