Today, I celebrate ten years of the Startup Act together with the almost 15,000 innovative companies who have registered under it.
Ten years ago, Italy did not have a friendly legislative environment towards startups, and I decided to appoint twelve
innovation pioneers, coordinated by Alessandro Fusacchia, to study the best global practices in the industry and
understand what to do to accelerate things.
The watchwords had been to understand and simplify.
Because startups are not like any other companies, they need tools and ad hoc regulations.
And only by knowing their world inside out, is it possible to understand it. So, following the example of the most
advanced countries, we reformed labour legislation, the civil law for setting up new companies, incentives, bankruptcy
law - perhaps the most challenging field - and the method of raising equity and credit through crowdfunding.
With everyone’s contribution, we put together a bill that took into account the best international experiences and
learnings, and that could have met specific needs of the great world of innovation. In Parliament the project was
approved with a large majority. The beauty lay in the collaboration between all the parties involved and the desire to
seek the best in class in the world: it was a team effort that worked, with everyone singing from the same hymn sheet.
It was a success. But the successes - ours and that of others - must always be recognized, appreciated and enhanced, to
be able to do even better. Thus, the measures to support the ecosystem of innovation in Italy are far from over. €600
billion worth of exports show that the soil is fertile.
We must continue to simplify investment procedures and reduce bureaucracy by creating, for example, a simplified path
for startuppers and new requirements to allow them to participate in public tenders. There is a big leap forward to be
made with public initiatives to make the best venture capitalists also grow faster, following the example of Germany,
France and Spain. A strategic organization that be the "booster" of Italian innovation. A share of welfare savings must
be intended for Venture Capital.
We must promote the culture of risk and acceptance of failure, without fear or awe. We should tell young people in
schools that we can try things out. That work must not only be sought, but also created. And that it is possible to make
mistakes, it is normal to fail, but you also learn from mistakes. We should be ambassadors of a “yes you can” culture,
bringing forward positive examples, always accompanying theory with practice, truly uniting the generations.
Moreover, we mustn’t be ashamed to look at those who are better than us. If anyone, from a regulatory and organizational
point of view, has already found the best possible solution, then let's also make it ours. Let's replicate it and move
forward, enhancing the fields in which we, like Italy, excel. In a globalized world, one wins with excellence and
uniqueness - and Italy has so much to deploy. Let us remember that comparison is always the most important key for
growth.
Today, like ten years ago, we have no limits to set ourselves but to continue to build confidence in the future.
