The first Open Italy 2018 demo day – the “Sales Accelerator” promoted by Cattolica together with the ELIS Consortium – took place today at Rome Startup Week, promoting collaboration between large companies and startups from an open innovation perspective. The perimeter of innovation identified by Cattolica for the startups in attendance was Customer Engagement, with the aim of developing a system of products and services based on the “prevention and protection” paradigm.

The event was also attended by prestigious guest speakers: from the University of Copenhagen, Professor Marcel Bogers; Chief Innovation Evangelist - BIP and Scientific Coordinator of the Master in Design Management at the IlSole24Ore Business School, Ivan Ortenzi.

Valeria Bonilauri, ELIS Innovation Manager, said: “ELIS Open Italy is an accelerator for the sale of innovative startup products and services to companies that collaborate with the ELIS Consortium. Last year, 10 startups signed contracts for a total value of more than €1M and entered the supplier lists of big companies. The project's strength and practicality stem from the alliance between large companies, international accelerators and venture capitalists who identify startups that meet the real needs of business innovation. Sprint methodology allows for the solution to be tested for 8 weeks on a company case and the offer to be formulated. Through this close collaboration we are succeeding in creating innovation together.”

For more information on Open Italy 2018:  http://open-italy.elis.org/