San Francisco (CA) – April 29, 2014 – From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley (FVSV), the initiative launched in 2013 by the American-Neapolitan task force of Campania Felix LL, Mind the Bridge Foundation and Associazione Skillpoint, returns to Naples this May with an expanded vision.
Rather than addressing just innovative entrepreneurial initiatives among young Neapolitans, and Campanian startuppers, FVSV this year mires to open a real door for American innovators, investors and corporations to gain a privileged access to Europe’s vast wealth of technological talents, frontier inventors, makers, and the myriad of startups that are flourishing across the Old Continent.
“This year’s edition of FVSV is a truly international event and has been re-branded as GoGlobal Now to underline the multilateral nature of the meeting,” affirms Paolo Pontoniere, Managing Partner of Campania Felix, LLC, the San Francisco based consulting firm behind the launch of Unite the Two Bays/From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley, “We’re transiting toward a global appointment where incubators, mentors, companies, startups, and universities can meet to share best practices, success stories, and to develop business models directed at creating new economic opportunities and joint ventures. Since the beginning FVSV targeted startups, now the project has been expanded to include profit and non profit organizations, incubators, public institutions and institutions of higher education”.
Invitees to the 2014 FVSV include London’s SeedCamp Incubator, Berlin’s Factory Incubator, Amsterdam’s Startup BootCamp, Deutsche Telekom’s Hub:raum incubator, Campania InHub, and Startupbootcamp Rome. Public institutions, such as the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the European Commission, will send representatives. Corporations–Enel Green Power, Telecom Group, BBVA, Orange, Telefonica, and Wyra–will provide featured speakers.
“We’re not abandoning our original mission of creating possibilities for young Neapolitan and Campanian innovators,” states Amelia Antonucci, Managing Partner at Campania Felix. “As in 2013, From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley will offer fellowships to representatives from selected startups to study at Mind Bridge Foundation’s StartUp School.”
The fellowships this year are themed for the Green Economy, and will allow a selected group of Neapolitan and Campanian innovators to fly to San Francisco for 3 weeks (in the case of startups) to familiarize themselves with the Silicon Valley model of business development, the creative environment of the Bay Area of San Francisco, and to meet with mentors, VCs, investor angels, and potential partners.
“We are sure that Napoli can be a central nexus for the international movement rethinking economic development and social collaboration,” adds Campania Felix co-founder Paolo Pontoniere. “The 2014 FVSV and GoGlobal Now are expressions of this belief. Naples and the Campania Region are now a recognized node in the global web of young innovators and cutting-edge enterprises. This makes it even more likely that the avenue we have created will multiply creativity, imagination and opportunities for economic growth for all people involved.”
GoGlobal Now/From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley will take place May 12 – 13, 2014 at Naples’ (Italy) Castel dell’Ovo. For program information and to enroll please visit www.unitethetwobays.com or www.goglobalnow.eu.
GoGlobal Now/From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley is made possible by the generous contribution of individual donors and the support of public and private institutions on both side of the Ocean, and in particular of Campania Innovazione which supports Enterprise 360, CESVITEC which sponsors From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley, as well BCC, the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, the Museo Italo-Americano, SVIEC, the City of Naples, the Campania Region, BAIA, Squire Sanders, Villa Italia Wines, CreAgri, Inc., Mr. Espresso, Moncada Energy USA, Mobile Iron, and many others. For a complete list of the sponsors and supporters of GoGlobal Now/From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley please visit www.unitethetwobays.com or www.goglobalnow.eu.
GoGlobal Now/From Vesuvio to Silicon Valley are a Campania Felix, LLC – Mind the Bridge Foundation – Associazione Skillpoint production.
For media inquiries and/or public relations/marketing issues please contact: Campania Felix LLC, at [email protected] or via skype at paolo.pontoniere