Source: Impavidi press office
Gianpaolo Pezzato, creator of the Impavidi Award: I am proud of the great result achieved, hundreds of applications were received and the shortlist of finalists is of high quality and
depth. Entrepreneurs with strong stories behind them will be an inspiration and an example for all those who find themselves in difficulty.
Successful participation in the national “Impavidi Award” competition, launched by Innovation Future School on the occasion of the fifth edition of Treviso Creativity Week,
which will be held from 1 to 7 November this year. Hundreds of applications were received for this award, the brainchild of founder Gianpaolo Pezzato, which was designed to give voice
to and reward Italian entrepreneurs who, despite the pandemic, have been able to be reborn, reinvent themselves or get up again to respond to market changes, thus facing the crisis head-on and
emerging victorious. I am proud of the great result achieved, – says Pezzato, – hundreds of applications were received and the shortlist of finalists is of high quality and depth.
Entrepreneurs with strong stories behind them who will be an inspiration and an example for all those who find themselves in difficulty. Real fearless people.
Let’s get to know the ten chosen, fearless entrepreneurs from all over Italy. Annapaola Prestia, born in 1979, from Villesse (Gorizia), psychologist, writer, mother and entrepreneur
supporting families who care for elderly people suffering from dementia. Together with her partner and long-time friend Silvia Fabris, she decided, in the midst of the pandemic, to reinvent
herself by founding a startup S.O.F.I.A, which could be a point of reference for the elderly and their caregivers, abandoning a permanent position in a cooperative and after the covid forced her to
close the ice cream parlour she had opened 6 years earlier with her husband and a dear friend. But nothing can stop the dream of two women when they decide it’s time to make it come true, not even
a virus.
From Turin, on the other hand, is the start-up “Atelier Riforma” with a social vocation set up in May 2020 with the aim of encouraging the transition of the textile-fashion
sector towards a completely circular and zero-waste model.
The founders are Elena Ferrero, 28, and Sara Secondo, 30. “Fondazione Oltre Il Labirinto Onlus”, from Villorba (Treviso), is dedicated to adults with autism who, because of the
pandemic, were forced to stay at home without being able to carry out their daily work of labelling hazelnut cream.
In June 2020, they started up again and, with the help of educators, learned to use PPE, keep their distance and work in shifts. In a short time, they were back to making jars of “Cuore Fondente”,
a hazelnut chocolate that means inclusion, work and life.
From
Pisa comes
Francesco Sani, born in 1978, who through his marketing agency Sidebloom (which also has offices in Pisa and Turin) during the pandemic helped various projects to get
off the ground free of charge (one of which is
www.aiutiamolascuola.it) and carried out free awareness campaigns to support local
commerce, which is deeply in crisis. Not only that, but together with two of his clients he designed and launched products that were then largely donated to hospitals and medical centres.
The ten finalists also include Linda Scandagliato, the fearless Venetian founder of the “Che Buono Mamma!” project, an Italian community made up of mothers and young people who
love to turn their passion for cooking into a moment of sharing and conviviality. The editorial staff is made up of 9 people, supported by a group of passionate authors and food bloggers from all
over Italy. Through tasty recipes, the advice blog, mum-to-mum courses, webinars with experts and soon its in-person events, “Che buono mamma!” wants to bring cooking closer to the family.
On the other hand, “Design for the person” is the project by Francesca Tenchini from Milan, dedicated to children with innovative creations; Francesca has created the first
Italian protective masks for children, produced by Calzificio San Giacomo and designed by herself with the irony of a colourful design based on the game of child make-up with the tools of active
pedagogy. Tenchini channels creativity but above all the desire to help people in brand identity and personalised graphics, editorial projects for children.
Then there is Simona Dell’Utri, from Udine, creator and founder of Bevalory, an innovative Edtech start-up with a social vocation that connects young people from all over
Italy with companies, institutions and passionate mentors, with the aim of identifying, orienting and developing talent to create opportunities for shared growth.
BEVALORY tackles every day all the difficulties that a young startup finds during its first years of establishment with a view to connecting the Next Generation to the world of work with
awareness and responsibility. The stage is set for “Teatro Onlife”, the project conceived by Meri Malaguti, general manager of Fondazione Aida in Verona, and Stefano
Piermatteo. Fondazione Aida is an active cultural reality that for almost 40 years has been producing and promoting theatre for young people, and not only, in Italy and abroad, firmly
believing in the educational and recreational value of art in the growth and training of people. During the pandemic, it conceived and realised the Teatro Onlife project: a structured and
continuous review of unpublished shows, conceived and set up to be enjoyed by the world of families on a dedicated online platform.
One of the finalists was Roberta Masat, born in 1967 in Udine but who has always lived in Pordenone. She defines herself as a “surveyor lent to credit” because – although she has a
technical background – she works in a bank. She chairs a voluntary organisation that recycles corks and in 2020 managed to launch the start-up Robimood, not just a simple wine ecommerce but a
platform that brings together wine, people who want to donate and associations that receive.
And finally, from Brescia comes the fearless Gianpaolo Torri (1979), who has managed to convert the sock production of the historic San Giacomo family hosiery factory into the
production of masks, which are donated to the Civil Defence, Rest Homes and other public institutions, among other things, to deal with emergencies. Thanks to this intuition, the company was
saved and has been able to work uninterruptedly ever since, without even resorting to redundancy payments, guaranteeing all employees their jobs and full pay.
The Jury that selected the ten finalists is made up of representatives of the partners and institutions that support TCW2021, including the CCIAA of Treviso and Belluno, CNA Treviso, the Veneto
Region, the Municipality of Treviso, the Municipality of Castelfranco, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Alumni Ca’ Foscari, and the Salesian University Institute (Iusve); on the corporate side
there are Labomar, Keter Italia, Ascotrade, Yarix, Banca Prealpi Sanbiagio, SellaLAB and Ca’ di Rajo.
The first prize winner will receive a bottle of Raboso del Piave DOC “Sangue del Diavolo”, created for the occasion by the Ca’ di Rajo winery in collaboration with a young local artist, –
says the President of Innovation Future School. – And all ten finalists will be given permanent visibility on the Treviso Creativiy Week website.
The prize will be awarded at a ceremony scheduled 17 July at Teatro Comunale di Treviso “Mario del Monaco”.
