The five exceptional speakers who took turns on stage, introduced by Carolina Montagna, CIO & Board Member B Heroes, brought their own idea of value by telling their story, their success, and the obstacles they encountered along the way. Their speeches testified how, despite failures and missteps, it is possible to reach a goal if they are driven by a big dream and passion for innovation and technological change.
Flanked by Andrea Pauri, curator of TEDxBologna, their talks inspired the more than 300 participants to follow their own disruptive ambition.
Veronica Diquattro, CEO Global Markets DAZN, a lover of math who almost always looks to numbers for answers, even the answers to humanity's big tomorrows, asked: how do you figure out what is the MEASURE of ambition? How does one find EQUILIBRIUM? - "Ambition is going in many directions and humility is staying in the ground. If we put these two elements together, just like a tree we generate growth. In innovating, the risk of making mistakes is inevitable, the important thing is to retrain a mistake and turn it into an advantage. Fail better."
Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO, masterfully illustrated the importance of having a perfectly aligned and talented team. Without this prerequisite, it is not possible to achieve any kind of highly ambitious value goal. For the team to work at its best, as in soccer, as in any sport, it is necessary for a coach, in the case of companies a manager, to be able to make the talents present in each individual team member flourish, with dedication, sacrifice and determination, aligned perfectly in the agreed vision.
Francesca Gargaglia, Amity Co-Founder and COO brought her message as a young and ambitious entrepreneur by arguing, "We all seek success and are naturally inclined to choose the quickest route, including shortcuts. I am all for promoting an idea of entrepreneurship where speed matters less than good ideas, passion, and hard work. Where excellence is measured by how good it is the product you are building, not how fast you get to divest 80 percent of your capital. Passion will save startups and startups will save the world!"
Raffaele Terrone, Co-Founder Scalapay, brought to the stage curiosity in things, determination to try, and a pinch of madness: "I believe that to create value you first need to listen, understand the needs of the customer you want to serve, and meet those needs with a product or service. Not necessarily a new thing, even something done differently, ideally better. I think I have lived a life like being on a roller coaster. Not just with Scalapay. I've tried, I've failed, I've tried again, I've tried to figure out what I really wanted, and in the end I'm here, I'm my own entrepreneur and customer."
Paolo Tortora, Full Professor University of Bologna, took us on a journey through the space of our solar system to discover dangerous asteroids, which could fall to earth, but which space agencies have already successfully experimented with ways to divert their path, but especially asteroids rich in precious materials such as Gold, Palladium, Silver, and Precious Earths. The next frontier for Gold is space!
Main partner of the event, which has the patronage of the Metropolitan City of Bologna, was the association Italian Angels for Growth, a leader in Italian seed venture capital, which celebrated its first 15 years with this special event, with more than 500 players from the business, financial and industrial worlds who invest time, skills, and capital in the growth of innovative startups, coming together over the years.
"Taking part in the first TEDx in Italy dedicated to the innovation ecosystem and the entrepreneurial world was a great opportunity to turn the spotlight on young talent and the innovative and technological potential of our country. Young people need to be inspired and to understand how a healthy and constant ambition can be the key to propel companies towards the future and digitalization. In these first 15 years of IAG, a leader in Italian Seed Venture, we have been committed to concretely supporting new and disruptive ideas and projects: we are therefore very happy to have celebrated this special anniversary by listening to and being inspired by valuable ideas and all-Italian success stories," says Leonardo Giagnoni, Managing Director of Italian Angels for Growth.
Special thanks also to the sponsors of the meeting:
Azimut, one of Europe's largest independent Asset Managers specializing in asset management, with 83 billion in assets under management and a global footprint thanks to 18 investment and distribution centers around the world. Vowed to innovation, it founded a platform of products and services to support businesses, with a unique offering in the real economy that reached 6 billion in assets by 2022.
Fondazione Golinelli, a unique Italian example of a private, operational philanthropic foundation inspired by the model of the great American foundations: concreteness, vision and planning ability make it a benchmark among foundations in our country today.
Watch videos of all the speeches!