IMPACT DEAL 4th EDITION – 2nd STAGE KICK-OFF HIGHLIGHTS
On April 16/17, the 15 startups selected for the 2nd STAGE of Impact Deal gathered at OGR Torino to kick off this new milestone in their journey.
This marks the beginning of a more advanced phase of the program, where the focus shifts toward high-value connections, strategic mentorship, and concrete collaboration opportunities. For this 4th edition, startups are engaging directly with successful entrepreneurs, domain experts, and mentors to accelerate their growth and refine their solutions.
A strong start with inspiring voices
To open the event, we hosted a fireside chat with Alberto Onetti (Chairman and President at Mind the Bridge, Professor at the University of Insubria, Co-founder of Funambol) and Fabrizio Capobianco (Advisory Board Member at Mind the Bridge, Partner at The Liquid Factory, Founder and former CEO of Funambol). They shared key lessons from their entrepreneurial journeys, offering candid perspectives on founders’ dos and don’ts and delivering practical, experience-driven insights to guide our new cohort as they navigate their growth path.
We then welcomed Andrea D’Onofrio (Cloud Platform and AI Lead at Microsoft), who explored the evolving landscape of AI and innovation, highlighting how initiatives such as Microsoft AI L.A.B. are enabling startups to scale through cutting-edge technologies and industry collaboration.
Pictures credit: Fabiana Fogagnolo
The event also provided the opportunity to introduce two new ecosystem partners, Opiquad – a digital ecosystem provider that helps businesses build, manage, and grow their digital infrastructure and presence combining connectivity, cloud, IT services, and digital marketing into an integrated offering – and Fulcrum – an universal federation of cloud infrastructures and services seeking to distribute and interconnect knowledge, achieving local impact and global sustainability through interoperability, promoting a new model of Digital “Glocalization” – presented by Emile Chalouhi, further strengthening the program’s network and value proposition.
From inspiration to action
Following these sessions, the focus quickly shifted to execution!
Startups participated in mentor speed-dating sessions, engaging in a series of 30-minute meetings to identify the best-fit mentors for their growth journey during this 2nd STAGE.On the second day, the spotlight moved to one of Impact Deal’s core pillars: data collaboration. Startups met with Data Club members to initiate concrete discussions, explore potential collaborations, and align on data-driven use cases. These in-person sessions enabled deeper exchanges, helping define needs, opportunities, and next steps.
What’s next?
The journey continues with a structured acceleration path, including:
- Tailored mentorship with industry experts
- Business and growth assessment
- Access to investment opportunities
- Preparation for the final milestone: DEMO DAY on July 14th (save the date: more details coming soon!)
