TLDR:
- Italian Founders Fund (IFF) aims to accelerate startup growth in Italy with a €50 million investment in 25 companies.
- IFF provides structured funding and hands-on support to help companies with key hires, commercial expansion, and strategic partnerships.
IFF, the Italian Founders Fund, has launched with a mission to boost the growth of startups in Italy. Despite the country ranking eighth in Europe for VC investment, IFF plans to invest €50 million in 25 companies, positioning itself as a founder-friendly fund with a sector-agnostic approach. The fund has already made investments in four companies, such as HR tech startup Jet HR and customer research platform Glaut, with a fifth deal on the way. Lorenzo Franzi, a founding partner of IFF, highlights the challenge early-stage founders face in finding high conviction lead investors and believes that IFF fills a gap in early-stage capital in Italy.
IFF offers a structured investment process and remains hands-on post-investment, providing support to portfolio companies with key hires, commercial expansion, and strategic partnerships. Jet HR CEO, Marco Ogliengo, has praised IFF for its added value and backing by successful Italian founders. With around 100 Italian entrepreneurs as backers, IFF aims to make Italy one of the best places in Europe to start a company.
