Interviews
Bending Spoons: how an Italian team conquered the global App Store
The story of an unusual company: no VCs, organic growth, strategic acquisitions. We talk with one of the co-founders.
Independent magazine · since 2021
Stories and numbers of Italian startups.
Founders.it covers the Italian innovation ecosystem through interviews with founders, analysis of funding rounds, practical guides for those building companies, and case studies on the businesses changing the way we work, pay, travel and live. We are based in Milan but our eyes are on the whole country, from Bologna to Bari, from Turin to Catania. Every week we publish new content, the result of on-the-ground reporting and direct conversations with the people building that market every day. We believe talking about startups means first of all talking about people, choices and real risks, not just valuations and press releases.
Interviews
Prima Assicurazioni: 'Insurtech in Italy is still in its infancy, and we want to lead it'
Georgios Zekos explains how they built the first Italian digital insurance company and why the traditional market is not yet ready for disruption.
Interviews
Scalapay after the unicorn: 'Now we have to prove that growth is sustainable'
Simone Mancini talks about buy now pay later, the difficult moment for European fintech and how Scalapay is redefining its strategy.
Latest stories
What to read this week
Investments
Italian startups: the most important funding rounds of 2024
An analysis of the main deals of the year: who raised the most, in which sectors and from which investors.
Investments
VC in Italy in 2025: fewer deals, larger tickets and a focus on profitability
The Italian venture capital market is changing skin. The Q1 2025 data tells a different story compared to the 2021-2022 boom.
Investments
Angel investing in Italy: how it works, who the investors are and how to get involved
A complete guide for founders looking for their first capital and for those who want to start investing in early-stage startups.
Investments
Equity crowdfunding: real opportunity or hype? The Italian numbers of 2024
An analysis of the main Italian equity crowdfunding platforms with data on average raises, sectors and success rates.
Guides
How to write a pitch deck that convinces investors in 2025
Structure, content, mistakes to avoid and the slides nobody tells you to include. A practical guide based on dozens of pitches analysed.
Guides
How to find the right co-founder (and how to tell when it isn't the right one)
Choosing a co-founder is the most important decision you will make. Here is how to approach the process with method.
Why read us
Three principles guiding our newsroom.
Founders.it is an independent editorial project. We do not take money from the companies we write about, we do not sell sponsored articles and we do not work as a PR agency for anyone. What keeps us going is the trust of our readers and the support of our community of subscribers.
01
Editorial independence
We do not publish sponsored content disguised as articles and we do not write about companies just because they are recommended to us. Our editorial choices are our own.
02
On-the-ground reporting
Every investigation comes from in-person meetings, phone calls, verified data. No press-release summaries: only stories told after we have seen them with our own eyes.
03
Verified numbers
When we cite a round, a valuation or a metric, we always indicate the source and the context. We believe serious journalism is impossible without serious data.
Newsletter
The stories of Italian startups, every Sunday in your inbox.
12,400 founders, investors and ecosystem operators read our newsletter. No spam, no hidden sponsorships. Only the facts that matter.
Explore by category
Five sections, five different ways to tell the story of Italian innovation.
Interviews
See all →Interviews
Interviews
Satispay, the CEO: 'Europe proved us right, now we aim at 10 million users'
Alberto Dalmasso tells the story of one of Italy's most important fintech startups, the challenges of international growth and the future of digital payments.
Interviews
Bending Spoons: how an Italian team conquered the global App Store
The story of an unusual company: no VCs, organic growth, strategic acquisitions. We talk with one of the co-founders.
Interviews
Prima Assicurazioni: 'Insurtech in Italy is still in its infancy, and we want to lead it'
Georgios Zekos explains how they built the first Italian digital insurance company and why the traditional market is not yet ready for disruption.
Investments
See all →Investments
Investments
Italian startups: the most important funding rounds of 2024
An analysis of the main deals of the year: who raised the most, in which sectors and from which investors.
Investments
VC in Italy in 2025: fewer deals, larger tickets and a focus on profitability
The Italian venture capital market is changing skin. The Q1 2025 data tells a different story compared to the 2021-2022 boom.
Investments
Angel investing in Italy: how it works, who the investors are and how to get involved
A complete guide for founders looking for their first capital and for those who want to start investing in early-stage startups.
Guides
See all →Guides
Guides
How to write a pitch deck that convinces investors in 2025
Structure, content, mistakes to avoid and the slides nobody tells you to include. A practical guide based on dozens of pitches analysed.
Guides
How to find the right co-founder (and how to tell when it isn't the right one)
Choosing a co-founder is the most important decision you will make. Here is how to approach the process with method.
Guides
Founder agreement: what it is, why to sign it immediately and what it should contain
Many startups skip this step and pay a high price for it. A complete guide to protect your project from day zero.
Trends
See all →Trends
Trends
AI startups in Italy: who they are, what they do and who funds them in 2025
A mapping of the Italian AI ecosystem: from the most active verticals to the most present investors, including the gaps still to fill.
Trends
Italian B2B SaaS is growing: the numbers and players of an expanding market
Italian enterprise software no longer makes news only when it gets acquired. The data shows a new maturity.
Trends
5 Italian startups that failed: what we can learn from their mistakes
Failure is part of the game. But analysing it without taboos is still rare in Italy. Let's try.
Case Studies
See all →Case Studies
Case Studies
Musixmatch: how a Bologna startup became the world's music lyrics database
The story of a company that found a global niche starting from Bologna, with almost no external investment.
Case Studies
Casavo and Italian proptech: fast growth, hard market and strategic pivot
Is instant buying in the Italian real estate market really sustainable? An analysis of Casavo's business model between lights and shadows.
Case Studies
Talent Garden: from Brescia to the European coworking network for innovators
The story of an ambitious expansion, the crisis moments during Covid and the restart. A case study of Italian resilience.