Telling Startupbusiness readers about the Fondazione Genova Startup project is the perfect opportunity to put down on paper a dream that stems from two deeply held convictions: my passion for the world of start-ups and the now obvious realisation that Genoa, my beloved city, is lagging far behind not only other countries, but also many other Italian cities.
After concluding my last experience as a manager at Netalia in April 2024, I decided to devote my time, energy and skills to a specific goal: helping start-ups in Genoa. Why? Because I like it. Because young people and start-up entrepreneurs in general deserve it. And because without genuine conviction, you can’t really help anyone.
I started by telling stories. Every day, on LinkedIn, I shared positive narratives that came from my daily encounters with start-ups and wannabe start-ups. Then came the interviews, simple and direct: a tripod, a mobile phone, no lights and no studio. Just people and their ideas. Today, I have conducted about a hundred interviews, all dedicated to those who try to do innovative business in a context that often offers neither space nor visibility.
From there, the project grew. I met and involved men and women of good will, people of great ability with shared values and goals. Together we decided to take a further step: to create a Foundation.
The Genoa Startup Foundation was officially established on 4 November 2025. It was founded by 13 individuals and 5 legal entities: Appfactory, Circle Group, Cyber Tribu, Happily and Talent Garden Genoa, the first companies that chose to believe and invest in the project. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of them.
We have very clear ideas about what to do immediately and what to build over time.
The first initiative is the organisation of public events dedicated to the presentation of individual high-quality start-ups. Thanks to a valuable agreement with Mentelocale, located in the central Piazza De Ferrari (pictured), we have already planned the entire programme for 2026: 22 events. The format is called Startup Social Club. Each evening is dedicated to a single start-up, interviewed by Ilaria Scaliti (current head of communications at the Foundation) and myself.
We have already held four meetings with Hodli, Boccamatta, ShopTheLook and React4Life, and the response has been very positive. A surprisingly diverse community has emerged: from founders in their early twenties to entrepreneurs with over sixty years of experience. This is a clear sign that innovation is not a question of age, but of vision.
Alongside public events, we organise meetings that we call Group Therapy: two-hour sessions in which a group of five or six founding members of the Foundation make themselves available to a single start-up entrepreneur for in-depth and practical brainstorming.
Another goal is to replicate our first major public event, held on 20 November 2025. The event took place in a highly symbolic location: the former Psychiatric Hospital of Genoa Quarto. It was the perfect setting for a format that was called, and will continue to be called, Crazy for Startups. The event was attended by, among others, Stefano Quintarelli of Rialto Ventures, Giorgia Zunino of Fondazione Hedu-X, Max Panico of Rock in azienda and the director of Startupbusiness Emil Abirascid.
But above all, the Foundation was created to help. To really help. With passion, expertise and time. Every single boy and girl who wants to give it a go.
The Foundation’s business model is simple and transparent: all services offered to start-ups are and will remain free of charge. The Foundation’s sustainability is entrusted to membership fees, donations and sponsorships from companies that share our journey and our hope.
The goal is not only to contribute to the growth of startup culture in the city, but to encourage a real explosion. Because startups shouldn’t just grow. They should explode.
Genoa has it all: industrial culture, culture in the broadest sense, climate, food, art, natural beauty. It is an extraordinary environment in which a technology start-up can be born and establish itself. Our task is to help these young people, and those who are not so young, whose eyes are full of light, and to consider them for what they really are: people driven by the desire to create economic, financial, social and human value, with benefits for the local area too. (photo by Nana on Unsplash)
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