A good book was recently published called Digital disruption, written by James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research. The theme can be understood by the title and not much else needs to be added. The beginning, though, might be the most illuminating part of the book.
The description of how this new industrial revolution (because that is what it is) is based on one fundamental aspect: the violent destruction of the archetype on which the current economic system is constituted; a business offers work on the one hand, and there are those who work, on the other hand, and innovation comes out of how much an enterprise is interested in this. Another business may come along but the mechanism is the same.
There are, and there have been, great obstacles against getting into the development of innovations and this blocks, or rather, this has made static the rules and mechanisms with which a company can become a leader in its sector. At a higher, aggregated level, I would add that this has made entire economic systems static for many decades, bound and locked in by this legacy, these competitive mechanisms and, thus, development that are, at this point, obsolete.
Then the digital revolution came, which changed the rules from the bottom up, market after market, country after country.
It is useless to retell the stories of digital disruption that are already well known. To the contrary, what is more interesting is to know what new ones will come along, what new ones are already arriving. A teenager today finds himself confronted with a very different scenario from that of his peers only twenty years ago. There is a sea of possibilities out there.
The most innovative companies, obviously the primary ones are those that work with Internet, have understood that opening up their technological development systems to others is, and will be, a source of competitive advantage, of survival, as well as success. SDK (Software Development Kit) and API (Application Protocol Interface) are new tools for development and innovation; the key is an entry open to everyone in order to create and propose new solutions, new services, that can then possibly even be sold directly in App stores or to companies themselves or used to create one’s own company. And that is why we have the iPhone SDK, the Google SDK, the Facebook developer platform, Paypal X, etc.: open platforms that offer access to all of the tools necessary for innovation.
Apple stores, Google Playstores thus open markets and clients to everyone. A company with thousands of developers can be beaten by a young person who creates and App that he puts in the Apple Store. This is not a joke, this is exactly how, for example, Kodak died and how Instagram was born.
And this is precisely the point, the knocking down of entry barriers (the design and the development of products, the birth of new services) and at the market (access to clients), amplified by the viral effects of social networks (which are free). All markets have been touched in some way, it is only a question of time, priority, and speed.
Now, getting back to us, the scenario described in the book is set in The United States, where, for example, a twelve-year-old,Thomas Suarez, can become a successful App developer from his own home. The U.S. has enormous competitive advantages because it is where, like always, everything is possible, and where all of this has been producing enormous changes for some time now. A general example: PayPal, the first wallet for digital programs in the world that registered 180 billion dollars in transactions in 2013. Today, in Italy, there are already about 3.5 million active clients, with a market quota of over 20% for online payments. PayPal comes from the U.S., where it was created in 1999 by Max Levchin, a young programmer, and Peter Thiel, a young investor of German origin, who were nourished by the ecosystem at Stanford University. The two startuppers then sold it to eBay in 2002, for a sum of 1.4 billion dollars, after having reached 100,000 accounts and strong commercial success due to the spontaneous use of their online payment solution for eBay users who had quickly abandoned other methods for this one.
Peter Thiel was then one of the first investors in Facebook and, today, is the head of two venture capital companies. Behind this force, this talent, is capital, investment angels, venture capitalists, those who invest.
And Italy? This country tends to have a slow, hesitant, system that is anchored in a past that will soon disappear. And we risk losing this one-way train. It is the new industrial revolution and we must get involved not just watch others participate. We are a country that is incredibly full of talents, of entrepreneurial spirit. A country of “poets and navigators” and potentially perfect for giving a great contribution to the world’s digital revolution and, why not, at an aggregated level, help enlarge and modernize our own system.
But this takes vision, faith, and support.
Today, in Italy, financing for startups is worth about 130 million euros, about one fifth of what is invested in neighboring countries like France, Germany and the UK. But there are at least 1,500 startups already registered with the Chamber of Commerce, who are trying, and who need support, incubation, and acceleration. If we look at startups dedicated to the financial world, funding is only about 5.5% of the overall total destined for Italy. A small piece of a small pie. There is a large gap between what could be done, what needs to be done, and what is done.
GoPago is a startup working in the area of payment systems that was developed in California and recently acquired by American company Doublebeam though the creators were of Italian origin. It was created abroad and stayed for good, even though it was Italian. Though it remains an entrepreneurial success, for Italy, it was an opportunity lost due to a weak ecosystem.
So, now we get to the point. What I have described above is the main reason why Che Banca! has decided to launch and supportChe Banca! Grand Prix, the first acceleration contest-program dedicated to fin–tech startups in Italy. Created six years ago, Che Banca! is an Italian startup itself, an ex-startup at this point. The most successful one in the world of financing on the Italian market, created by a vision and with the support of its shareholders. Che Banca! is truly changing the way retail banking is conducted in Italy, with an orientation towards unique clientele, advanced but simple digital platforms (which are truly appreciated), and a concept of bank branches that is again unique and explosive.
Thus, we have decided to try to identify, award, and support the new startups in our sector, to give a tangible contribution as well as a real opportunity to who, no matter how small, wants to launch themselves in this market. Also giving them a way to confront themselves with those who work in the sector every day, exchanging passion and know-how, to grow and to find support. Because we want other innovators, other Italian disruptors who could then possibly have international success without having to leave the country. We are concentrating on what we know best, the sector of banking and financial services, of any type, where we can offer our added value, and, why not, open up our bank to those who want to confront themselves with us, even by bringing challenging ideas that may be out of the box or complementary to what we are doing.
And, to do this, to create an ecosystem that is open and fertile in our sector, we have included, from the start, those who also share the same passions and ambitions. The Politecnico di Milano (Polytechnic University of Milan), which, with Polihub and its programs dedicated to startups, represents a strong reference point for incubation in Italy – a university that does and supports innovation, and StartupItalia!, a blog-virtual center and true information, aggregation center for startups and simultaneously, a national catalyzer for attention and action in this area.
CheBanca! Grand Prix, therefore, will not only be a contest for Italian fin-tech startups, but will also be a program that includes mentoring, support and visibility, grants and research capital, confrontations with real CheBanca! managers, and with university experts, a program with the goal of creating an ecosystem, support, and therefore acceleration in a sector that is strategic for development the new challenges that await us.
Click here for more information on CheBanca! Grand Prix.
