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2 weeks in the Silicon Valley: our experience with Innovit
In June, Coffeefrom flew to San Francisco!
This year, Coffeefrom was selected among some of the best Italian startups to participate in the acceleration program of the Italian Culture and Innovation Hub (Innovit). This project stems from the collaboration between the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Embassy in Washington DC, overseen by the Italian Consulate General in San Francisco and implemented with the involvement of ICE.
The Startup Acceleration Program is a two-week program that includes workshops, mentoring, and networking, aimed at the development and consolidation of our business model.
The experience concluded with the Demo Day, a day dedicated to the presentations of each participating startup. For this, each startup was given 4 minutes to present their pitch in front of an audience of investors and business angels (those who give financial support to a commercial entity).
The most interesting Pitch of the Innovit’s Director: Alberto Acito
Thanks to Innovit, we had the opportunity to expand our network and meet speakers and mentors of great expertise. Among them, Innovit’s Director, Alberto Acito, succinctly emphasized the immense importance numbers have in conveying our message objectively and effectively with the expression “Say it with numbers.”
Another interesting meeting occurred with Serena Perfetto, Program Lead at Pinterest, who, during her workshop on Business Association Italy-America & Building Product Operations for Scaled Growth, showed us how to build a solid operational product infrastructure.
With Serena’s guidance, we identified the most significant steps that a startup must take to build and finalize a reliable product infrastructure. Additionally, we also had the opportunity to visit the headquarters and offices of Pinterest in San Francisco.
Lastly, our visit to UC Berkeley was highly inspiring, being one of the most prestigious universities in California. Together with Caroline Winnett, Executive Director of Berkeley SkyDeck, we visited the SkyDeck headquarters, an acceleration program founded by the University of Berkeley.
Final thoughts on our experience in the Silicon Valley with Innovit
In conclusion, participating in Innovit’s Startup Acceleration Program was an extraordinary opportunity for us to meet brilliant minds, learn about cutting-edge innovations, and find unprecedented resources. The challenges we faced made us more aware, while the numerous advices and feedbacks helped us improve and grow from an entrepreneurial perspective.
Visit to San Francisco: an enriching opportunity
We left the Silicon Valley with a wealth of knowledge and a much more international network. We are now ready to propel our startup towards success!
P.S. If you want to see more photos from our experience, don’t miss our posts on Linkedin and Instagram!
