Everyone seems to think launching a project takes years. We set ourselves a different goal: test ideas and MVP in six months.

Why? Because that’s the only real way to see if something works in the real world — not just on paper in a business plan. We built a team of startup founders who share this mindset — launch one project every six months.

From day one, it wasn’t about perfect slides or polished strategie.

It was raw work: constant idea sessions, honest debriefs, quick surveys, late-night chats with friends, calls with colleagues, feedback from anyone willing to challenge us.

We built a habit of testing ideas early — before code, before branding, before big spending. We call it “testing by ear”.

Say it out loud. Pitch it in a simple way. Watch reactions. Listen carefully. If people don’t get it in 60 seconds, the market won’t either.

That approach alone helped us eliminate dozens of weak directions before they drained time and money.

Sometimes one sharp conversation with the right person saves you six months of building something nobody needs.

There’s a saying I like:

“Kind people will praise you. Experienced people will guide you. Only those who do nothing themselves will criticize.” Don’t be shy — share and ask the right people for advice. "

There’s a great local saying:

“In Italy, companies don’t fail because of bad ideas. They fail because of bad accountants and lawyers.” 

We lived it. We waited for assistance — and got fines instead. Lots of unnecessary consultations, plenty of mistakes. But it taught us this: look for people who are ready to go the distance with you, not just hand out advice.

👉 Lesson: find doers, not talkers.

That’s a whole adventure of its own. Just showing up with documents? Pretty much zero chance. You need scheduled meetings, a short and clear business plan, full document packages, lots of emails and calls. Especially for IT and Web3 business.

And even then you might hear: “We don’t see the point of opening an account for you.”

Thankfully, we were negotiating with several banks at the same time — and that saved us.

👉 Lesson: Always work with several banks at once.

Prepare your documents and plans in advance.

(One bank, by the way, is still “reviewing” our paperwork… three weeks and counting 😅)

Why am I sharing this?

Because this is exactly where anyone’s journey will start if they try to build a business in Italy.  If you have questions — reach out. I’m happy to share contacts and experience to save you time and stress.

From testing ideas “by ear” to surviving Italian bureaucracy — real lessons on building companies in the real world, not just in pitch decks.

Everyone seems to think launching a project takes years. We set ourselves a different goal: test ideas and MVP in six months.

Why? Because that’s the only real way to see if something works in the real world — not just on paper in a business plan. We built a team of startup founders who share this mindset — launch one project every six months.

Why am I sharing this?

Why? Because that’s the only real way to see if something works in the real world — not just on paper in a business plan. We built a team of startup founders who share this mindset — launch one project every six months.