L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 9 T he year was 2005. Around the start of the web 2.0 era. LinkedIn just went from less than 100,000 to 1M members. Business networking was limited to Ivy League busi- ness school alumni associations, vendors driven tech gatherings, industry associations, and the classic clubs: from your dad's Rotary to exclusive "co-member nominated" business councils. Local Chambers of Commerce and international trade commis- sions were struggling to keep up with the increased speed and dynamism of the New Economy. Three San Francisco profession- als thought they could change the way Italians networked in Silicon Valley. Now, with the 10th Anniversary Party just cele- brated at Campari America in San Francisco, the opportunity for past and present members of the Business Association Italy America to reunite and cheer to these years' achievements pre- sented itself. Th is is how BA IA s tory began. "Back in 2005 - explains G iorgio G hers i, one of the cofounders with Matteo Daste and Michele Ursino - we became aware of how many people we knew in our industries (architec- tural design, software, and busi- ness legal counselling) had a com m on Italian m atr ix. Nevertheless very few seemed to systematically connect to each other for mutual professional interest. That was not the case with the other Europeans, or with the various ethnic or her- itage gr oups . T her efor e, we started looking around, found similarly motivated individuals, researched what was working and what not, and did our best to build a modern and light net- working infrastructure, focused around business, careers and entrepreneurial development. Then, in March 2006, we opened it up to everybody we knew and to their various degrees of con- nections. That powered up the network, and... there was BAIA." Today the association has impressive numbers, as the last decade res ults hav e s how n. Vincenzo Mitolo, the current Executive Director, points out: "BAIA has two locations world- wide San Francisco and Rome, 5000+ r egis ter ed m em ber s , more than four events per month and a team of 20 people who are the backbone of this association. Looking forward, I expect to see the community growing in num- bers and BAIA becoming the strongest hub for Italian busi- nesses in the Bay Area. If you are interested in collaborating and bringing new ideas, BAIA doors are always open!" H o w is BA IA b uilding a bridge between Italy and the US? Matteo Fabiano, one of the first Board Members, has the answer: "BAIA plays a pivotal role in facilitating business and invest- ment between Italy, the US and the Bay Area. Italian companies see the opportunity represented by the US market and want to tap into the innovation laborato- ry that is Silicon Valley. The BAIA community is a natural entry point. Without it, compa- nies would have a much harder tim e explor ing U S bus ines s opportunities and establishing valuable connections." One of BAIA strengths lies on the ability to keep innovating without losing focus on its mis- s ion. Today F ranco F olini embodies this continuous effort. As a Board Member he launched the Geeks Meetup in February 2015 and the BAIA Executives in October: "I started the BAIA G eeks gr oup as a way to improve the engagement of our members and supporters. - He tells - While most events have a top-down approach, I wanted to involve everybody in their orga- niz ation. T he s ucces s of the exper im ent pr om pted m e to apply the same method to anoth- er sub-group of the community, and we started the Executives Meetup. One important and posi- tive side effect of the meetup for- mat that I didn't anticipate is the 'aggregation factor'. Every time I see a new friendship or a new business relationship that origi- nated from a meetup, it proves that those events are fostering a powerful network of connec- tions, something that was clearly missing among those communi- ties." Grazia Bennett and Elisabetta Ghisini have been running vari- ous initiatives for the organiza- tion and both agree on the pre- cious contribution of women: "Their role has been critical throughout the years - Grazia, a Board member, states - We are a group of very motivated profes- s ionals who enjoy wor king together, feel free to disagree and like each other on a person- al level. BAIA women have been an inspirational role model for both men and women in the Bay Area business community." And Elisabetta, former Executive Director, continues: "Everybody is valued for their contributions. It helps that we are a virtual organization, where results mat- ter while face-time does not. And it helps that we are all flexible: if you can't attend a meeting, you may call in, or sometimes skip it. As long as you deliver, we'll make it work." SERENA PERFETTO BAIA replicated the same model in Italy. That's w hat F lavio N otari told us about BAIA Italia: "We introduced the concept of an open network in which professionals, entrepre- neur s and m anager s s tar ted exchanging, in an efficient and effective way, knowledge, infor- mation and opportunities. I am proud of having contributed to the foundation of the Italian chapter and volunteering every day with Marco Sgroi and other valuable people to "give back" to our country and our networks, fostering business opportunities, relationships and promoting a culture of innovation through entrepreneurial spirit and princi- ples." And here is BAIA now, ten years later, supported by a third wave of volunteers who, together with some of the original trail- blazers, are making sure the Italian professional, entrepre- neurial and managerial commu- nity in the Bay Area remains vis- ible, welcoming, and relevant. BAIA Founders from far left Michele Ursino, Giorgio Ghersi, and Matteo Daste (Ph Credits: Brett Garling) SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY rm rm C C 6 y s om ty se om ity T o m d al un al er atio r t o m w h ncs com and www an d a Coloniale J i liancs.com dent and p e he C y ca i ta d ion ica d d good l. .italiancs.com 94133 6 www 5 6423 • nci o, CA 94133 362 • 415 n Francisco, CA 94133 an Francisco, CA 94133 G S 67 Street S 78 Green Street 678 Green Street C C a . oh F ohn F F F. 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