L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2015 L'Italo-Americano W hile you surf the net, y o u w i l l r u n i n t o many platforms made b y I t a l i a n s f o r I t a l i a n s : y o u won't find it hard to run into blogs and websites collecting information and stories about Italians moving abroad. But, when we first met Francesco Menghini, an Italian director now in the Silicon Valley, he had no doubts that his platform called "Madre in Italy" is not only different from any other website, but it is also unique for putting together people's fears, hopes, and desires in the same virtual room. The added value comes from being a website all in the Italian language, making things easier for those who have n e v e r l e f t I t a l y a n d / o r l i v e d abroad. "Madre In Italy" has been developed by Francesco Menghini and Grazia Pracilio, his partner and co-founder, once they found out how many other Italians had their same feelings a b o u t b e i n g i n a d i f f e r e n t country: nostalgia, excitement, the will to do great things. The core idea behind the platform is t h a t , o n c e c o n n e c t e d , e v e r y Italian talent in the world will be promoted and supported: on one side, there are all collaborators and experts who share useful information, on the other side people ready to take off and to e x p l o r e n e w o p p o r t u n i t i e s . F r a n c e s c o c a m e t o S a n F r a n c i s c o f o r a m o n t h p r o g r a m m e w i t h M i n d t h e Bridge, a foundation that runs programs to support all actors in entrepreneurial ecosystems and h a s b e e n h e l p i n g I t a l i a n s develop their ideas and projects since 2008. He told us a bit more a b o u t h i m s e l f a n d h i s i d e a , d i s p l a y i n g b o t h h i s a m a z i n g passion and great commitment to make things happen. Tell us about yourself… F i r s t o f a l l , I h a v e b e e n working as director for some Italian TV shows for twenty years. I travelled to different countries, such as Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Greece, United States, Albania, India. I have also filmed some documentaries a n d r e p o r t a g e s . B u t a t s o m e point I discovered my passion for the internet and, during my stay in London, I realized that I really wanted to invest more on my passions, putting together my e x p e r i e n c e w i t h s o m e i d e a s . Everything happened from one day to the other, and that day was December 28, 2013. W h e n d i d y o u g e t t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o c o m e t o California? As I said, my project started in 2013 while I was in London. In January 2014, I got interested in the start up world and started to explore the possibility to get fundings to begin mine. In Italy, I d i d n o t h a v e m u c h l u c k . I moved to Scotland where I got to know about Mind The Bridge. I sent my application and twenty days later, they invited us to C a l i f o r n i a : t h e n , M i n d T h e B r i d g e a n d t h e P o l o T e c n o l o g i c o d i P a v i a g o t t o g e t h e r , o f f e r e d u s s o m e fundings for a scholarship and help realize our project. How would you describe "MadreInItaly"? I would call it "the channel of all Italians in the world": our v a l u e p r o p o s i t i o n i s t o h e l p Italians who move abroad and find it hard because of their lack of knowledge of the language. The website uses all the official i n f o r m a t i o n c o m i n g f r o m c o n s u l a t e s a n d e m b a s s i e s around the world and, through their consultants like lawyers, real estate experts, and work specialists, people get real and official information. Why is the platform only in Italian? Italians do not speak much English. Statistics say that only 35% of those living abroad have some knowledge. This project is thought especially for those who want to move abroad but have many difficulties at doing so. But our long-term project is to develop it in English and other relevant languages as well. Why is this scholarship so important for you? Mind the Bridge gave me the opportunity to realize the project and hopefully to launch it on the market. Initially, I only thought o f a w e b t v , t h a n k s t o t h i s programme we will be able to develop the three parts: a blog; a web TV with twenty different formats and people worldwide sharing useful information; a platform to connect users, a sort o f v i r t u a l c o m m u n i t y w h e r e e v e r y b o d y h a s h i s / h e r o w n profile to share with others. W h a t d i d y o u f i n d m o s t beneficial for you? People at Mind the Bridge t e a c h u s a b o u t t h e s t a r t u p world: they look at the project a n d a n a l y z e i t t o b e t t e r understand its potential. I have still two weeks before the end, but I am willing to learn more and more. Do you want to develop it just in Italy? My project was born in Italy and will be developed there. I h o p e i t w i l l f i n d s o m e opportunities here in the United States too: in the Silicon Valley, i t w o u l d b e e a s i e r t o g e t fundings and also think of an exit strategy, which makes a huge difference for the future. What's your next step? For now we are still working o n t h e b l o g , b u t I w a n t t o transform it in a real platform with all the sections I talked about earlier as soon as possible. Madre In Italy: Francesco Menghini and the platform to virtually connect Italian talents around the globe SERENA PERFETTO Francesco Menghini at Mind the Bridge Foundation

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