The NYCEDC Global Business Exchange (GBX) is a competition organized by the City of New York in partnership with cities around the world to reinforce economic relations and support business growth. Organized by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and organizations from partner cities, GBX offers up to 10 companies from each city a unique opportunity for international expansion.
After a first successful edition between NYC and Paris in 2016, the second edition of the GBX program took place from January to July 2017 between NYC and Milan, 2 world capital cities of fashion and design as well as financial and business services. VentureOut was selected by NYCEDC to support the winning companies from Milan in their expansion to NYC.
THE STARTUPS
8 promising startups were selected among more than 100 applicants.
A SIX MONTH ACCELERATOR PROGRAM
Our Global Business Exchange program contained of 2 phases that accelerated 8 Milan Startups in NYC over the course of 6 months.
Phase 1: an intensive 3-month accelerator program
Phase 1 consisted of an intensive 3-month accelerator program designed around the 8 winning companies and tailored to their needs. Included in the program were the following:
- Workshops and consultancy on core competencies like messaging, sales, marketing, finance and pitching
- US expansion workshops with NYC’s top lawyers and accountants to plan out incorporation, immigration and tax strategy
- Mentoring from thought leaders boasting specific experiences relevant to the companies’ industries or products
- Fundraising support, mapping out a path to success for each company
- Dedicated desk in our coworking space
Phase 2: Office space and mentoring
Phase 2 was more moderately paced and consisted in a dedicated desk in our coworking space, access to other programs that VentureOut was running, office hours and mentoring.
EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS STORIES
Instal acquired US-based company MOBave just a few months after their graduation from the program, which marked the opening of their US office. They explain in a blog post how being in NYC and participating in the program geared them for success in the US: http://blog.instal.com/a-new-chapter-instal-us/
Blubrake acquired their US competitor later in 2017, which they met during the VentureOut program, and has built a large US presence since.
Geneta Science raised $8m in Series B just a couple of months after graduating from the program.
Maurizio Ferraris, CEO of Roialty, has been through both our 1-week and 3-month programs. In an exit interview, he said that “VentureOut has been a fundamental step in [the company’s] international growth in order to understand the US market and the investment needed to understand it”.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
VentureOut and Italy have history. We’ve worked with more Italian companies than any other accelerator. Since 2013, we’ve run 10 programs dedicated to supporting more than 100 Italian startups. Learn more about our Italian programs and awesome Italian alumni here.
You want to become our next Italian success story? Let’s connect!