STATE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ITALY

Lack of large companies In Italy SMEs are 98% of the total

Mostly mature business Primarily Services (67% of GDP), Manufacturing is only 24% Innovative industries play a minor role (2-5%)

Strong family business vocation “One man only at the helm.” “Companies are life-long enterprises.” “First get some revenue, and then invest.” “Think real.”

Bio-techSoftware

Pharma

Chemical

Electronics

Industrial Machinery

TextileFood

Plastic&Rubber

Wood

Automotive

Source: CrESIT 2010

ITALY: INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION TO GDP (2009)

2

STATE OF VENTURE FINANCE IN ITALY

Lack of an established venture capital community Of the €4.5B invested yearly (avg. 2006-2008), approximately €70M went to early-stage

investments (AIFI & Pricewaterhouse Coopers 2008) 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 & Pricewaterhouse Coopers 2008) In H1 2009: 46 early stage deals (€56M invested) (AIFI & Pricewaterhouse Coopers 2009)

Small size of the stock market does not help 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) The aforementioned lack of large companies makes the exit from investment difficult

29.7

10.87.41 4.2

1.16

0.940000000000001 0.169

Annual VC Investments (B US$) 2008US Silicon Valley Europe China Israel India Italy

[Source: Dow Jones Venture source, PWC/National VC Association, AIFI]

3

STATE OF ITALIAN R&D

Quality basic research Cumulative R&D investments are €17B (4% of GDP), whose 30% from

universities and 20% from public and non-profit (ICE, Cotec, Istat) 400k scientific publication in the period 1998-2008 ranking 8th in the global

classification (7th for number of citations) (Thomson Reuters, 2008) Biotech: 750 clinical trials in progress during 2007 (Blossom-Assobiotec 2009)

Issues in turning research into business Lack of efficient technology transfer offices Universities do not offer incentives for lecturers to spin-off business initiatives Scarcity of skilled executives with strong entrepreneurial skills Italian scientists do not think business

4

ITALY: KEY ISSUES

Deal flow (# deals and quality) High mortality (“crisi del primo miglio”) Bridging research into business

Mindset Managerial skills

Exit on the domestic market Technology hot shots aspire to sell out to new economy “leviathans” Language barriers

5

6

CON

NEC

TIN

G T

ALEN

T

BUILDING THE BRIDGE: THE PILLARS

Discovering and Nurturing the Italian Talents (MtB Italy Tour 2010) Selecting the best of breed (Annual MtB Business Plan Competition &

MtB Call for Ideas) Providing training & education to the new generation of entrepreneurs

(MtB Bootcamp and Coaching) Showcasing the most promising startups and opening an international

debate (MtB Venture Camp @ Corriere della Sera) Hosting&mentoring the most promising startups in the Silicon Valley (MtB

Gym) Pitching US investors / partners (MtB Gran Finale events)MIND THE BRIDGE FOUNDATION

NOT FOR PROFIT..…… 501c(3) CaliforniaINDEPENDENT………… funded by donors not governmentECOSYSTEM.……..…… partnering with the most relevant actors

Does Success Depend on Forces Outside Our Control?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Source: Pew Global Attitudes Survey, Oct. 2007

Perc

ent

Yes No

8

A SUCCESSFUL JOINT VENTURE

80 business plan presented last year, 200+ expected this year 300+ people crowding Sala Buzzati last November 9,000 people attending the event in streaming (40% from outside Italy) 150+ people attending the Gran Finale at Stanford on March 18th 100 people attending the Gran Finale in NY (Italian Consulate) on March 25th Over 30 road-shows in Italy in the period Feb-Apr, 2010, 2.000+ students and

researchers attending 3,000+ people subscribing our Newsletter, 750+ fan on Facebook: a growing

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