Vento

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg, Managing Director and Head of Europe at General Catalyst, is driven by a powerful vision: advancing Europe as a global tech leader. By supporting ambitious founders, she is committed to building enduring businesses that strengthen Europe’s resilience, competitiveness, and sovereignty. ✨ Discover the inspiring profiles we had on stage at #ITW24, and follow us for more updates and insights!

Do you have any superpower? What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you? These are (also) the kinds of questions we asked the 761 people who dared to believe in their entrepreneurial dream and apply for Vento’s Season 4. There will be time to talk about their skills, the startups they’ve founded, and their academic backgrounds, but today is not that day. Because today, we’re discovering some of the quirky little details that make their profiles simply unique. Read some of the most interesting responses we received and let us know how you would’ve answered— the comment section stage is ready for your take!

If you’re looking for a new job where you can showcase your talent, or if you want to grow alongside some of the game-changing startups in the Italian scene, we might have the right opportunity for you. ⚖️ Lexroom.ai is looking for a Junior Software Engineer. 💳 Qomodo is looking for an SDR Intern. 🔮 Futura is looking for a Senior Performance Marketing Manager. These are just a few of the job openings within our portfolio ventures. Check out the link below to discover all available positions. >> https://lnkd.in/g4UT2jqF

🚀 Can you believe Italy’s startup ecosystem has tripled its job creation in just six years? 📈The growth of an ecosystem like Italy’s startup scene can be measured in many ways. You can look at the total number of startups launched over the years or the volume of investments, but no metric captures the impact of this growth better than the number of jobs created. According to Dealroom.co, startups in Italy have gone from generating 105,000 jobs in 2018 to an impressive 309,000 in 2024. This reflects not only the resilience of the ecosystem but also the growing appetite for innovation across diverse sectors. 💻⚡🧬 Key industries driving this growth include SaaS, energy storage, and biotech, with venture capital investment also increasing across these fields. The number of active investors has surged, growing tenfold in recent years, boosting both the size and frequency of funding rounds. What truly stands out in Italy’s case is the combination of entrepreneurial reinvestment and returning founders who bring international experience back to the country, further fueling the ecosystem. ✨ We’re thrilled that initiatives like the recent Italian Tech Week and our Venture Building program, now celebrating its third anniversary with over 110 aspiring founders selected and 25 startups launched, are helping to give a boost to what has always been fertile ground for creativity and innovation. The road ahead looks promising, and we can’t wait to see what the next curve holds. 

👉 What’s the future of the Italian startup scene? 👉 How can you attract people like Brian Chesky and Sam Altman to Italian Tech Week in Turin? 👉And what’s the role of empathy and community in building startups? These are some of the questions Marcin Lewandowski to Diyala D'Aveni, head of Vento, during the latest episode of the EU Startup Podcast. In their half-hour conversation, Diyala shared her journey in the startup world, her insights on personal growth, the mission of Vento, and the future of the Italian startup ecosystem. They also explored topics like the importance of empathy and community in building startups, and the challenges of organizing Italy’s most important tech event, Italian Tech Week. Don’t miss out on the episode! YouTube: https://lnkd.in/e8UKSW4U Spotify: https://lnkd.in/edfm3AsJ

Wow, October has come to an end and the keyphrase of the month has been: recharging the batteries (we wish!). This month, we wrapped up Italian Tech Week, brainstormed a script for a new Inside Out movie featuring the emotions we dealt with during the event (spoiler alert: the new main characters would be Pure Panic, Happy Tears, and Heart-Warming Gratitude), and kicked off interviews for Season 4 candidates of Vento. You know, just a couple of small (but very exciting) things. We’ve covered all these stories (some truly exceptional), plus updates from our portfolio, job opportunities, and reading suggestions in the latest issue of our newsletter, “The Vento Post.” Check your inbox or sign up here >> https://lnkd.in/d5d8ue3Q

This year, Bee AI, a startup founded by Maria de Lourdes Zollo and Ethan Sutin, is truly on an exceptional journey. After closing a $7 million funding round led by Exor N.V., they’re pushing the boundaries of what's possible in AI-powered voice assistants and wearables. Their innovative #AI #assistant doesn’t just listen—it learns, takes notes, offers smart reminders, and transforms unstructured thoughts into useful tools. So, it’s no surprise that Bee AI was recently featured in Andreessen Horowitz’s 'Building the AI Brain' report by Justine Moore, which highlights them as one of the most exciting startups aiming to organize the chaos of our minds and turn it into something tangible. Huge congratulations to Maria, Ethan, and the entire Bee AI team on this amazing achievement! The future is looking brighter than ever.

Living 5 months side by side with exceptionally talented people, pitching in front of an audience of international investors. That’s definitely part of Vento. But Vento is also the sum of the stories and dreams that each year the participants of the Venture Building program bring to Turin, turning them into the fuel that powers the next groundbreaking startups. To share these stories, including that of Michela Andreolli, one of the stars of Vento's Season 3, we’ve created "40 Nodi," our first podcast in collaboration with Will Media. What are you waiting for? Listen to Michela and check out all the episodes on Spotify! 🎧 Listen here > https://shorturl.at/CHMz0

A new episode of "Presenti e Future – Storie di leadership e di mentoring,” the podcast by Chora Media and Università Bocconi, is now available. The fourth protagonist of this journey is our Alumna Diyala D'Aveni, Head of Investments and Venture Building at Vento. In conversation with Federica Mariani, a Bocconi student, and guided by the voice of Francesca Milano, she will shed light on the risks and trends in the startup world in Italy, highlighting how innovation is a field where women can not only participate but also excel. Listen to the new episode: https://lnkd.in/d99ZUXgZ Or watch it on the Bocconi YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/dgvKWDSh #BocconiAlumni #ChangedByWomen

Is there a secret recipe for building a thriving startup ecosystem? While there’s no magic formula, we can certainly learn from successful examples, like the U.S. startup scene. Douglas Leone, partner at Sequoia, shared some powerful insights that are invaluable for both founders and policymakers. Let’s start from the first ones! For founders: 1. Don’t think small. If you're solving a problem, don’t just limit your solution to your local market. Right from the start, you should envision your product with European scalability in mind—or even global. The more you think beyond borders, the greater the growth potential. 2. Keep it simple. You should be able to explain your product in just three words. If it’s the right product-market fit, it should be so clear that even someone without extensive experience could sell it confidently. If your idea is easy to communicate, it will also be easier to grow. 3. Go-to-market: action over analysis. Your strategy to enter the market shouldn’t be paralyzed by endless data analysis. While research is important, what truly matters is understanding the pulse of your target market—knowing where it’s headed and how your product fits into that evolving landscape. Focus on adapting quickly and delivering value where it’s most needed. For policymakers 1. Italy has no shortage of talented individuals, especially in cities like Turin and Milan, home to world-class engineering universities. But talent alone isn't enough. There needs to be more robust government support to give entrepreneurs the resources they need to take risks and innovate. 2. Flexibility is key. Founders need the ability to make quick decisions, such as hiring and firing, without being bogged down by red tape. Policymakers should focus on creating simplified processes that allow startups to pivot quickly and stay competitive in a fast-moving market. 3. Encourage a culture of learning from failure. We must foster an ecosystem where failure isn’t viewed as a dead-end but as a learning opportunity. By making it easier for founders to access resources, funding, and professional networks, we can give them the confidence to innovate and push boundaries, without being slowed down by bureaucracy. Empowering entrepreneurs will fuel the next generation of successful startups. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!