T HE I TALIAN S TARTUP A GENDA P OLICIES AND S TRATEGIES FOR S TARTUPS S TEFANO F IRPO I TALIAN M INISTRY OF E CONOMIC D EVELOPMENT, H EAD OF THE M INISTER S T ECHNICAL S ECRETARIAT L AST U PDATE : 10 F EBRUARY 2015 S OCIAL M OBILITY J OB C REATION I NNOVATION M ERITOCRACY E NTREPRENEURSHIP G ROWTH #R ESTART I TALIA B UILDING A N EW P OLICY #R ESTART I TALIA O PEN C ONSULTATION WITH +2,000 KEY PLAYERS P UBLIC T ASK F ORCE (12 TOP EXPERTS ) L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT I NNOVATIVE S TARTUP L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT D EFINITION E STABLISHED FOR NO LONGER THAN 48 MONTHS RESIDE OR BE SUBJECT TO TAXATION IN I TALY TURNOVER LOWER THAN 5 MILLION (6.4 MILLION $) IT DOES NOT DISTRIBUTE PROFIT ITS CORE BUSINESS CONSISTS OF INNOVATIVE GOODS OR SERVICES OF SIGNIFICANT TECHNOLOGICAL VALUE IT DOES NOT ORIGINATE FROM A MERGER, DEMERGER OR DIVESTMENT PROCESS L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT I NNOVATIVE S TARTUP MEETS AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA : 1.R&D E XPENDITURE : 15% OF ITS COSTS CONCERN R&D ACTIVITIES 2.Q UALIFIED T EAM : AT LEAST 1/3 OF THE TEAM IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO EITHER HOLD A PHD OR ARE PHD CANDIDATES AT AN ITALIAN OR FOREIGN UNIVERSITY OR HAVE CONDUCTED RESEARCH FOR AT LEAST 3 YEARS OR AT LEAST 2/3 OF THE TEAM IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE HOLDING A MASTER S DEGREE 3.IP: IT IS THE OWNER OR THE LICENSEE OF A REGISTERED SOFTWARE OR PATENT L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT I NNOVATIVE S TARTUP M AIN S UPPORT M EASURES L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT T HE I TALIAN S TARTUP A CT L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT O NLINE R EGISTRATION THROUGH SELF - CERTIFICATION N O FEES DUE TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR ANY DOCUMENT F LEXIBLE CORPORATE MANAGEMENT TOOLS LTD. = INC. Z ERO TAX REGIME FOR COMPANIES SUFFERING FROM SYSTEMATIC LOSSES F AIL FAST M ECHANISM F LEXIBILITY IN C APITAL R EPLENISHMENT A FTER L OSSES C UTS IN R ED T APE L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT F IXED - TERM LABOUR CONTRACTS APPLICABLE FOR THE WHOLE STARTUP S LIFE CYCLE V ARIABLE PAY DEPENDING ON THE STARTUP S PERFORMANCE W ORKERS & CONSULTANTS PAID WITH STOCK OPTIONS AND WORK FOR EQUITY ( TAXABLE AS CAPITAL GAIN !) 35% TAX CREDIT ON ALL COSTS FOR HIRING HIGHLY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL T AILOR - MADE LABOUR LAW T HE I TALIAN S TARTUP A CT L AW 221/2012 I TALY S S TARTUP A CT R OBUST TAX RELIEF ( FROM 19 TO 27%) ON INVESTMENTS INTO STARTUP S EQUITY BY A NGEL I NVESTORS, VC S AND C ORPORATES P OSSIBILITY OF RAISING MONEY THROUGH EQUITY CROWDFUNDING ONLINE PORTALS ( FIRST TAILOR - MADE LAW ON AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL ) F REE, FAST - TRACK PUBLIC GUARANTEE ON BANK LOANS, COVERING 80% OF THE LENT SUM F OR MORE INFO, HERE IS A SUMMARY OF ALL SUPPORT MEASURES HERE I NCENTIVES FOR FUNDING & INVESTMENTS Italia Startup Visa T HE I TALIAN G OVERNMENT POLICY TO ATTRACT INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD Italia Startup Visa V ISA FOR EXTRA -EU CITIZENS WILLING TO SET UP AN INNOVATIVE STARTUP IN I TALY C ENTRALIZED, ONLINE PROCEDURE (ISV T ECHNICAL C OMMITTEE ) T HE C OMMITTEE EVALUATES THE APPLICATION (CV + BUSINESS MODEL ) WITHIN 30 DAYS F INANCIAL RESOURCES FOR AT LEAST 50,000 ARE REQUIRED P ROCESS ENTIRELY MANAGED ONLINE, THROUGH A DEDICATED WEBSITE : HTTP :// ITALIASTARTUPVISA. MISE. GOV. IT / #ItaliaStartupVisa 220 MILLION MADE AVAILABLE FOR ZERO INTEREST RATE STARTUP LOANS L ENDING COVERS UP TO 80% OF INVESTMENT PROGRAMS AMOUNTING UP TO 1,5 MILLION T ARGET : INNOVATIVE STARTUPS AND INDIVIDUALS WILLING TO SET UP ONE WITHIN 60 DAYS, INCLUDING EXTRA -EU CITIZENS HOLDING A S TARTUP V ISA F AST - TRACK FOR PROGRAMS FINANCED FOR AT LEAST 30% WITH CAPITAL PROVIDED BY QUALIFIED INVESTORS K ICK - OFF DATE : 16 TH OF F EBRUARY 2015 ( HTTP :// WWW. SMARTSTART. INVITALIA. IT / SITE / SMART / HOME. HTML ) HTTP :// WWW. SMARTSTART. INVITALIA. IT / SITE / SMART / HOME. HTML N URTURING HIGH - TECH STARTUPS #SmartStart2 M ORE THAN 3,200 HIGH - TECH REGISTERED STARTUPS : 57% LOCATED IN N ORTHERN, 21% IN C ENTRAL AND 22% IN S OUTHERN I TALY S ECTORS : 77% OPERATE IN SERVICES ( ICT, SOFTWARE, APP, MEDIA ETC.), 18% IN INDUSTRY & CRAFTSMANSHIP, 4% IN TRADE 700 MILLION EURO TURNOVER WITH OVER 13,000 PARTNERS AND EMPLOYEES O NLINE DATABASE : HTTP :// STARTUP. REGISTROIMPRESE. IT / HTTP :// STARTUP. REGISTROIMPRESE. IT / T HE I TALIAN S TARTUP E COSYSTEM I TALY S TOP STARTUP INCUBATORS 29 CERTIFIED INCUBATORS (20 IN N ORTHERN I TALY ) 30 EMPLOYEES AND 3 MILLION EURO TURNOVER PER COMPANY T HE I TALIAN S TARTUP E COSYSTEM 3,212 NEW REGISTERED STARTUPS (+40 PER WEEK ) 351 BANK LOANS TO 279 INNOVATIVE STARTUPS ( TOTAL AMOUNT : 128 MILLION ; AVERAGE SIZE : ) THANKS TO PUBLIC GUARANTEE FUND 29 CERTIFIED INCUBATORS 20 STARTUP VISA APPLICATIONS UNDER EVALUATION 14 EQUITY CROWDFUNDING PORTALS R ESULTS SO FAR T HE I TALIAN S TARTUP E COSYSTEM M ADE IN I TALY : A KEY DRIVER FOR THE SCALING - UP OF STARTUPS H IGH - QUALITY AND COMPETITIVE SKILLS G RASSROOTS MANUFACTURING CULTURE ( FAST AND CHEAP PROTOTYPING ) A RTISTIC AND CULTURAL HERITAGE, AN UNTAPPED ASSET I TALY IS A GATEWAY TO STRATEGIC MARKETS A DVANCED CONSUMPTION HABITS, WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPANSION FOR INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES S TRENGHTS R ECENT I NTERNATIONAL E VENT I TALIA R ESTARTS U P D ECEMBER 2014, M ILAN T HE ITALIAN MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE ITALIAN TRADE AGENCY ( HTTP :// WWW. INNOVATIONITALY. IT / EN /) HAVE TEAMED UP TO CREATE THE FIRST DEDICATED EVENT FOR CO - FINANCING OPPURTINITIES ITALIAN AND +50 INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS ON A POOL OF 60 HIGHLY SELECTED HI - TECH, BIOTECH & CLEANTECH STARTUPS HTTP :// WWW. INNOVATIONITALY. IT / EN / U PCOMING I NTERNATIONAL E VENTS GEC 2015 M ARCH 2015, M ILAN T HE G LOBAL E NTREPRENEURSHIP C ONGRESS ( HTTP :// GEC. CO /) IS AN INTER - DISCIPLINARY GATHERING OF STARTUP CHAMPIONS FROM AROUND THE WORLD WHERE ENTREPRENEURS, INVESTORS, RESEARCHERS, THOUGHT LEADERS AND POLICYMAKERS FROM +140 COUNTRIES WORK TOGETHER TO HELP BRING IDEAS TO LIFE, DRIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND EXPAND HUMAN WELFARE HTTP :// GEC. CO / U PCOMING I NTERNATIONAL E VENTS EXPO MILANO 2015 1 M AY - 31 O CTOBER 2015 E XPO M ILANO 2015 ( HTTP :// GEC. CO /) IS A NON - COMMERCIAL U NIVERSAL E XPOSITION WITH VERY UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE FEATURES. I T IS AN INCREDIBLE SOCIAL AND ENTREPRENEURIAL PROCESS WHICH GATHERS A LARGE NUMBER OF IMPORTANT PLAYERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE THEMES OF F EEDING THE P LANET AND E NERGY FOR L IFE HTTP :// GEC. CO / E XTEND THE APPLICABILITY OF THE S TARTUP A CT TO ALL I TALIAN INNOVATIVE SME S (DONE!) R EFINANCING OF VC F UND OF F UNDS HELD BY THE I TALIAN I NVESTMENT F UND (DONE!) F ACILITATE NETWORKING BETWEEN TRADITIONAL COMPANIES AND STARTUPS VIA TAX CREDIT ON CONTRACTED R&D ACTIVITIES (DONE!) D EVELOP AND INTERNATIONALIZE VC AND CORPORATE VC FINANCING, ESPECIALLY FOR MATURE INVESTMENT ROUNDS (U NDER W AY ) F OR F URTHER I NFORMATION W EB : WWW. MISE. GOV. IT WWW. MISE. GOV. IT E MAIL : S MISE. GOV. ITS MISE. GOV. IT T WITTER IN S VILUPPO