First stage of ScaleUp Lab successfully concluded
The first edition of the ScaleUp Lab Summer School, an initiative promoted by Area Science Park to support innovative startups in their growth journey and developed within the IP4FVG-EDIH project, has officially come to a close. The Summer School, dedicated to startups in the digital and deep-tech sectors, was created to help newly established companies define their business development strategies, with a particular focus on growth, scalability and resilience.
The programme, which involves startups from all over Italy, is structured in three stages. The first stage, which has just concluded today in Trieste, consisted of a one-week residential Summer School. The programme combined contributions from Area Science Park experts with talks delivered by internationally renowned speakers, including: Alexander Osterwalder, CEO of Strategyzer and co-creator (together with Yves Pigneur) of the Business Model Canvas, recognised as one of the most influential management tools worldwide; Alberto Di Minin, Professor of Management at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa; and Alvise Bonivento, Director of the venture capital fund Indaco Venture Partners.
The second stage will involve business development experts from Area Science Park acting as coaches for the startups, providing an additional three-month field validation focused on testing and iterating their business models. This work is designed to guide the startups towards the third stage: a Pitch Day attended by leading Italian investment funds, where startups will have the opportunity to engage directly with market players and test the soundness of their ideas.
“The Summer School is a high value-added activity for Area Science Park,” emphasised President Caterina Petrillo, “as it forms part of an ongoing process of continuously updating models and strategies for innovation in support of enterprise generation—fields in which our organisation has a long and consolidated track record. This programme, truly unique in its kind, combines theoretical and practical training and provides participating startups with direct access to tools and specialised knowledge thanks to interaction and dialogue with international experts.”
“Without a working business model, even the best technology will not reach the market and certainly will not scale,” explained Alexander Osterwalder. “The first business model you come up with will probably be wrong, which is why you need to test it and put it under constant trial and scrutiny. Without the right tools, this is very difficult. That’s where the Business Model Canvas comes in: a very simple visual tool to map out and bring to light the logic of your company’s business, making ideas very concrete and visible so they can be shared with investors and team members. The Business Model Canvas is a universal tool, and I believe that in the technological and deep-tech fields in particular, its use is even more important.”
“To prepare for investors, there are two fundamental things,” stressed Alvise Bonivento: “having a very clear idea of your business—not only your technology but also your go-to-market strategy—and learning to understand the investor: knowing who they are, what their needs are, and how they can support you. Every venture capitalist always looks at three things: competitive and technological advantage, the presence of an outstanding team—both technically and managerially—and the existence of a market ready to absorb that new technology or innovation.”
“Deep-tech companies need to work with players who believe in integrating their technologies with those of others,” recommended Alberto Di Minin, “in order to align business models and jointly develop an open innovation strategy. Open innovation is crucial for a deep-tech startup for one very simple reason: it is needed to complete an innovation pathway that is also being developed within other companies.”
Concluding this first step of the ScaleUp Lab pathway, Roberto Pillon, Head of the Enterprise Generation Office at Area Science Park, remarked: “We created ScaleUp Lab in full awareness of the importance of working on developing the skills of new innovative companies, which need to grow and equip themselves with all the necessary tools to face the market and bring innovation to life. After the Summer School, the programme will continue over the next three months, providing startups with support, coaching and mentoring in developing their business projects, and culminating in a Pitch Day event with a group of investors.”
The IP4FVG-EDIH project is financed under Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – Mission 4, Component 2 (M4C2), Investment 2.3 – “Strengthening and expanding the thematic and territorial scope of technology transfer centres for industrial segments.” It is funded by the European Union’s Next Generation EU programme, with the goal of fostering the adoption of digital and green technologies by businesses and public administrations.