Innovation. Impact. Together.
Start Attractor is an international innovation catalyst based in Pisa that connects companies, startups and research groups
to co-design solutions in Deep Tech, AI and Data, Health Tech, paper & manufacturing, fintech, agritech, digital and ICT and beyond.
📍 Pisa, Italy – with a global network
Focus areas
4+
Open Innovation
Venture building
Upskilling
Curated community
Venture programs
3
Pre-incubation
Pre-acceleration
Acceleration
DeepTech
Paper & Manufacturing
Agri & Food Tech
Health Tech
Fintech
AI & Data
Digital & ICT
Founding partners & ecosystem
Built by leading academic and industrial players.
Start Attractor is promoted by the University of Pisa together with Sofidel SPA, Todisco Group and Banco Fiorentino, and supported by key organizations in the Tuscany innovation ecosystem.
Startup
Venture programs and curated community for startups at every stage.
We fill the gap of teams with ad hoc professionals tailored on the specific missing competencies.
From idea validation to international scale-up, our staged venture programs help teams de-risk technology, validate markets
and build investable companies – with access to mentors, labs, testbeds and industrial partners.
Venture Leavening
Pre-incubation (TRL 2–4)
Leavening runs from February/March to May.
Mentorship is essential to personalize support.
Focus
4modules
Delivery-ready toolkit
Support
+mentors
Personalized guidance
Research spin-outs
Early founders
- Public Speaking: storytelling, presence, and clear messaging
- Pitching: narrative, deck structure, and rehearsals
- Pretotyping & market signals: lightweight experiments to validate assumptions
- Business model: ICP, value proposition, and a first model draft + Demo Day pitch
Venture Kneading
Pre-acceleration (TRL 5–7)
Kneading runs from May to October.
July and August are dedicated to personal work and mentoring only.
Cycle
5months
PMF → seed readiness
Summer
2months
Mentoring only
Seed-stage startups
Corporate spinoffs
- Design Thinking & Product Development: product direction + prototype plan
- Market analysis: market map + ICP refinement + positioning
- Team building & recruitment: role map + hiring plan + advisor network
- Valuation & investments: investment readiness + Demo Day pitch
Venture Seasoning
Acceleration (TRL 7–9)
Seasoning runs from June to October.
July and August are dedicated to personal work and mentoring only.
Go-to-market
+channels
Positioning + KPI plan
Readiness
âś“finance
Reporting + Demo Day
Growth-stage startups
Scale-ups
- Market strategy: positioning + channel choices + KPI plan
- Business development: sales narrative + customer acquisition and test
- Leadership: operating cadence + team rituals + decision-making framework
- Corporate finance & accounting: P&L/cashflow basics + reporting readiness + Demo Day pitch
We work with startups with one principle in mind: long-term value creation.
Depending on the program, your stage and the opportunity, we use a clear and founder-friendly model—
combining participation fees, success-based contributions, and (in selected cases) equity investment.
- Merit-based selection: clear criteria focused on potential and execution
- Founder-friendly terms: transparent fees and scope defined upfront
- Success-based contributions: tied to external funding raised (agreed caps)
- Selective investment: option to invest in high-potential cases when aligned
- Access paths: discounted participation for teams joining via competitions
Start Club is designed to help startups move faster: access decision-makers through high-signal introductions,
validate use cases, and turn conversations into concrete next steps within 30–90 days.
Not open networking—curation and activation.
- Curated commercial introductions to corporate decision-makers aligned with your ICP
- Use-case & GTM validation with founders, executives, researchers and domain experts
- Challenge → pilot opportunities via industry needs and collaboration briefs
- Showcase moments (selected) to increase visibility with partners and investors
You won’t get “generic mentorship”. Founders are matched with the right operators—industry leaders, serial entrepreneurs,
investors and researchers—based on your stage, sector and immediate goals. The focus is execution: clarity, decisions, and next steps.
- Domain depth: international experts across multiple domains
- Operators first: serial founders, product leaders and growth practitioners who have built and scaled
- Real market access: corporate leaders from partner companies and the broader ecosystem
- Research-backed edge: professors and practitioners connecting science to real-world execution
Companies
A front‑door for open innovation with the University of Pisa and beyond.
Start Attractor makes it easier for innovation‑driven companies to work with research, startups and talent through structured projects, clear governance and measurable impact.
Open Innovation
Challenge to pilot execution
We translate your priorities into a scoped challenge, curate the right external partners, and activate pilots and PoCs with clear success metrics and next steps to let you move faster.
Readiness
NDA-ready engagement
secure collaboration setup
Execution
timeline & governance
scope, owners, deadlines
Startup scouting
Research-to-industry
- Challenge scoping: define goals, constraints and success metrics
- Trend & solution scouting: curated shortlist of capabilities
- Partner orchestration: build the right team across our ecosystem
- Pilots & PoCs: co-design and launch pilots with clear deliverables and checkpoints
- Innovation diagnostics: assess readiness, gaps and the fastest execution path
Start Club
What you get
Start Club is an invitation-only, curated membership for corporate innovation leaders—built to convert priorities into
pilots, partnerships and talent pipelines within 30–90 days.
Activation
curated touchpoints
curated intros → next steps
Insights
briefings & showcases
scouting + market signals
Corporate innovation
Pilot & partnerships
- Curated introductions: shortlist + warm intros aligned to your priorities (not open networking)
- Member-only working sessions: scope challenges, align stakeholders and define next steps
- Challenge → Pilot pathway: define success metrics, scout solutions, and activate pilots with startups or research teams
Corporate learning
Transformation-ready teams
Practical, business-aligned upskilling designed with HR and business leaders to accelerate adoption and execution—AI, digital transformation and emerging tech, with measurable outcomes.
Focus
AI & digital execution
from strategy to adoption
Delivery
tailored & on-demand
you define the need, we deliver
HR & business leaders
Upskilling at scale
- Needs assessment: align skills to business priorities and transformation roadmap
- Role-based paths: executives, managers, specialists—learning that maps to real workflows
- Hands-on delivery: workshops, labs and coaching—online or on-site
- Measurable outcomes: adoption checkpoints, project briefs, and progress tracking
Executive education · Venture building & innovation leadership
Executive Master
A progressive, blended pathway (online + in-person + mentoring) to turn strategy into execution—building real capabilities
and producing tangible outputs along the way.
Blended learning
Hands-on labs
Mentor support
Oct Demo Day
Built for outcomes (not lectures)
Each module produces concrete deliverables: evidence, model drafts, positioning, KPIs, leadership cadence, investment readiness
and a Demo Day pitch.
- Decision frameworks for innovation and venture building
- Hands-on labs on real challenges from your organization (or venture)
- Execution sprint (summer mentoring-only) to build pipeline and evidence
- Demo Day in October to synthesize progress and readiness
How it works (yearly pathway)
A progressive build-up from February to December: online live sessions, in-person workshops, assignments between modules,
and mentoring checkpoints.
- Online live sessions to introduce concepts and decision tools
- In-person workshops for simulations, peer review and networking
- Applied assignments between modules with mentor support
- Capstone momentum culminating in October Demo Day
Best for
Leaders and teams driving AI and digital transformation, new venture initiatives, product innovation, and innovation governance—
who want a structured pathway from strategy to execution.
About Start Attractor
An agile foundation with a long‑term mission.
Start Attractor is a non‑profit foundation that combines academic excellence, industrial
experience and territorial institutions to accelerate innovation with tangible impact.
We bridge research, entrepreneurship and industry to:
- Support high‑potential startups and venture projects
- Help companies navigate technological and organizational change
- Develop the skills needed for the green and digital transitions
The Foundation is governed by an Assembly of Members, a Board of Directors and an independent statutory
auditor, as well as an Advisory Board that provides strategic guidance.
- Non‑profit status, with reinvestment of surpluses in mission activities
- Public–private governance with clear responsibilities
- Ethics, compliance and risk management frameworks aligned with Italian law
Board of Directors
Corrado Priami
President
University of Pisa
Chiara Galletti
Vice President
University of Pisa
Gianluca Perini
Board Member
Sofidel SPA
Anna Maria Tentindo
Board Member
Todisco Group
Marco Talluri
Observer
Banco Fiorentino
News & updates
Latest from Start Attractor.
Discover what is happening across our venture programs, partnerships and community – from new corporate collaborations and startup milestones to events and thought‑leadership.
16 March 4pm online
We are thrilled to announce a milestone event for our community: Steve Blank, the “Father of Modern Entrepreneurship,” will be joining the Executive Master in Venture Building & Innovation Leadership for an exclusive Fireside Chat. Meet the Architect of the Lean Startup!!!
Master details
02 February 2026 - Pisa, Italy
Alberto Savoia will join our Executive Master for a special Q&A session focused on pretotyping — a practical approach to testing ideas and assumptions before building. Founders, venture builders, and corporate innovation managers will have the opportunity to engage directly with Alberto, ask questions, and connect the method to their real product and innovation challenges.
Master details
Deadline: 20 February 2026, 12pm CET · Starts: 2 March 2026 · Pisa (hybrid)
Venture Leavening (Pre-incubation) is designed to help Founders and early teams who want to validate the problem, sharpen positioning, test assumptions, and build a credible path to traction with structured support and hands-on work. Selected teams will participate in a Demo Day at the end of the program.
Get more and apply now
All news
Careers
Join the team building bridges between research and industry.
We are assembling a small, high‑impact team that thrives at the intersection of technology, business and ecosystem building. Positions will be published on our website and shared via our LinkedIn page.
Apply for a position
Build and manage relationships with companies, identify innovation opportunities, structure collaboration
projects and support startups in validating their markets.
- Background in innovation, consulting or business development
- Fluent in English and Italian
- Comfortable working with both startups and corporates
Connect industrial R&D in paper, packaging and advanced materials with academic research, helping translate
models into applied innovation projects.
- Background in engineering or related fields
- Experience with industrial R&D and/or applied research
- Strong communication skills and curiosity for new technologies
Support the day‑to‑day operations of Start Attractor across administration, HR support, basic accounting
coordination, and program logistics.
- Structured, reliable and comfortable with multi‑tasking
- Previous experience in administrative roles is a plus
We are always looking for mentors and faculty members to support founders and corporate teams through office hours, clinics, and feedback sessions.
- AI & Data (ML, GenAI, data engineering, MLOps)
- Deep Tech (robotics, photonics, advanced materials, space)
- Health Tech (medical devices, digital health, biotech)
- Paper & Manufacturing (process innovation, Industry 4.0, supply chain)
- Agri & Food Tech (precision agriculture, food processing, traceability)
- Fintech (payments, risk, regtech)
- Digital & ICT (product, growth, cybersecurity, cloud)
- Legal / IP, Fundraising / VC, Go‑to‑market, Operations
Apply as Mentor / Faculty member
