VC | E516 | Founding with Focus: Why Italy’s VC Moment Is Now

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where we connect and champion the voices shaping European venture. Today, we spotlight Lorenzo Franzi, Founding Partner at the Italian Founders Fund, to explore how a new generation of fund managers is reshaping Italy's startup landscape—and why deep empathy, focused strategy, and intentional market building are the foundation.

Lorenzo opens up about his journey from angel investor to institutional VC, shares insights on navigating Italy’s regulatory landscape, and explains why now is the time to believe in the Italian opportunity.

Here's what's covered:

• 02:00 Why Fund Strategy Starts With Empathy: How Lorenzo’s unique experience grounds his founder-first approach
• 05:15 The Thesis of Italian Founders Fund: A triad of Italy, diaspora, and inbound startups
• 08:10 Why There Are No Small Funds in Italy: Structural barriers and the missing middle
• 12:44 Data-Driven Support at Scale: Building productized VC operations
• 16:02 Market Maturation: Applying Foundamental's venture framework to Italy
• 19:00 Building an Edge through Focus: A concentrated portfolio with proximity-driven value
• 22:30 From Angels to Institutions: What the Italian startup scene needs next
• 25:50 Forget Unicorn Chasing: Why the alpha strategy matters more at pre-seed
• 28:40 Is Now the Time to Back Italy? Lorenzo’s bet and what makes it different
• 30:18 Ecosystem Building Through Visibility: Why global VCs must come meet local founders