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
You can watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧 chapters for easy navigation are available on the Spotify/Apple episode.
✍️ Show Notes
The Power of a Focused Thesis
Lorenzo Franzi outlines the fund’s precise focus on Italian founders, diaspora, and foreign companies entering Italy. This laser focus isn’t just a niche—it’s a commitment to nurturing underrepresented opportunity with tailored support.
Productizing Early-Stage VC
With ambitions to scale, the Italian Founders Fund takes a product-driven approach to fund operations, integrating data and structured processes early on to support a concentrated portfolio of 25 companies.
The Missing Middle in Italian VC
Lorenzo explains why Italy lacks small institutional funds, how regulations hamper fund formation at the €15–50M range, and why angel networks and corporate arms fill the gap, for now.
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Dario combines deep institutional, operational, and investment expertise, investing in early-stage companies and funds. Recognized as a "40 Rising Star under 40" by VCJ, he actively contributes to the industry.
Before founding LTV Capital, Dario co-led fund investments at Anthemis Group, a top fintech investor, where he developed early-stage fintech plays with BBVA and pioneered a media-financial services fund. His background also includes spearheading international expansion at emerging markets fintech JUMO and contributing to the creation of ROAM, now Africa's largest classifieds group.
Academically, he holds a Master of Business Science in Finance from the University of Cape Town; his dissertation on "Tencent Holdings Limited" is widely downloaded and cited.
Outside of work, Dario is a former 125cc motorcycle racing champion who now advises the Finetwork Mir Racing Team, supporting young talent in motorsports. He is driven by a passion for empowering others and fostering change in the emerging manager VC ecosystem.
↓ Register below to attend on July 15th↓
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